‘The Golden Bachelor’ for seniors will air this fall

In 2021, “The Bachelor” franchise cast its first Black Bachelor. And in 2023, it will have its first Golden Bachelor — a senior in his “golden years.” While the network hasn’t yet revealed his identity or exact age, here is what we do know.

In January 2020, the network sent out a casting request for seniors looking for love. According to that announcement, “The producers of ‘The Bachelor’ are looking for active and outgoing single men and women in their golden years for a new, exciting dating show! If you are a senior citizen ready for a committed relationship, apply today.”

The show is set to premiere this fall on ABC on Sunday nights at 10 p.m., with next-day streaming on Hulu. The network hasn’t confirmed whether Jesse Palmer, the current host of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” will also host “The Golden Bachelor.”

According to an announcement from ABC, the show is a celebration of “the golden years where one hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life.” The female contestants who are looking to win the Bachelor’s heart will be “arriving at the mansion with a lifetime of experience, living through love, loss and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities. In the end, will our Golden man turn the page to start a new chapter with the woman of his dreams?”

Though network hasn’t yet said who the bachelor will be, no doubt a lot of “Bachelor” fans are hoping to see Grandpa John — the grandfather of “The Bachelorette” season 19 star Gabby Windey — as the Golden Bachelor. Fans fell in love with Grandpa John’s cute jokes and straightforward advice, which was on display in this clip where he tells Windey, simply, “I like Erich. He’s a keeper.”

YouTube commenters agree.

“Grandpa John is still the best thing to come out of both seasons,” said Sophie Amanda Leiton Toomey in the comments to the video.

Will he appear on the show? We’ll have to wait and see as more information about “The Golden Bachelor” comes out, hopefully before it airs this fall!