After twenty-four seasons, eleven spinoffs, various international versions and a myriad of one-off televised specials, The Bachelor is adding another dating show to its repertoire, this time focusing on an older crowd. This news was announced last Monday as current Bachelor Peter Weber’s season is wrapping up.
Weber, a fan favorite from the previous season of The Bachelorette, has been heavily criticized along with the contestants on this season for their childish behavior. Fans are wondering if this new spinoff is signaling that the Bachelor franchise is in decline. While The Bachelor has never been a show known for its outstanding casting, season 24, in particular, had accumulated arguably the youngest, least mature group of contestants. Tears and drama are to be expected on a show where a group of people is attempting to fall in love with the same person, but the conduct and emotional immaturity shown this season has led some fans to declare this to be the worst season thus far. With wavering fan loyalty on the line, producers of the show decided to go in a new direction: exploring love in the golden years.
Host Chris Harrison told ET’s Lauren Zima that the announcement of the new series is a “knee jerk reaction” to the criticism regarding the increasingly younger ages of the show’s contestants, many of whom are recent college graduates. The season’s drama ranges from everything to stolen champagne, fake personalities, troubling rumors and pretty much everything in between. The season kicked off by bringing back the previous Bachelorette, Weber’s ex-girlfriend Hannah Brown, back to host the first group date. Understandably, this did not end well and nearly resulted in Weber inviting her to be on this season. This instance brought tension into the house and it only continued to build from there.
Because of all of the crying and fighting and will-they-won’t-they drama this season, it is not surprising to see that the franchise is looking to expand in an effort to appease fans. While the details for the upcoming venture are limited, they are casting men and women 65+ partially to combat the criticism, but also to offer a chance at love to a new group of singles. Harrison told Zima that people often asked when they would increase the age of contestants, saying, “[They say] ‘We need to love.’ And they’re right, and so we’re going to do it.”
The series will likely begin with a Bachelor instead of a Bachelorette, but because the series is still in development, the details are still up in the air. Harrison also said that while they broadcast a call for people 65+, that is also not official. He said, “We’re just beginning the casting process, so we’ll see what we’re about.” However, it is safe to say that this new demographic will be unlike anything the franchise has ever seen. With an older, ideally more mature cast, the priorities of those involved will likely differ from the young, still developing contestants of seasons past. This could also push the show to actually explore real topics, like why they have never attempted to showcase anyone other than conventionally attractive young singles. Is it because the show is all about the entertainment factor and not actually about helping people find “The One?”
Or will it just go to show that, regardless of age and life experience, falling in love with the same person as twenty others is a bad idea and will end disastrously? This upcoming seniors series is still in development, but another new spinoff of The Bachelor will be premiering on April 13. The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart is a more niche edition of the dating show, which links single musicians together to find love as well as success in their musical endeavors.
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The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: ET
