ABC Addresses ‘Golden Bachelor’ Future After Gerry Turner Divorce

Heavy/ABC ABC addressed the future of "The Golden Bachelor."

After the wild ride of Gerry Turner’s season of “The Golden Bachelor,” fans have wondered what the future holds for the show. Will ABC try another season, after the unfortunate ending of Turner’s journey to find love again?

An ABC executive recently addressed that big question. The good news for fans is that it seems the network is committed to continuing the spinoff.

Here’s what you need to know:

ABC Is ‘Dedicated’ to the Golden Concept

On May 14, Deadline shared what ABC TV Group President Craig Erwich said about the future of “The Golden Bachelor.” Erwich gushed, “‘The Golden Bachelor’ was probably the television event last year.”

ABC is moving ahead with “The Golden Bachelorette,” featuring Joan Vassos from Turner’s season. Will that be it for the golden seasons, though? Or, will they give “The Golden Bachelor” another go despite Turner’s quick divorce?

Erwich said, “I think ‘Golden Bachelor’ is a show that’s about finding love at a later age. It’s incredibly root-able, it’s aspirational, and that franchise and those values extend to a lot of different people and a lot of different stories.”

“So we’re very dedicated to this franchise,” Erwich added.

Bachelor Nation tuned in to watch Turner look for love again after losing his wife, Toni, several years ago. The ratings were great, and viewers made it clear they wanted more. After the finale aired, Turner and his final rose recipient, Theresa Nist, revealed they would wed in a January live televised special.

“The Golden Bachelor” couple got married on January 4. On April 12, they appeared on “Good Morning America” to reveal they were divorcing.

ABC’s commitment to their “Golden” spinoff shows is welcome news for many franchise fans. Despite the fact that Turner and Nist’s marriage lasted just three months, people are eager to see additional seasons.

“The couple not working out absolutely does not mean the season was a flop or a waste. Peter’s and Hannah’s seasons are testaments to that,” one franchise fan shared in “The Bachelor” Subreddit. The references were to Peter Weber’s season as well as Hannah Brown’s “Bachelorette” season.

Bachelor Nation Seems Mostly Eager to See More ‘Golden’ Seasons

“It was the best season of this franchise in years…Sure the couple didn’t last but I don’t think anyone should be watching this show for ‘love’ at this point,” another Redditor noted.

“Is it me or after the big flop of the Golden Bachelor they should’ve just left this idea for the franchise alone lol,” countered a different Reddit user. Several people expressed their disagreement with the sentiment.

“It’s all about the views and golden bachelor had a lot,” one person replied.

“How did it flop? It had super high viewing numbers,” added someone else.

A comment elsewhere on Reddit read,“It was not a flop for ABC. It had the highest ratings for the franchise in years.” They added, “”It did better than Joey’s season including with young people.”

“I am not interested in the show anymore after what happened to Theresa,” another show viewer wrote.

“Wow I can’t believe they’re actually doing [‘The Golden Bachelorette]. I LOVE the idea that a seasoned woman gets to enjoy being the bachelorette ten toes down excited for this,” a Reddit user shared on another thread.

That same poster continued, “BUT I just don’t know how they’ll be able to find fun male contestants. I feel that even with golden bachelor all those women were more entertaining and had it together than Gary (sic).”

Erwich did not commit to any particular schedule for the “Golden” spinoff shows going forward. Some fans have speculated that ABC will alternate between a male lead and a female lead for a season each fall. For now, eager fans will need to stay tuned.