February 11, 2024
Ricky Middlesworth/ABC
ABC has announced that 'The Golden Bachelorette,' a spinoff of the successful reality dating show 'The Golden Bachelor,' will premiere in the fall. The lead has not yet been announced, but the lucky lady could be chosen from the cast of Season 1 of 'The Golden Bachelor' (pictured above).
A highly anticipated addition to "The Bachelor" reality dating franchise is coming later this year.
"The Golden Bachelorette" reality dating show will premiere in the fall on ABC and Hulu. Following the success of "The Golden Bachelor," which finished airing in November, this new iteration of the hit series will "highlight one radiant woman’s second chance at love in her golden years," according to ABC.
RELATED: 'The Bachelor' star Joey Graziadei gets a visit from Delco's Susan Noles in latest episode
"The moment you’ve been waiting for: #TheGoldenBachelorette is coming this Fall," the network wrote on Instagram.
The GOLDEN BACHELORETTE pic.twitter.com/0Y13ODxxHK
— zacharyreality (@zacharyreality) February 10, 2024
"The Golden Bachelor" followed 72-year-old Gerry Turner's journey for love, which ultimately ended in engagement — and a "Golden Wedding" — with 70-year-old Theresa Nist of Shrewsbury, N.J.
The debut season of the dating show reached 43.4 million total viewers after 35 days of viewing across linear and streaming platforms, according to ABC. It ranks as the No. 1 new unscripted series this season among adults ages 18-49, and it was ABC’s No. 1 unscripted series premiere ever on Hulu. The season finale, which aired Nov. 30, also earned the largest audience for any series in "The Bachelor" franchise since March 2020.
It has not yet been revealed who the "Golden Bachelorette" will be, as ABC said casting announcements will be released at a later time, but it's customary in the franchise to choose the next lead for "The Bachelorette" from the pool of contestants on the current season of "The Bachelor," and vice versa.
If producers do go this route, then a top option for "Golden Bachelorette" lead could be Turner's runner-up Leslie Fhima, 65, a personal fitness trainer from Minneapolis who left the show heartbroken when the lead chose Nist instead.
Other likely options may include Faith Martin — a 61-year-old high school teacher from Benton City, Washington, who finished the show in third — or Joan Vassos — a 61-year-old private school administrator from Maryland who connected with Turner but had to leave the show early when her daughter faced medical complications after childbirth.
Of course, there is also another fan-favorite contestant from Delaware County who could feasibly take on the rose-handing-out duties with ease. Susan Noles, a wedding officiant and hairstylist from Aston Township, made waves on "The Golden Bachelor" with her stylish outfits, bold jokes and close bonds with other contestants.
Noles was one of the show's final six contestants before being sent home in an episode that aired in October. Upon her exit, Noles admitted that she and Turner shared more of a friendship than romantic connection.
Susan will be fun to watch 🤭 #TheGoldenBachelor pic.twitter.com/hfVjtYsuAR
— The Golden Bachelor (@GoldenBachABC) September 29, 2023
Since her tenure on "Golden Bachelor" ended, Noles has remained involved in the "Bachelor" franchise. She was chosen to officiate Turner's and Nist's televised wedding. She and her girl gang from "Golden Bachelor" — who refer to themselves as "ASKN" — also made a recent appearance on this season of "The Bachelor."
Along with "The Golden Bachelorette," ABC has announced that a new season of "The Bachelorette" is coming this summer. The star of Season 21 has not yet been announced, but the leading lady could very well be chosen from this season of "The Bachelor," starring Collegeville's Joey Graziadei. Bachelor Nation fans can tune into Graziadei's journey for love Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
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