6.1 million viewers tuned in to see who Gerry Turner would propose to on Thursday night after two month of wooing women of a certain age. That marks not only a series high, but the most-watched episode of any series in the “Bachelor” franchise since the conclusion of Matt James’ season in 2021.
When “The Golden Bachelor” premiered on Sept. 28, it brought the long-running ABC franchise its biggest debut since 2021 with 4.4 million viewers. Viewership dipped down to 4.3 million and then 4 million with Episodes 2 and 3, but steadily grew from that point forward: Episodes 4-8 reached 4.1 million, 4.4 million, 4.8 million, 4.9 million and 5.3 million viewers, respectively, according to fast national data reported by Nielsen.
Among adults age 18-49, Thursday’s episode earned a 0.8 – the highest key demo rating for a “Bachelor” franchise episode since the finale of Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey’s season of “The Bachelorette” in 2022.
Starring 72-year-old Turner as the inaugural Golden Bachelor, the series is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon. Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich, Bennett Graebner and Andrew Frank serve as executive producers.
ABC will air “The Golden Wedding” featuring Turner and his bride on Jan. 4.
In an interview with Variety, when asked if he thought it was truly possible to find love on television, Turner said, “I do. At first I thought, there’s no way. I was really skeptical. But as I’ve thought about it and I’ve seen the process evolve and so forth, I really do think it’s possible. So we’ll see. I’m hopeful. Very hopeful.”
