New The Bachelor series The Golden Bachelor, featuring contestants over the age of 60, is due to begin airing next month. The ABC reality series has had its fair share of spin-offs, including the female version The Bachelorette, as well as more dubious location-based spin-offs like Bachelor in Paradise.
Many fans of the franchise, as well as former stars, have called for the series to introduce a spin-off featuring a same-sex dynamic. Many have cited Colton Underwood, a season 14 Bachelor that later came out as gay, as a potential choice for the series, prior to his marriage to Jordan C. Brown in 2023.
Underwood is far from the only Bachelor alum to come out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Two former contestants, Demi Burnett and Kristian Haggerty, got engaged after their respective time on the franchise – more of an accidental pairing than the work of the show’s matchmaking abilities.
Even without such examples, a Gallup poll suggests a record 7.2% of Americans identify as LGBTQIA+, and the number is likely much higher when accounting for younger generations or closeted Americans. The Bachelor has always dragged its heels when it has come to representation, with the first Black Bachelor not arriving until the show’s 25th season – even more embarrassing when considering the series only did so after years of criticism.
Given the prevalence of LGBTQIA+ people on other reality shows, as well as the popularity of the reality genre within the community, a same-sex Bachelor seems like a surefire hit. Other same-sex dating shows have existed in the past, such as Finding Prince Charming and Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Queer Love. Even without proven success, The Bachelor has the opportunity to diversify its franchise and be on the right side of history.
Is ABC even considering a same-sex Bachelor series?
This is not so clear. A same-sex spin-off has not formally been announced, but The Golden Bachelor could very well be an experiment to see if long-term fans would be invested in watching contestants who are a little less conventional for television.
The Australian version of The Bachelorette broke ground in 2021 by including a bisexual lead – with male and female contestants. However, plans for an entirely same-sex version, or such a dynamic on the American version, are yet to be confirmed. What the franchise is currently doing could be considered dabbling with more diverse versions of the show without taking any significant risks, although biphobia on the dating scene is certainly a prevalent risk.
The slow progression of The Bachelor universe is likely due to a fear of alienating older, long-term fans of the 20-year-old series, who producers believe could possibly possess some homophobic views. However, previous experiments have not tanked the franchise, and The Golden Bachelor — should the series be successful — could be the final push to commissioning a same-sex spin-off.