“The Golden Bachelor” is looking like a goldmine for ABC.
In the wake of the two-pronged WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, networks are filling their fall schedules with reality TV and game shows while their actors and writers march on picket lines.
ABC has been dangling the idea of a senior version of their hit dating show, “The Bachelor,” for years, however, the timing of “The Golden Bachelor” — which debuts on September 1st — couldn’t be more fortuitous.
Last Monday, ABC’s first Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner was introduced on “Good Morning America.”
Central-casting handsome, the 71-year-old Indiana widow (he married his childhood sweetheart) is a dad and grandfather, who plays pickleball and golf.
In the promo materials, Turner also sports a golden tan and a thick head of hair, making him look less like a senior and more like a candidate for “Dancing With The Stars.”
Which is appropriate, since “DWTS” will be the lead into “The Golden Bachelor” on Monday nights this fall.
While the Golden Girls vying for Turner haven’t been announced, here’s hoping they’re age appropriate.
OK, even if they’re no t— I’m still going to watch.
However, “The Golden Bachelor” may be the exception.
Networks are about to unleash an onslaught of corny content to compensate for the loss of top-rated series to the strike, such as “Abbot Elementary,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Young Sheldon.”
This was the go-to move back in 2007 when WGA picketing disrupted regular programming.
And once again, the strategy moving forward relies heavily on reality TV.
But the entertainment landscape has changed vastly since then.
We’ve changed too.
Americans now spend as much time on social media as they do watching TV, radically altering how and where we watch TV.
But the networks haven’t seemed to notice. (Probably why it’s called legacy TV.)
Fox’s entire fall lineup is rooted in reality TV and game shows like “The Masked Singer,” “Name That Tune” and “Snake Oil” — a twist on the “Shark Tank” formula, hosted by comedian David Spade.
Mercifully, their Sunday night animated superblock remains intact, but that’s only because shows like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” finished production before the strikes.
CBS has also reworked its schedule and will be airing non-stop reality shows like “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “Big Brother.”
Reruns and streaming favorites like Paramount+’s “Yellowstone” (making its broadcast debut) will round out the offerings.
It’s the same at ABC, with the aforementioned “The Golden Bachelor,” and “DWTS” joining “Shark Tank,” “Celebrity Jeopardy,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “America’s Funniest Home Video.”
So far, NBC has not announced any changes, but their anchor competition hit, “The Voice” will croon on for a new season.
But here’s the rub.
Unlike in 2007, reality TV holds far less appeal than it used to.
Thanks to our iPhones and TikTok, we’re all reality TV stars now — with the power to broadcast every detail of our lives from the palm of our hands.
No one needs E! or Bravo to be famous anymore.
Contrast that to 2007, when “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” debuted mere weeks before the last Hollywood shutdown.
Starved of competition, the ambitious clan helped fill the void left when scripted shows disappeared.
Same with the “Real Housewives” franchise, which launched in 2006 with its Orange County edition — and now pumps out multiple iterations from coast to coast.
Today we’re savvy to the fact that most of these so-called unscripted shows are manipulated by producers.
We get that they’re not authentic or original — which is what helped make them so authentic and original in the first place.
Unless there’s a “Scandoval” to chase after, our attention has moved from the small screen to even smaller screens where the “original” content is, perhaps, the most “authentic” of all — our own lives.
Although influencers have been issued their own set of strike guidelines, the TV and movie vacuum will inevitably increase their reach — and lasting power.
After all, content creators like Mr. Beast and Charli D’Amelio already out-earn many conventional celebs.
With those celebs now sidelined, brands and marketers will have little choice but to further cozy up to the only content creators now left standing.
As actors and writers battle for increased residuals and fight against AI, they should also watch their backs.
Back in 2007, a sexy 70-something bachelor may have been enough to keep viewers committed to their TVs.
But in this new era of entertainment, the real winners of the Hollywood strike will likely never even hit the picket lines.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
