The first season of “The Golden Bachelorette” began airing in mid-September. The show is a spin-off of “The Bachelorette”, an incredibly popular dating show that has been airing since the early 2000s. Last year, ABC also produced “The Golden Bachelor”, which was met with mixed reviews.

This year’s golden bachelorette is Joan Vassos, a 61 year old widowed school administrator from Rockville, Maryland. Vassos may be familiar to those who watched “The Golden Bachelor” last fall, as she was a contestant on the show. Vassos wasn’t eliminated, but left in the third week of the competition due to a family emergency. She’s returned for “The Golden Bachelorette” in an attempt to find love of her own.

“The Golden Bachelorette” has a very similar set-up to “The Bachelorette”. The show follows a group of about 25 contestants as they try to win over one bachelorette, with a number of contestants getting eliminated every week. However, “The Golden Bachelorette” has one key difference; its contestants are all older than 55. Typically, “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” feature contestants who are in their twenties and early thirties. The potential love interests this season range in age from 57 to 69.

There are 24 contestants vying for Vassos this season. These men all come from very diverse backgrounds. Some of them have already retired, while others are still working, just like the golden bachelorette herself. A few of the men are either divorced or have lost their spouses. As the season progresses, these men will have the chance to take Vassos on dates and try to win her over. Each week, a handful of these men will be eliminated until just two remain in the final episode.

Reality dating shows like “The Golden Bachelorette” are often scorned by the general public. Many people believe that while these shows may be entertaining, they don’t actually create an environment where it’s possible for the contestants to find true love. In truth, “The Bachelorette” doesn’t really have a great success rate, and only a few of the couples that met on the show have actually stayed together. 

The decision to produce a dating show geared towards older people may be bewildering to some, but it’s important for a show like this to exist. As we age, we experience increasing levels of social isolation, and it’s harder for us to form meaningful connections. Dating gets harder for most people after they reach their fifties, especially women. Someone like Joan Vassos, who’s 60, widowed, and on the brink of retirement may struggle to date in the conventional way. Going on “The Golden Bachelorette” may not guarantee her true love, but it’s important for the option to exist.