TV Ratings: ‘Golden Bachelor’ Finale Hits 32-Month Franchise High

The Golden Bachelor lived up to its title with Thursday’s season finale, scoring its biggest audience of the season and a nearly three-year high for the ABC unscripted franchise.

The two hour-plus finale, which saw 72-year-old widower Gerry Turner propose to Theresa Nist — a wedding special is set for Jan. 4 on ABC — drew 6.07 million viewers, according to fast national ratings from Nielsen (which include out of home viewing). That’s a 15 percent improvement on the show’s previous same-day season high of 5.27 million viewers for the Nov. 13 episode.

It’s also the best performance for any show in the Bachelor universe since the March 15, 2021 finale of Matt James’ season of The Bachelor.

The finale also hit a season high among adults 18-49, averaging a 0.8 rating in the key ad-sales demographic. That’s the best same-day performance for the franchise since the season 19 finale of The Bachelorette in September 2022.

The Golden Bachelor has won critical and viewer praise for refreshing the show’s format by focusing on people over age 60 and seemingly more genuine emotions over the course of the season (though, as The Hollywood Reporter uncovered, Turner’s narrative isn’t as tidy as it’s presented on the show). The series is ABC’s second most-watched series of the fall in Nielsen’s seven-day ratings, just behind Dancing With the Stars.

Nielsen figures don’t include streaming. So far this season, The Golden Bachelor has grown by about 3.8 million viewers and 1.48 ratings points among adults 18-49 with a week of multi-platform viewing.