7 TV Golden-Agers Perfect ‘The Bachelor: Senior Edition’ (PHOTOS)
Rose Nylund (Betty White, The Golden Girls)
Would the bubbly, ever-optimistic St. Olaf, Minnesota, native find someone to melt her Häagen-Dazs? Nah, she’d be the first reality-show contestant in history to declare that she was there to make friends.
Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck, Blue Bloods)
The widowed New York City police commissioner is tough but tender. And just imagine the epic family dinner that would go down during a hometown visit with Frank and his big Blue brood!
The Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey)
If roses are red, Violet is due. But with a title and a ton of money, she doesn’t need a man, so is it possible that (gasp!) the bon mot queen isn’t here for the right reasons?
Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin, Homeland)
Looking for someone who’d have trouble letting anyone in? This national security adviser is your guy. Plus, we’d never know if he was telling the truth, which would make him a solid villain.
Frankie Bergstein (Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie)
With a gay ex-hubby, a supply of caftans and cannabis, and a knack for one-liners, the hippie artist has all the makings of a First Impression Rose recipient—especially if she mentions her line of vibrators.
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Picard)
Make it so romantic! This tea-loving ex-Starfleet icon can stun potential partners by whipping up an entire garden on the holodeck. And let’s not forget that he also likes the word engage.
Lydia Margarita Riera (Rita Moreno, One Day at a Time)
Her emigration from Cuba makes for an emotional backstory, and we can’t imagine anyone having more fun on the boozy group dates than this onetime dancer.
Is true love ageless?
The folks at The Bachelor think so: During the February 24 episode, the ABC hit revealed it was currently “casting seniors looking for love” for a new 65-and-over edition of the franchise. Fans already knew about the upcoming music-themed The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart (premieres Monday, April 13, 8/7c), but this more seasoned spinoff opens up a world of possibilities.
Would it be one mature man sorting through a stable of eligible older ladies? Or more of the septuagenarian safari, à la Bachelor in Paradise? We’d prefer to imagine some of television’s grandest golden-agers jumping into the dating pool.
Click through the gallery above for our picks, from Blue Bloods‘ Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) to Grace and Frankie‘s Frankie Bergstein (Lily Tomlin).
