THE GOLDEN BACHELOR shows me his dink. The pickleball shotin which you lift your paddle in a compact underhand stroke so the ball drops right over the net-is deceptively challenging for one's opponent to return, rewarding finesse over brute strength. I don't have the slightest idea how to play pickleball. Lucky for me, Gerry Turner is a great teacher. But unlike with most instructors, he appeared to me the night before, while I was watching a video explaining the game, in an ad for his new prime-time TV show, one that has been sold as the latest (partial) rebranding of traditional dating-show dictates.
In theory, The Bachelor franchise is a factory for fairy tales with each season's star meant to pluck his future spouse from a symmetrical-faced, white-teethed lineup of generally 20-something romantic prospects. In reality, those fairy tales have ended less commonly in a true happily ever after than in the would-be bride selling hair gummies on Instagram. But then the Disney-ABC powers that be decided to look outside their usual Future Influencers of America demographic. The casting call for Golden Bachelor was originally issued in early 2020; immediately, show-runner Jason Ehrlich knew the type of man he didn't want: a convertible-driving, country-club-frequenting "silver fox" with "gobs of money" and a preference for younger women. They needed someone genuine, someone "rootable." Like a tan, charming needle in a haystack, he was finally found: a now-72-year-old widower living in northern Indiana who, by the way, pronounces his name as "Gary." Turner's submission caught the casting team's attention in the first week of reviewing applications. "Every minute we spent with Gerry, we liked him more and more. He was just so kind and sweet and obviously handsome," Ehrlich says. "Everyone who met him, we just thought, We've got to do this for him."
This story is from the October 23 - November 5, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 23 - November 5, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
This Is Getting Interesting
The accessories are especially covetable this spring: futuristic sunglasses from Prada, lively little bags from Louis Vuitton, embellished socks from Fendi, and bejeweled headpieces from Valentino. Street-style darling Chloe King shared her tips for piling them on without going overboard.
Sisterhood, Interrupted
Online, going \"no contact\" is often seen as liberating, empowering. If only I felt that way.
Don't Try This at Home
Comedians Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak are searching for their health holy grails-while trying not to fall for the bogus MAHA stuff.
A 'Bright Spot' in Washington
Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester aren't going to let that other election result prevent them from making history.
Which Celebrity Book Club Could (Actually) Change Your Life?
In the beginning, there was Oprah. Now, there are over a dozen celebrity-helmed book clubs that could make an author's career. But do they actually move the needle? \"It used to be that if you got a big book-club pick, your book was an automatic best seller, and that is so not the case anymore,\" says one publicist. We asked 15 authors and industry insiders what these clubs can really do for a book.
Lonely Islands The epic melancholy of Caspar David Friedrich.
YOU KNOW THE WORK of Caspar David Friedrich even if you don't think you do.
As Seen at Sundance
The talk of the ski town this year was chilly.
RESTAURANT REVIEW - It Only Looks Humble
Zimmi's is like an Old Country inn where the details are just right.
THE LAST TABOO
14 ADULTS ON COMING TO TERMS WITH, LYING ABOUT, DEPENDING ON. AND SPENDING THEIR PARENTS' MONEY.
Global Tongue A class in Iran probes English's transformative and oppressive powers.
SOMETIMES I THINK you can only speak one language,\" says a character in Sanaz Toossi's English.
