AceShowbiz - "The Golden Bachelor" launched with a bang. Centering on Gerry Turner, the new spin-off series of ABC's "The Bachelor" had a successful debut with its opening episode on Thursday night, September 28.

The latest extension of the dating franchise opened with 4.36 million viewers and a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic, per Nielsen Live+Same Day national ratings. The number marked the biggest audience in the franchise following "The Bachelor: After The Final Rose" in March 2022.

It is also the strongest premiere for any series in the franchise since "The Bachelor" season premiere in 2021. At the time, Matt James' season of "The Bachelor" opened to 5.23 million total viewers and 1.33 rating in the adults 18-49 demo.

Not stopping there, the network additionally dubbed it the most-watched debut for any unscripted series on any network in five months since "Jeopardy! Masters" in May. The number is expected to grow with delayed viewing on Hulu.

"The Golden Bachelor" also defeated "Big Brother", which garnered 2.7 million. "The Golden Bachelor" premiere was also slightly above the People's Choice Country Awards on NBC, which got 4M in early numbers. Meanwhile, "Bachelor in Paradise" got 2.1M viewers in the metric.

Fox, on the other hand, averaged a .43 rating for the night and came in second overall among the Thursday night competition with the season debuts of "Hell's Kitchen" and "Lego Masters".

Hosted by Jesse Palmer, the series follows Gerry, a retired restaurateur from Indiana, during his journey to find love. In the first episode of the show, the 71-year-old sent home 6 of the 22 women vying for his heart. Among those who were eliminated was Patty James, a retired real estate professional from Durham, N.C and the mother of former bachelor Matt James.