The Golden Bachelor Live

The episode is presented as a season finale of The Golden Bachelor, hosted by Jesse Palmer. Frank has been selected as the Bachelor, but is very disappointed when he finds that the candidates are all seniors. Palmer gives in to his demand to ask a young TikTok personality, Cock "Chewy" Chewa, to arrive in limo. He also has an interest in senior candidate Sam, so he is left with two possible dates.

Due to this, the show is forced to retool the season. Discovering that Frank used actors to pretend to be his family, Frank is forced to introduce Chewy and Sam to the Gang. Dennis and Dee are convinced that Sam is only after Frank for his fortune, so Dennis invites Bonnie as a third candidate for Frank, upsetting Charlie. Sam opens her heart to Frank, explaining that she finally found true love with him. She believes she finally won him over, until Frank slips a note that simply says "dunzo".

Mac, thinking Frank is going to pick Chewy, decides to see if she is cool by pranking by detonating an elephant's toothpaste bomb in the mansion, a viral prank he saw online. However, unwilling to let Frank date his mom and to let Chewy stay with them, Charlie pours 20 gallons of Nair in the concoction, but the Gang itself ends up affected instead, giving them a green skin and ruining their voices. In the end, Frank must give the final rose to either Bonnie or Chewy, but he chooses neither. He goes to a bus station in the rain to meet with Sam, admitting that he got her out because he loves her and he was afraid. He gives her the rose, asking her to marry him. She accepts, and they passionately kiss.

In July 2025, FXX reported that the eighth episode of the seventeenth season would be titled "The Golden Bachelor Live", and was to be written by executive producers Charlie Day and series creator Rob Mac, and directed by Todd Biermann.^[1] This was Day's 71st writing credit, Mac's 63rd writing credit, and Biermann's 18th directing credit.^[2]

The idea for the episode came up between August and September 2024, as the writers were coming up with ideas for the season. Kaitlin Olson started watching The Golden Bachelor, with Rob Mac seeing potential in a crossover, "Wouldn't it be fun if we had a crossover event with Abbott Elementary but then did another crossover? Because that seems like the very Sunny thing to do, which is to double down on the ridiculousness." Mac presented the idea to ABC Entertainment executive Robert Mills, who approved the episode.^[3] Jesse Palmer, who hosts the reality show, also guest stars in the episode. Palmer was a fan of the series, and admitted surprise when he was given the script, to the point that he contacted ABC to make sure they greenlit the episode. He said, "The hardest part of acting with them was trying to keep a straight face the whole time, because they improv and just go off script. It is so funny."^[4]

The episode featured a guest appearance by Lynne Marie Stewart, who has played Bonnie Kelly since the first season, marking her final appearance in the series following her death on February 21, 2025. The episode was dedicated to her memory.^[5]

Carol Kane also guest stars in the episode as Sam, a potential romantic candidate for Frank. Kane previously starred alongside Danny DeVito in the sitcom Taxi. DeVito commented, "You're always looking for ways where, you know, if there's somebody in your arena that you can coerce into being on the show. This was perfect, this part was perfect for her and she loved it and they loved her and that was, that was a gift."^[6] He was very interested in having a new romantic partner for Frank, "I am way down with that. I mean, you get up there in age, it’s nice to have a steady girlfriend."^[7]

Mac screened the season premiere and finale of The Golden Bachelor to the crew, so they could get an idea of how to structure the episode. The series was given access to the franchise's set in Agoura Hills, California, while the audience studio was built in a soundstage. After collaborating with The Golden Bachelor's crew, the series used the same lighting design, camera models, and lens package to further mimic the reality show's look. The episode was filmed over 5 days in mid-November 2024, which was half a day longer than usual for an average episode of the series.^[3]

Todd Biermann added, "We are trying to do a version, with our own spin, of their shows. Obviously, The Golden Bachelor does not generally lead with someone who could be considered one of the worst men of his generation. It's like, ‘Imagine the worst guy in the world being on The Golden Bachelor,’ and just going there."^[3]