‘Sunset Daze’ radiates an aura of beauty and sentiment

And I was so wrong. This show, which premieres tonight at 10 on WEtv, is really well done; it’s actually kind of touching. It’s a docu-soap, like “The Real World,’’ which means it is by definition kind of hokey, with obviously set-up scenes and an imbalance toward the more extroverted characters. But, that said, “Sunset Daze’’ manages to deliver a bittersweet — but mostly sweet — portrait of the sunset years, that last chapter or two that terrifies most people under the age of 60. I can’t say the show made me yearn to move to Arizona and live in a retirement community like Sun City Grand someday, but it did remind me that you don’t have to be dead until you die.

Part of the success of “Sunset Daze’’ has to do with casting. The characters we meet in the first two episodes are more than the flat types we too often see on reality TV — you know, The Jock, The Wallflower, The Drunk. Ann, 61, who was a nun in Ireland until she was 39, is experiencing her later years with a newfound sense of joy. In one scene, she goes skydiving — yes, folks, the Flying Ex-Nun — and she has what she describes as a moment with God. Sandy is a clear-eyed, blond widow who’s starting to date, and who is crushing on a local shooting instructor. As this 68-year-old gathers her courage to ask him on a date, she could as easily be 16.

My favorite so far is Gail, who identifies herself as “70-plus.’’ Originally from New York, she has a long history in show business and a very Broadway, show-must-go-on attitude about life. Her hair — oh, her hair! It’s as orange-red as a ripe tomato, with a bouffant sprayed into a flip-shaped statue. Every Saturday, her son and best friend, Cary, comes to visit her and do her hair. During a nice brisket dinner she makes for him, Cary invites Gail to attend his beloved gay rodeo. And before you can say “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,’’ she is line-dancing with the fellas and flirting with the drag queens.

Jack, 72, is one of the few single men in Sun City Grand, and he has fallen in love with a woman named Kathleen. She’s sending mixed signals about commitment, though, and he senses danger and heartbreak dead ahead. “Sunset Daze’’ doesn’t undermine Jack’s sorrow with a typically flippant reality TV tone involving fast-edits and campy soundtrack flourishes. The show can certainly be funny, as it is in almost every scene with Gail, but it also lets us feel badly for Jack for a minute, as he realizes he can’t waste a lot of time waiting for Kathleen to come around. There is no condescension afoot on “Sunset Daze,’’ just a sense of respect for the risks these people are taking, as they jump out of planes and jump into love, hoping for one more safe landing.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more on TV, visit boston.com/ae/tv/blog.