Big Brother (American TV series)

This article is about the American edition. For the current season, see Big Brother 26 (American season). For other editions, see Big Brother (franchise).

Big Brother
Also known asBig Brother USA[1]
GenreReality competition
Based onBig Brother
by John de Mol Jr.
Presented by
StarringBig Brother houseguests
Voices of
  • Multiple producers
  • Don Wollman[2]
Narrated by
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Live" by Jonathan Clarke (2000)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons26
No. of episodes935 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerDon Wollman
Production locationStudio City, California
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time
  • 20–23 minutes (2000)
  • 40–120 minutes (since 2000)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseJuly 5, 2000 (2000-07-05) –
present
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Big Brother is an American television reality competition show based on the Dutch reality show of the same name created by producer John de Mol Jr. in 1997.[4] The series takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The American series launched on July 5, 2000 on CBS and since the discontinuation of the Spanish version in 2022, is the longest-running adaptation in the Big Brother franchise.

The show broadly follows the premise of other versions, in which a group of contestants, known as "Houseguests", live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world for a cash prize of $750,000 ($500,000 prior to season 23). The Houseguests are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones. Throughout the course of the competition, Houseguests are evicted by being voted out of the competition.

In its inaugural season (which followed the original Dutch format and audience voting determined evictees and the eventual winner), ratings declined, and critical reaction grew increasingly negative,[5] prompting the series to be revamped for the second season, which focused on competition and gameplay.[6]

The show's twenty-sixth season premiered on July 17, 2024;[7] its twenty-seventh season will premiere in the summer of 2025.

The show produced three spin-offs: Big Brother: Over the Top (which aired for one season and was the first reality game show to air exclusively on a streaming platform, in Fall 2016 on CBS' streaming service, CBS All Access), Celebrity Big Brother, which first aired on CBS in February 2018,[8][9][10] and the Big Brother Reindeer Games, which aired for one season on CBS in December 2023.[11]

  1. ^ Wilkes, Neil (February 6, 2008). "E4 picks up US 'Big Brother'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  2. ^ Baldwin, Kristen (June 21, 2016). "'Big Brother': Meet the Men Behind the Show's Signature Voices". www.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Andy Dehnart (September 29, 2015). "How David Vanacore's music came to dominate reality TV". reality blurred. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  4. ^ Carman, John (July 5, 2000). "'Big Brother' Watches Their Every Movement". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  5. ^ Dehnart, Andy (January 11, 2001). "the casting sucked, and more Big Brother bashing–and some praise!". reality blurred. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference blur was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Rice, Lynette (May 7, 2024). "CBS Summer Premiere Dates For 'Big Brother,' 'Tulsa King' & More".
  8. ^ "CBS TO BROADCAST ITS FIRST CELEBRITY EDITION OF REALITY HIT "BIG BROTHER"". CBS. September 7, 2017. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  9. ^ Porreca, Brian (August 2, 2016). "'Big Brother' Moves to Fall on CBS All Access". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (December 1, 2017). "CBS Pits Celeb Big Brother vs. Olympics, Sets Date for 30th Amazing Race". TV Line. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  11. ^ Seemayer, Zach (November 9, 2023). "Julie Chen Moonves Announces 'Big Brother: Reindeer Games' Special Winter Series". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.