Celebrity Big Brother is a popular thing in the UK, even attracting a few US D list celebrities (Perez Hilton, Garey Busey, Dennis Rodman, Courtney Stodden, LaToya Jackson) as participants. Now, the show reaches the US shores for the first time. Ooh. Speculation on the losers CBS will find to inhabit the house!
ETA: Oh boy. Big Brother producers are not ruling out the possibility of Big Brother alum being thrown into the mix of “celebrities.” There is a precedent–Frankie Grande from Big Brother 16 appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. “We’re now just diving into it so can’t give any answers on that,” executive producer Allison Grodner said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s all still being worked out on what it’s going to look like.”
The big news was revealed by Julie on tonight’s Big Brother live eviction. Here are the details from the official CBS announcement:
CBS today announced it will broadcast its first celebrity edition of reality hit Big Brother. The special winter edition will feature multiple episodes per week during a concentrated run and include the series’ signature Head of Household and Power of Veto competitions and live evictions. Julie Chen will host.
CBS All Access, the CBS Television Network’s subscription video on demand and live-streaming service, will again share all the action from inside the house with its 24/7 live feed. Also, Pop TV will provide fans the exclusive live television broadcast of Big Brother After Dark an unfiltered late-night feed from inside the house. Additional details regarding scheduling and casting will be announced at a later date.
The celebrity edition of the series is in addition to Big Brother’s milestone 20th season that will be broadcast in summer 2018.
“Big Brother has been dominating pop culture throughout its 19 seasons, and it is exciting to grow the franchise with the first-ever celebrity edition in the U.S.,” said executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan. “Celebrities will be under the watchful eye of the Big Brother cameras, facing the classic game elements, and of course new twists in this special winter event.”
Big Brother follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with 87 HD cameras and more than 100 microphones, recording their every move 24 hours a day.
It’s too bad that CBS didn’t opt to bring back Big Brother Over the Top to CBS All Access. Die hard fans of the show seemed to love it. But maybe not enough. If the ratings were all that, the network would have brought it back. We’ll see if the celebrity version fairs any better.
