Summary
Big Brother 25was a milestone season, but it had many mistakes that shouldn’t be repeated duringBig Brother 26. Hosted by Julie Chen Moonves,Big Brother 25ended with Jag Bains, the first-ever Sikh player, winning the competition and the grand prize of $750,000, and Matt Klotz, the first-ever deaf player, placing second, and taking home $75,000. In addition, Cameron Hardin won the America’s Favorite Houseguest prize, which was $50,000.
AlthoughBig Brother 25was an exciting roller-coaster of a season with many twists and turns, it also had some missteps that cannot happen again if CBS expectsBig Brother 26to be successful. From the casting to the competitions, from the game’s lengh to the handing of the live feeds,Big Brother 25had many problems.Here are tenBig Brother 25mistakes thatBig Brother 26must not repeat.
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1Big Brother 26 Shouldn’t Have Any Stunt Casting
The Big Brother 25 Casting Of Survivor Legend Cirie Fields Was A Mistake
TheBig Brother 25houseguests were shocked when they entered the house after playing in the first competition, and found thatSurvivorlegend andThe Traitorsseason 1 winner Cirie Fields would be joining the game. Little did they know that she was secretly playing with her son, Jared Fields. OnlyBig Brother 25houseguest Izzy Gleicher recognized Jared as Cirie’s son, but, instead of using that information against them, she became a fierce protector of their secret. She was such a loyal ally to Cirie that she even considered not using the Power of Veto to save herself from the chopping block because she thought that it might mean that Cirie would be backdoored from the game.
While it was exciting to see Cirie in theBig Brotherhouse, especially since she’d recently completed her extraordinary run onThe Traitors, things quickly went south with this stunt casting.Fans were surprised that the 17th houseguest wasn’t aBig Brotheralum, especially since it was the 25th season. The houseguests originally saw Cirie as a strategic and social threat, but soon realized that, at 53 years old, she wasn’t much of a physical one. Cirie ended up placing 5th, even though she didn’t win a single competition. At first,the houseguests were either loyal to her because they were fans, or they wanted to be the one to evict theSurvivorgreatin order to add that achievement to their resumé.
However, Cirie soon learned that if she stayed under the radar, the target would shift to someone else. She ended up spending a lot of the game in her robe, lamenting about how much she hated being trapped in the house.Big Brotheris a very different game, and Cirie’s genius in her other reality competition shows didn’t translate well into it.Big Brother 26should avoid casting houseguests from other reality shows, and just stick to the usual formula of including unknown people in the cast. The dynamic of the house was off when a celebrity such as Cirie was in it. In addition, fans were eventually disappointed when they expected more from her.
2Big Brother 26 Shouldn’t Cast Influencers
It’s Frustrating To Watch Contestants Who Don’t Know How To Play Big Brother
While some contestants apply to be a contestant onBig Brother, others are recruited by the show, especially if they’re influencers.The problem with this is that those influencer houseguests are usually more concerned with growing their brand than the actual game.This was the case with Blue Kim, who spent the majority of the game in a showmance with Jared and not doing much of anything strategic.
Blue only won one competition during the game, which was one of two vetoes during the Power of Multiplicity twist. It was a crucial moment for her because she was on the chopping block and used it to save herself. It was an inspiring moment because it was an endurance competition, but it seemed that she started caring about the game too late. Blue was evicted 7th after Jag won his second Head of Household (HOH) competition in a row and blindsided her.
Big Brotheris set apart from other reality TV shows because viewers can watch the contestants 24/7 on the live feeds. Many viewers complained that Blue’s Diary Room persona was different from her real personality, and she was very put-on, using words such as"kitty kitty purr"that they found irritating. In addition, her lack of prior knowledge of the game was frustrating to see. Although Blue was fun to watch in her own way at times,it’s always more exciting to watch superfans play, such as Cameron and America Lopez.
When Julie announced that theBig Brother 25houseguests would be playing inthe Pressure Cooker, a grueling competition fromBig Brother 6, many of them looked to America to explain what it actually was because they hadn’t watched the show and didn’t do their research. However, it was one of the most legendary competitions in the history of the show, culminating with Jennifer Vasquez breaking her promise not to nominate Kaysar Ridha for eviction after he let go of his button, and she won HOH.Big Brother 26should cast people who genuinely love the game and are true to themselves rather than their online personas.
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3Big Brother 26 Should Be Shorter Than Big Brother 25
Big Brother 25 Was Too Long At 100 Days
Big Brother 25was a milestone season and needed to be bigger and better than ever. However,at 100 days, the season was way too long. Although there had been a few seasons that lasted 99 days, a typical season is usually only 75-90 days. TheBig Brother 25houseguests seemed bored and dejected at the end of the game, and ready to go home. This made watching them on the live feeds especially dull.
In addition,theBig Brother 25producers seemed desperate to find a way to fill the time. The worst example of this was “Zombie Week,” whenCameron and Jared spent the week battling their way backinto the house in a series of competitions. There were no HOH or veto competitions that week, and the other houseguests were simply waiting around to see if Cameron or Jared would win.
Big Brother 26should be much shorter thanBig Brother 25, and last only 70-80 days.Big Brother 7, the first all-stars season, which is widely regarded as one of the best ever, was only 72 days, whileBig Brother 10, another fan favorite season during which Dan Gheesling won, lasted 71 days.Shorter seasons make for more exciting gameplay because there’s little downtime. The houseguests must fight hard from the beginning to create a strategy because they can’t afford to waste any time. Longer games, in which many house guests lie low for the first half of the game, are very frustrating to watch.
4Big Brother 26 Should Have More Mental Competitions
Big Brotheris known for its demanding physical competitions, butit’s also exciting to watch the houseguests compete in challenging mental competitions.Big Brother 25was unique in that it castall different types of people from all walks of life, instead of mostly physically fit people in their 20s and 30s. However, the imbalance of physical and mental competitions, especially at the end of the game, made it an unfair fight.
Big Brother 26should have more competitions that force the houseguests to use their brains rather than their brawn.More puzzles and memory games would be especially fun to watch. While it’s thrilling to watch physical and endurance competitions such as the Wall, it’s more exciting to watch the houseguests compete in games in which everyone has a fair chance and no one has an advantage due to their physicality.
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5Big Brother 26 Shouldn’t Sweep Problematic Behavior Under The Rug
The Big Brother 25 Live Feeds Revealed More Than The CBS Episodes Did
Big Brotheris notorious for covering up the problematic behavior of the houseguests. Live feeders find this infuriating because they see everything that’s actually going on in the house, and then they have to watch as the producers ignore it. Through the years, fans have been outraged because houseguests with problematic behavior were portrayed as heroes on the show, and people who only watch the CBS episodes and not the live feeds had no idea unless they read about it online.This was true of Cameron, who won America’s Favorite Houseguest, even though many live feeders pointed out that he made some problematic comments during the game.
DuringBig Brother 25, Luke Valentine was rightfully expelled from the game for using the “n-word.” The incident aired on the live feeds, and he was removed shortly afterward. CBS cited its zero tolerance policy for breaking its code of conduct for his expulsion. However, a few weeks later,Jared was seen on the live feeds explaining to Cory Wurtenberger that he didn’t think that America was the “r-word.“He was shown telling Cory that he slipped up because he was angry.
However,Jared wasn’t removed from theBig Brother 25housefor saying the word. It was unclear why the network made a distinction between Luke and Jared’s uses of slurs, but it might’ve been because Jared’s initial comment was made when the live feeds were down. In addition, when Jared said the word to Cory, he wasn’t directing it at any specific person. However, it also could’ve been that the producers wanted to keep Jared in the game to keep their twist of him secretly playing with Cirie. Whatever the case may be,Big Brother 26must be more consistent with its enforcement of its code of conduct.
6Big Brother 26 Should Show More Jury House Footage
Big Brother 25 Didn’t Air Enough Of The Jury House
Big Brotherjury house footage is always exciting to watch because it’s the place where the houseguests finally find out some truths about the game, and get to see what happened after they were evicted. However,Big Brother 25didn’t show enough of the houseguests at the jury house. There was a lot of opportunity for some great TV there, and plenty of time with a 100-day season, but the show chose to focus on other things.
Big Brother 26should make an effortto show more of the jury house. In fact,it would be fun ifBig Brotherdevoted an entire extra episode to what happens there. Not only could it give insight into what the jury is thinking as far as who should win the game, but it could also allow viewers to get to know the houseguests even better. The jury house is much more relaxed than theBig Brotherhouse since there’s no competition going on there, so it could be a separate reality TV show in itself.
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7Big Brother 26 Should Give Older Contestants A Fair Chance
Big Brother 25 Did Their Older Contestants Wrong
Big Brother 25featured 17 houseguests, 10 of whom were over the age of 30. At 63 years old, Felicia Cannon was the oldest woman ever to be cast on the show. It was exciting to see older houseguests, including four who were over the age of 40. While three out of the final five houseguests were over 40–Bowie Jane (45), Cirie (53), and Felicia (63), it became apparent toward the end of the game that Jag (25) and Matt (27) would dominate.The physical competitions were simply too much for the older contestants, and Jag steamrolled his way to the finale, taking home the win.
Jag broke theBig Brotherrecordfor the most Power of Veto competitions won in a season with 7, and the most combined HOH and Power of Veto wins with 10. However, many questioned the legitimacy of these records becauseit wasn’t a fair fight. Of course Jag should’ve won these competitions versus three older women and Matt. He was in a final two alliance with Matt called the Minutemen, so they really weren’t even competing against each other, which made it easier for him as well. Jag also didn’t start winning these competitions until many of the other younger and more physically fit houseguests were evicted.
Big Brother 25was a step in the right direction with its casting of several older people, but it didn’t give them a fair chance to win competitions, especially at the end.IfBig Brother 26casts older houseguests, there needs to be more of an even playing field so that they have a chance to win. This doesn’t mean that the games should be made easier, but rather that there should be a balance of different types of games that people of all ages could possibly win.
8Big Brother 26 Should Have Fewer Twists
Big Brother 25 Was Too Manipulated
One of the best things aboutBig Brother 10was that it was a back-to-basics season that didn’t have twists.Big Brother 25had too many twists, beginning with the first competition, which, instead of being the traditional HOH competition, was actually a competition that determined the nominees.This meant that the first HOH, Reilly Smedley, had to save two houseguests rather than nominate her own choices. Because of this, she lost control of her game right away, and was evicted second.
Other twists such as the Power of Invincibility, which allowed winner Matt to secretly overturn Jag’s eviction, the Power of Invisibility, which gave winner Jag the power to operate in secret for the week (even though he told everyone that he won), and the Power of Multiplicity, in which two vetoes were in play for the week, threw a wrench in people’s games.The worst aspect of the Power of Invisibility twist was that Jag was allowed to compete for HOH again after being the Invisible HOH.
The Power of Invisibility twist rulessaid that since the HOH would be working in secret, and the show would never reveal his identity, he should be able to be HOH two weeks in a row if he won. However, Jag told everyone that he was the Invisible HOH, so it felt like a regular week.Jag should never have been able to compete again after that, but the producers allowed it. Jag won again, paving his way to winning the whole game.
Twists are fun to watch, but they can be frustrating for the houseguests when they throw a wrench in their strategies. At times, they also feel like producer manipulation created to possibly give certain houseguests advantages.Big Brother 26should be a game without too many twists.It should allow the housguests to playBig Brotherin its purest form, and focus more on strategies and competitions.
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9Big Brother 26 Should Bring Back More Veterans Of The Game
Big Brother 25 Didn’t Do Enough To Honor The Show’s History
As a milestone season,Big Brother 25should’ve incorporated beloved former houseguests every week, but that didn’t happen. While the game began withBig Brotherlegends Danielle Reyes, Britney Haynes, andFrankie Grande accidentally unleashing a time laseron the house, and seemed to be headed in that direction, the rest of the season was filled with references to former houseguests, but not many appearances. This was disappointing to longtimeBig Brotherfans who’d hoped that the 25th season would bring back many fan favorite alums.
Some beloved formerBig Brotherhouseguests did return. Kaysar appeared in a video during the Pressure Cooker competition, Josh Martinez was heard during the Wall competition called “Attack of the 50-Foot Meatball,” John “Johnny Mac” McGuire pre-recorded messages to host “Johnny Mac: Demented Dentist” competition, former houseguests recorded voiceovers for the “BB Odd Couples” competition, andBig Brother 24winner Taylor Hale appeared in a live eviction episode at the end of the season. However,Big Brotherfans wanted more.Big Brother 26should invite former houseguests to host competitionsand remind viewers of the show’s rich history. It’s always fun to see alums of the show return.
10Big Brother 26 Shouldn’t Have A “Zombie Week”
Big Brother 25’s “Zombie Week” was one of the biggest fails in the show’s history. While it was part of the Battle Back competition between Cameron and Jared, the lack of an HOH or Power of Veto competition for the week made it an intermission in the game for the other houseguests. It was a break in the game that broke the momentum. Cameron and Jared’s Battle Back competition should’ve been one game at the end of one episode, not an entire week long.Although it was exciting to see if Cameronor Jared would have the chance to return to the game, it felt like a waste of time because it was way too long.
Not only shouldBig Brother 26not have a “Zombie Week,” but the show should never do this again.It was like dead-air space as the game came to a screeching halt. It was obvious that the producers were running out of ideas because the season was too long at 100 days, so they came up with “Zombie Week” as filler. Fans know that they should always"expect the unexpected"withBig Brother, but they didn’t expect this boring turn of events. It was a mistake, and it should never happen again.
Big Brother 25was a good season, but there were many things that could have been improved upon.Big Brother 26should learn from these mistakes, in order to keep fans interested in the show. There have been some legendary moments onBig Brotherover the years, and fans are longing for an unforgettable season.Big Brother 26could be one of the best ever if it moves in the right direction.
Big Brotherseason 26 premieres Wednesday, July 17 at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.
Big Brother
Cast
Big Brotheris a reality game show that is based on a Dutch series of the same name. Each season, contestants, known as HouseGuests, live in the same house and compete for upwards of $500,000. Contestants are constantly monitored by cameras placed throughout the house and are voted out each week in an eviction
