A tale of two Big Brothers – it’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. The future of Big Brother UK is currently in serious doubt due to declining ratings, with Channel 5 going on record to admit that it’s considering dropping the show when its current contract ends this year.
But just across the Atlantic, Big Brother US is still firing on all cylinders in its 20th season. The American version of BB is still a firm staple of the summer TV schedule for the CBS network, regularly winning its timeslot and keeping fans entertained for a whopping three months each year.
For years, Big Brother UK and Big Brother US have had very different formats. But with things looking far from rosy for our version, is it time for Channel 5 to tear up the rulebook and steal a few ideas from across the pond?
1. The 24/7 live feed
When Big Brother UK launched on Channel 4 in 2000, its unique selling point was undoubtedly the 24/7 live feed. Housemates gave up their right to privacy, knowing they could be watched by fans at any time of the day or night. This meant that Big Brother literally took over the summer for die-hard viewers, who could watch their favourite housemates any time they liked.
Although BB UK devastated fans by dropping the 24/7 service several years ago, it’s been going strong in the US for the duration of the show’s 18-year run. As well as allowing fans to get a fuller picture of the housemates and their personalities, the live feed works wonders for the show in terms of creating a never-ending online buzz, which money can’t buy. And let’s face it, BB UK could certainly do with some buzz after being overshadowed by Love Island for the past couple of years.
2. Epic competitions
Much like I’m A Celebrity, a huge part of Big Brother US‘s success is the show’s big-budget competitions. The show unapologetically has a Survivor-style gameplay format, encouraging the housemates to win challenges to take control of the house and advance further in the game.
A weekly Head of Household competition puts one housemate in power, who then nominates two others for eviction. The Power of Veto competition later gives the nominees a chance to save themselves, forcing the Head of Household to name a replacement if someone is taken off the chopping block. The housemates, who are encouraged to form alliances and take a strategic approach to the game, later vote privately in the Diary Room on who should be evicted.
The must-win competitions take place in the backyard, which is regularly transformed for all manner of games, puzzles, quizzes and gruelling endurance contests. If contestants want to progress far into the game, they have to work for it.
While the full gameplay format probably wouldn’t work in the UK – the public vote is crucial here and viewers love to have their say – perhaps a mix of the two would provide the perfect balance. If BB UK held similar contests to determine who was up for the public vote, or gave nominees a chance to save themselves, we could see similar high-stakes competitions play out while retaining the audience involvement.
3. A reliable format
Can anyone explain the Big Brother UK rulebook? It’s a tricky job these days, with the producers seeming to make it up as they go along. Do nominations take place in the Diary Room or face-to-face? How many nominations does it take to be up for eviction? Is it vote to save or evict? Can someone come back after we’ve paid good money to vote them out?
These are elements which can change from week to week or even episode to episode on BB UK, seemingly at the whims of the bosses.
Over on Big Brother US, the reliable format of Head of Household and Power of Veto competitions means viewers know where they stand and the game has some element of consistency from week to week. Sure, there are twists and turns thrown in along the way to shake things up, but the all-important details of those are almost always communicated with viewers in advance, rather than after the event. Take note, BB UK bosses, if you want to restore viewer trust in your format.
4. The prize fund
Big Brother US has a whopping $500,000 prize fund (£386,000), giving housemates an incentive to stick around in the house and play to win. Even Celebrity Big Brother US, which ran for the first time ever this year, had a grand prize of $250,000 (£193,000) for whichever star won the show.
The tempting cash prize ensures the stakes stay high throughout the summer and means that BB US has far fewer quitters than the UK version. Who wants to walk out in a huff when there’s such a life-changing sum of money on offer?
5. Refreshing twists
Big Brother UK has given us some fantastic twists over the years, but we’re surprised they haven’t stolen some of Big Brother US‘s most successful ones too. Our particular favourite is the always-entertaining “twin twist”, which sees identical twins posing as one housemate and periodically switching places in the Diary Room, hoping to avoid detection from their housemates.
BB6 in the US saw each housemate have a secret partner in the game, who they knew from the outside world. Each pair thought they were the only secret duo in the game and were tasked with hiding the truth from their housemates for as long as possible. These two twists provide a nod to the original social experiment format of Big Brother, testing the contestants’ powers of deception and perception in a high-pressure environment.
Housemates from US BB4 and US BB8 were also forced to play the game alongside exes, rivals and enemies from the outside world, creating new obstacles to overcome and much drama in the house.
6. Big Brother is boss
Ever feel like Big Brother is going soft? Over the last few years on BB UK, we’ve seen the housemates push their luck by fleeing through the fire escapes, ignoring instructions and threatening to quit on a daily basis.
On Big Brother US, the show implements penalty nominations and penalty eviction votes against housemates who break the rules – and given how much they all want the cash, such punishments are taken seriously.
BB US housemates are also kept on their toes with the danger of becoming a “have not” each week, which means sleeping in an uncomfortable bedroom and being put on food restrictions. No-one said Big Brother should be a holiday camp.
7. The house
Big Brother UK bosses are known to make the house as small as possible to stir up conflict among the cooped-up housemates, but Big Brother US‘s house is actually a bit more liveable. There are two floors, a luxury suite for the Head of Household and other bedrooms downstairs. This provides various nooks and crannies for the contestants to have private chats, form alliances and build up individual friendships, which can often provide some of the most interesting conversations.
The bigger scale also provides new opportunities for the game, like secret rooms or the punishment room for the “have nots” each week.
8. Dramatic speeches
Big Brother US doesn’t miss much opportunity to ramp up the drama and tension. Nomination ceremonies take place publicly around the kitchen table, with Head of Households frequently speaking their minds. Contestants give dramatic “save me” speeches at the veto meetings and live evictions. And sometimes the evicted housemate doesn’t see someone’s true colours until they watch some specially-recorded “goodbye messages” during their eviction interview.
Plenty of contestants over the years haven’t missed the opportunity to make a splash with their speeches or go out with a bang – and the show’s loyal fanbase wouldn’t have it any other way.
Celebrity Big Brother returns to Channel 5 on Thursday, August 16 at 9pm.
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