Big Brother (2000-present)
Big Brother is an American television reality competition show based on the original Dutch reality show of the same name, which debuted in 1997 and was created by producer John de Mol. The character in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four inspired the title of the series. The American series premiered on CBS on July 5, 2000, and is currently the second longest-running adaptation in the Big Brother franchise, following the Spanish version.
The show broadly follows the premise of other versions of the format, 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 $500,000 (or $750,000 beginning with the 23rd season). During their stay in the house, the houseguests are constantly monitored by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. Houseguests are evicted from the house by being voted out of the competition throughout the competition. Ratings dropped and critical reaction grew increasingly negative during the first season (which followed the original Dutch format), prompting the series to be revamped for the second season, which focused on competition and gameplay.
The series' twenty-fourth season premiered on July 6, 2022. CBS renewed the series for a twenty-fifth season on September 25, 2022. Big Brother: Over the Top, which aired for one season and was the first reality game show to air exclusively on a streaming platform, premiered in the fall of 2016 on CBS' streaming service, CBS All Access (now Paramount+), followed by Celebrity Big Brother, which premiered on CBS in February 2018.
Genre: Reality competition
Running time: 20–23 minutes (2000), 40–120 minutes (2000–)
Production companies: Endemol USA (2000–2014), Evolution Film & Tape (2000), Orwell Productions (2000), Our House Productions (2001), Arnold Shapiro Productions (2001), Shapiro/Grodner Productions (2002–2006), Allison Grodner Productions (2007–2009), Fly on the Wall Entertainment (2010–present), Endemol Shine North America (2015–present)
Original release: July 5, 2000 –present
IMDb rating: 6.0/10
