Big Brother 17 has come to an end, with Steve winning the half-million dollars against Liz after he evicted Vanessa in third place. Now that the season is over, It’s time to look back at some of the records and milestones the show reached.
From an extremely young Final 2 to several all-time records being tied to the surprising parallels between Steve and season 14 winner Ian Terry, here are five fun facts you may not have known about Big Brother 17.
A Very Young Final 2
Steve is 22 and Liz is 23, making for some of the youngest finalists ever. Combined, they make the second-youngest Final 2, only about 4 months older than Drew and Cowboy from season 5 (which, coincidentally, also featured a Twin Twist).
In addition, Steve is the fourth-youngest winner ever. The only younger winners are season 1’s Eddie McGee and season 14’s Ian Terry, both 21, and season 5’s Drew Daniel, who was about five months younger than Steve when he won.
The Gender Inequality
This is the fifth time that the Final 2 included a man and a woman, and every single time the man won the game. And, since season 2, this is the 12th time that men have won the majority of the HoH and PoV competitions. From the last 11 winners, only two were women: season 11’s Jordan Lloyd and season 13’s Rachel Reilly.
Steve vs. Ian
Steve drew a lot of comparisons to season 14 winner Ian Terry, and winning the game isn’t going to stop that. In fact, they both managed to win 4 HoHs during their seasons, and for both, their first HoH was during the first double eviction and their last HoH was the final one. They also both won 2 PoVs, assuming you count the Veto Ball Ian won as part of a Pandora’s Box twist.
Most-Nominated Winner
Steve is the first person to ever win the game despite being nominated in week 1. He was nominated five times, tying season 13’s Rachel Reilly for the most nominations for a winner. This is the first time since season 3 that the winner was nominated more times than the runner-up.
Tying the Records
Several records were tied this season. Johnny Mac tied season 16’s Victoria Rafaeli for playing in the most HoH/PoV competitions with 27 and he tied season 16’s Caleb Reynolds for playing in the most PoV competitions with 12.
Steve ties the record for most competition wins for a winner with six (4 HoHs and 2 PoVs), which is the exact same number that season 13’s Rachel Reilly and season 14’s Ian Terry also won.
Austin cast 12 eviction votes during the season, tying the record held by season 15 winner Andy Herren and season 16 runner-up Cody Calafiore.
BONUS SILLY FUN FACTS
This is the second year in a row that the person who finished in third place was a woman with the initials “V.R.” – Vanessa Rousso and Victoria Rafaeli. Also, no one whose first name has more than two syllables has ever won the game.
Will a woman ever win the game again? Will young people continue to dominate the game? Can someone whose first name has three or more syllables ever win? Find out next summer on Big Brother 18.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
