The summer is here and Big Brother 19 is on its way. The new season of the 24/7 reality competition begins Wednesday, June 28 and while we don’t know what to expect (besides the unexpected) fans certainly have their opinions.
What new twists will be coming? Will there be cast twists like returning players, siblings or secret quintuplets playing the game as one person? Is the show going to bring back Battle of the Block or Road Kill or Battle Back and will someone get tragically evicted before the live feeds even turn on?
We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, here are five things I hope we see from Big Brother 19.
No Returning Players
In the past year, we had four returning players on Big Brother 18 (one of whom won), a returning player on Big Brother: Over the Top (who finished second) and Big Brother Canada 5, with eight returning players and eight newbies (naturally a returning player won). We’ve had our fill of returning players for now, so please, give us an all-newbie cast, preferably one where no one knows each other and no one is related to a former HG. Save the returning players for next summer, because Big Brother 20 is the perfect time for a second true all-stars season.
A Wider Age Range for Houseguests
If you look at the last five seasons (including Over the Top), there have only been four HGs over the age of 33: Cornbread and Glenn Garcia, who were both the first ones evicted, plus Donny Thompson and Helen Kim. I understand that the show will always skew younger and there are bound to be plenty of pretty people in their 20s, but it would be nice to see some older, wiser and more mature HGs, especially more than one. After all, there’s a good reason that the season most people agree is the best one ever (Big Brother 10) had the oldest average age.
Strong, Independent Women
Big Brother 18 was a bit of a disappointment when new female players like Zakiyah and Natalie just let their men take charge. That’s no surprise since the show has followed a pattern in recent years where even-numbered seasons are dominated by the men and odd-numbered seasons are dominated by the women.
Since season 10, men have won more than two-thirds of the competitions in every even-numbered season. In that same time frame for odd-numbered seasons, women win over 45 percent of the competitions. So the pattern suggests that Big Brother 19 will have plenty of female winners and competitors.
And that’s what we want to see: smart, strong, capable women who don’t need to rely on a showmance to drag them to the end. We need more Vanessas and Beckys and Amandas and Rachels. The show needs strong women, especially after a season that, despite being won by a woman, was all about Paulie, Victor, Paul and James.
More OTT-Style Competitions
Big Brother: Over the Top had a lot of problems, but cool, inventive, different competitions was not one of them. From the first HoH competition, a psychological 24-hour mind game that required people to infect each other one at a time until the last one standing was the winner, to the thrilling haunted house scavenger hunt in the dark on Halloween, a lot of the OTT competitions were pleasant surprises and I hope we get more of them and less of the same, boring, predictable ones. But please, don’t do anything with mirrors and lasers, because that won’t end well.
Live Diary Rooms
Another superb addition from OTT was live diary rooms, where twice a week one of the live feed cameras would show the diary room as each HG got a chance to answer questions and explain their game. Two times per week was a bit too much, but once a week (or even once every other week) would be a fun new treat for the summer season. And while most days are pretty busy, Tuesdays, where very little usually happens inside the house, would be a great time to give live feeders three hours of diary room sessions.
Big Brother 19 begins with a two-night premiere, starting Wednesday, June 28 at 8/7c on CBS and continuing the following night at 8/7c. The 24/7 live feeds will begin Thursday, June 29.
(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.
