This year, for the first time ever, CBS is doing their very first fall installment of their hit summer competition reality series, Big Brother. Every summer, super fans such as myself subscribe to the live 24/7 Internet feeds where we can literally watch the players' every moves. That's right, us die-hards can tune in whenever we wish to see the houseguests eat, sleep, fight and strategize. Yes, I do know that this is creepy, and I hear it all the time from friends when they walk into my room and see a quad-camera view of a house of people all the way in Los Angeles.
As the first fall installment of the series, it is very different from those that have aired in the summer. Dubbed as Big Brother: Over the Top, this season is strictly aired online (through CBS's All Access streaming service) and will never be featured on television. There are no television episodes, but instead us super fans tune into the 24/7 live feeds to watch the season. With the subscription that myself and others pay for this service, we are promised for the feeds to be uncensored, raw and not edited in any way by production. Great for us fans, but not so great for production who was recently caught favoring some players over others in a recent microphone leak.
During the most recent competition, what is known as the Head of Household competition where one player wins immunity and power for the whole week, production was heard rooting for a player, Whitney. This season, the house has been divided between two alliances. The competition was down to two players, one from each side of the house. In the below link, if you skip to the 1:42 mark where the final question is being read, producers let it be known that they were not happy with the results.
https://twitter.com/NotToomsClips/status/791527270..
When houseguest Whitney (right) chose the wrong answer (true) to the final question, one producer yelled out "OHH!" while another yelled out "Sh*t!" (You may need to turn your volume up in order to hear the audio). Then, executive producer Allison Grodner is heard yelling, "SHH!! Guys! F*cking stop!"
It was very clear that the producers wanted Whitney to win, who is part of an alliance known by fans as "The Plastics," as they essentially represent "The Plastics" from Mean Girls. They are opposing an alliance known as "The Misfits" as it consists of a group of people who would normally be outcasts in the outside world.
Fans have taken Twitter by storm regarding the production leak, claiming that they are siding with "The Plastics" as it is assumed that they are what the public would rather watch. Let's be honest. Would you rather watch a reality TV show with a group of people known as "misfits," or "plastics"?
The houseguests remaining in the game had also heard production speaking, and have not been very happy about it. One houseguest, Jason, stated:
"To hear production cheering on Whitney and not [Danielle] is very telling."
He goes on to say, "They're supposed to be subjective."
After saying this, production cut over the house intercom and stated: "Houseguests are not permitted to talk about production."
To which Jason replies, "Well then you better fix your face!"
While this is going on, in "The Plastics" alliance, one houseguest tells Whitney, "well at least you know production was on your side."
Since CBS has promised us viewers with live uncut 24/7 feeds from the house, there is really no way to cover up this controversy. The video is on the Internet and will continue to be on the Internet for years to come.
Although there is no proof of production actually rigging the competition to favor certain players, there is however legitimate and proven evidence that they are favoring some players over others. They may or may not be allowed to do this, but it was very unprofessional for them to leak their verbal actions into the house, as it has now began to affect the game as houseguests know that some of them are not favored by production as much of others.
Although I do not support this bias and unfair favoring, my $9.99 a month will not be going to waste, and I will continue to watch until the end of the series, hoping that production will get their act together not leak any more of their opinions.
