-REVIEW / OVERVIEW-
Who will be voted out of the house this week? When two close friends are forced to compete against each other, will it be the professional flutist or the house mama-bear? Or will it be someone completely unexpected?
CBS’s prime time reality TV series “Big Brother” has launched fans into the multiverse for its 25th season, which started Aug. 2. So far, it has lived up to their infamous tagline of “expect the unexpected.”
The objective of “Big Brother” is to be the last one standing. The show starts with 16 contestants, who live in one house together. Each week, one houseguest nominates two houseguests to be evicted, and by the end of the week one will be voted out on live TV.
Contestants compete to win the Head of Household (HOH), which grants the winner protection for the week from being evicted and the power to nominate the two other houseguests for eviction. The nominees then have a chance to take themselves off the chopping block by winning the Golden Power of Veto (POV) competition. Competitions consist of timed memory challenges, physical challenges, or a combination of of the two, often leaving contestants covered in slime, sweat or some other type of “punishment.”
If a houseguest ends up evicted by the end of the week, they are eliminated from the game. This cycle repeats every week unless there is a game-changing twist.
So far, four houseguests have been evicted and one was expelled for using a racial slur week one. The next houseguest will go home Thursday. A total of 12 houseguests remain in the game, with 57 days left in the game. The season is set to end on Nov. 9.
On the premiere night, the show’s host, Julie Chen Moonves, showcased a short clip of “Big Brother” legends Danielle Reyes, Britney Haynes and Frankie Grande breaking into the “Big Brother” house. Attempting to go back in time to have a second chance in their original seasons, they accidentally unleashed the multiverse into the “Big Brother” house.
This “Big Brother” multiverse unleashed four unique universes into the house. These include the comic-verse, scary-verse, scramble-verse and humili-verse, each with a designated part of the house that follows that theme.
But these universes are more than just house decor. These universes disturb all aspects of the game. Each competition, twist and even daily life is manipulated by these four unique universes. The multiverse has already unleashed game-changing superpowers, inconvenient punishments and temporary relocations (into said universes) with many more twists expected to originate.
The multiverse has even twisted the rules the show has followed for years. This season, “Big Brother” shocked the fanbase when the multiverse introduced a 17th houseguest, instead of the usual 16. To add to this blindside, the 17th houseguest was the infamous Survivor legend Cirie Fields. Having appeared on four seasons of Survivor, Fields has proficiency and familiarity coming into “Big Brother.”
This season has been well-received by fans for having a more diverse selection of personalities. Some include Deaflympics gold medalist Matt Klotz, political consultant Mecole Hayes, DJ Bowie Jane and molecular biologist Kirsten Elwin. The wide variety of identities makes this season an engaging watch for viewers.
Whether it’s the thrill of never knowing what comes next, or the drama and blindsides, this season is keeping the game ever-evolving. According to The Wrap, a multiplatform media company that covers the business of entertainment and media, the premiere alone drew in 3.4 million viewers while scoring a 0.73 rating among adults.
