On the verge of completing a season that combined high ratings with relatively little controversy, “Big Brother” has been renewed for two additional seasons by CBS.
CBS announced on Wednesday (September 24), just hours before the Season 16 finale, that “Big Brother” Seasons 17 and 18 are set for the summers of 2015 and 2016 respectively.
“Big Brother” is executive produced by Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan, with Julie Chen hosting.
Also renewed for next summer? “Big Brother After Dark,” which will air on POP, the silly new name for what was formerly TV Guide Network.
“'Big Brother' continues to be the one of the summer”s most dominant programs, and with each season, Allison and Rich produce the most twisted ways to evolve the series creatively,” blurbs Chris Castallo, CBS Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming. “With its one-of-a-kind format, coupled with its passionate, socially engaged fan base, no other show comes close to duplicating it.”
For the summer, “Big Brother” is up 2 percent in total viewers and 4 percent among adults 18-49, a pretty remarkable achievement for a reality series at this stage in its run.
Even more remarkable? “Big Brother” is going to complete its 16th installment on Wednesday and nobody is going to be repulsed no matter who wins. Yes, we all expect Derrick to take home the $500,000 top prize and complete what many will consider one of the five best performances in the show's history, but Cody has been teamed with Derrick through most of his run, albeit in a much less central role. And even Victoria, who stands no chance of winning and who would probably be among the five least impressive winners in the show's history, has proved to be resilient and has made key alliances (mostly with Derrick) at the right moments.
In fact, other than Caleb's sometimes scary stalker behavior and a few comments from Frankie that didn't even make it onto the primetime telecast, “Big Brother” has cruised along this season without any of the high stakes drama of recent summers. There have been no repulsive racists or disgusting homophobes, or at least not on anywhere near the level of, say, last summer.
And with averages of 7.56 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49 (including some DVR figures), “Big Brother” fans showed this summer that bigotry isn't necessarily a key part of the show's appeal.
So kudos!
And go Derrick! [Louis Virtel will be recapping the finale for our Monkeys As Critics blog.]
Excited that “Big Brother” will be back?