Big Brother 22: Why This Season Will Be Different From Each That Came Before It
With the current state of the world, many Big Brother fans were worried they weren't going to get a new season this summer. Instead, fans got something they have been asking for for a very long time, Big Brother: All-Stars.
Each summer, the game is different as a result of the group of houseguests and the new twists unleashed in the game. In addition to the normal changes, this season there were some changes made due to COVID-19. The most obvious change is that the season started later than normal and is ending in late October, but that isn't the only change made this year.
10 House Design
Each year, the house gets a new design or theme and this summer is new different. In line with the theme of the season, the house has been decked out with nods to Big Brother's past. There are spray-painted murals of iconic game moves and pictures of former seasons on the wall.
While the house usually serves as decoration, this design may actually impact the game. For example, the mural of Derrick on the wall could serve as a constant reminder to houseguests that Cody was part of an extremely dangerous duo. After all, it is hard to lay low when the other house of your legacy is staring the houseguests in the face.
9 New Rooms
Each season, there are new twists that impact the game. Julie has revealed that this season, new rooms will be revealed throughout. It seems that each of these rooms will reveal a different power or punishment.
For the first three weeks, the twist will be the Saftey Suite. Houseguests can choose to compete during one of these three weeks to earn safety for themselves and one other player. It will be interesting to see what other rooms are revealed and how they affect the gameplay of the houseguests.
8 Sequester Period
Each season, the houseguests are forced to sequester before entering the house. Typically, they are kept separated from each other in a hotel room for about a week and only allowed to communicate with several members of the production team. This season, adjustments had to be made due to COVID.
The houseguests were forced to quarantine for longer than usual, staying isolated in a rented house for at least two weeks. Instead of their normal communications with the production team, they had minimal in-person contact as they were tested for COVID every few days.
7 No Live Audience
During the first few seasons of Big Brother, the front of house area looked very different to how it looks now. The design appeared to be an actual home with a yard and outdoor seating area. As the show became more popular, the appearance was transformed to make room for a live audience. A stage area was created and a simple door allowed entrance to the house.
With COVID, a live audience is not possible. Though this may initially jar audiences who have become accustomed to the format, production is working to ensure that these moments don't feel awkward.
6 Exit Interviews
Each season, after houseguests are evicted, they exit to the live audience and join Julie on the stage. There, she shakes their hand and sits down with them to ask them about their time in the house. These eviction interviews often provide insight into the thoughts of the houseguests. They also provide hilarious moments as houseguests share their raw reactions or watch their goodbye messages.
Julie has said that this season, she will be staying at least 6 feet from the houseguests and that she will not be giving the houseguests hugs or handshakes. Though the exit interviews will likely happen in some form, it is clear they will look different than what fans have seen in the past.
5 Live Move-In
After several houseguests tested positive for COVID, the cast reveal was pushed back to the premiere of the show. In order to make the premiere more exciting and to capitalize on the experience of the houseguests, the first episode featured a live move-in.
The houseguests entered in groups of 4 and faced off in a competition to earn their place in the HOH competition. The audience was thrilled to experience the houseguests interacting with each other for the first time as it was happening.
4 Guest Hosts And Commentary
Each year, former Big Brother houseguests make guest appearances on the show. Sometimes, these visits are in the form of hosting a competition, sometimes houseguests return to surprise or punish the houseguests, and sometimes they return to provide their thoughts and insights on the gameplay.
This season, production is being extremely strict about who steps foot into the house so it seems these in-person guest appearances are out of the question. It will be interesting to see if these former players will be included virtually or if the show will halt these appearances all together as there is already so much star power in the house.
3 Ages
When Big Brother first aired, the houseguests were typically in their 30s with a couple of older houseguests thrown into the mix. But in the past several seasons, the houseguests have typically been in their 20s.
As contestants are returning from the past 17 seasons, there is a large age range of the contestants this season with the youngest houseguest being 25 and the oldest being 42. With half of the cast being in their late 30s or early 40s, this is the most mature cast fans have seen in a while.
2 Lack Of Showmances
Showmances are extremely common in the Big Brother house and have become increasingly popular in recent seasons. But this season for the first time in a long while, there is a strong possibility there will be no showmances in the house.
This is because an overwhelming majority of the houseguests are in committed long-term relationships, with several of them even being married. Of those who are single, there is a huge age difference and it doesn't seem as though the remaining personalities will form a connection.
1 Returning Houseguests
This season, every single one of the houseguests is a returning player. Though this happened during the first all-stars season as well, at that point the show was still very new. This season, there are houseguests who have known each other for years.
Some of the houseguests are on good terms with each other and some aren't, meaning these existing relationships should create plenty of interesting situations.