Celebrity Big Brother (American TV series)

''Celebrity Big Brother'', also known as ''Big Brother: Celebrity Edition'', is a reality television spin-off series of the American adaptation of '' Big Brother'' created by John de Mol. The series began on February 7, 2018 on CBS in the United States and is simulcast in Canada on Global. The series is filmed at CBS Studio Center in sound stage eighteen located in Studio City, Los Angeles. Julie Chen Moonves reprises her role as host from ''Big Brother'' with Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan also returning as executive producers. The series is produced by Fly on the Wall Entertainment in association with Endemol Shine North America.

The premise of the series remained largely unchanged from the main edition of ''Big Brother'', in which a group of contestants, known as "HouseGuests,"
who live in a purpose-built house, known as the Big Brother House, with no contact from the outside world. The contestants compete in competitions for safety and for power over the household before voting each other out in an attempt to be the last HouseGuest remaining and win a grand prize. The difference from the parent series is the inclusion of "Celebrity" HouseGuests (those with notoriety prior to participating in the series), the time frame (a month as opposed to 3 months) and a smaller grand prize ($250,000 as opposed to $500,000)

Each season is also transmitted in real-time which allows for greater viewer participation in the form of ''America's Vote'' where the public can give their favorite HouseGuest various prizes ranging from luxury items to advantage to help them survive inside the House. Prior to the live season finale, the viewers are able to vote for their ''America's Favorite HouseGuest'' with the winner getting an auxiliary prize of $25,000.

The first overall season of ''Celebrity Big Brother'' worldwide premiered in the United Kingdom in 2001 while an American version of the format has been speculated since 2002. The first season of the American adaptation was announced during a live double eviction episode of the nineteenth regular season on September 7, 2017 by Julie Chen. The first season was scheduled during the February 2018 sweeps period to counterprogram NBC's coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The series premiere was the number one program for CBS attracting 7.27 million viewers and the highest-rated season premiere since '' Big Brother 13''. The program was often covered in the media due to the inclusion of Omarosa Manigault and her political revelations in the first season.

In September 2021, CBS renewed ''Celebrity Big Brother'' for a third season, which premiered on February 2, 2022.

Format

The series is a game show in which a group of celebrity contestants, referred to as HouseGuests, live in a custom-built set, known as the Big Brother House, constantly under video surveillance. While in the House, the HouseGuests are completely isolated from the outside world, meaning no phone, television, Internet, magazines, newspaper, or contact with those not in the House. This rule could be broken, however, in the event of a medical injury, a family emergency, or death. The format of the series is mainly seen as a social experiment, and requires HouseGuests to interact with others who may have differing ideals, beliefs, and prejudices. Though locked in the House, the HouseGuests are free to quit the game, though will not be allowed entry back into the game. Should a HouseGuest break the rules of the game, they could be expelled from the House, and unable to return. The HouseGuests compete for a grand prize of $250,000 and the runner-up is awarded $50,000. Prior to the live finale the viewers are able to award their favorite HouseGuest of the season the title ''America's Favorite HouseGuest'' with a cash prize of $25,000.

Periodically a HouseGuest will be eliminated from the competition, referred to as evicted from the House. At the start of each round, the HouseGuests compete for the title Head of Household. The Head of Household for each round is given luxuries such as their own personal bedroom, items from home and a letter of encouragement from a loved one. The winner of the Head of Household competition is immune from nominations and was instructed to nominate two fellow HouseGuests for eviction. After a HouseGuest became Head of Household he or she is ineligible to take part in the next Head of Household competition except during the final Head of Household competition where everyone is eligible to compete. The Head of Household, the two nominees and three other HouseGuests selected by random draw then compete for the Power of Veto. The winner of the Power of Veto competition wins the right to save one of the nominated HouseGuests from eviction. If the Veto winner exercises the power, the Head of Household then has to nominate another HouseGuest for eviction which at this point nominations become final.

On eviction night all HouseGuests except for the Head of Household and the two nominees votes to evict one of the two nominees. Before the voting began the nominees have the chance to say a final message to their fellow HouseGuests on why they should stay. This compulsory vote is conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room by the host Julie Chen Moonves. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household will break the tie and reveal their vote in front of the other HouseGuests. The nominee with the most votes from the other HouseGuests is evicted from the House and interviewed by Julie Chen Moonves. Unlike other versions of ''Big Brother'', the HouseGuests can discuss the nomination and eviction process open and freely.

The evicted HouseGuests of the season form the Jury that votes for the winner out of the final two HouseGuests remaining in the House on the season finale, they are known as the jury members. The production team may introduce a temporary change to the format at any time known as a twist. The HouseGuests are informed of a twist by the host or by a note given to the Head of Household to read aloud to the other HouseGuests from the production team. During the show the production team is referred to as Big Brother by the HouseGuests.

Differences from ''Big Brother''

Some aspects of the format used for '' Big Brother'' was modified or changed for the celebrity edition. Due to the condensed nature of the program evictions happen at a quicker rate with multiple evictions occurring each week. The celebrity jury members are not sequestered after their eviction and are able to catch-up on the show before voting for a winner depending on when they were evicted. In contrast jury members from the main series are sequestered in a separate house and are not allowed to watch the show except for segments that included all of the HouseGuests. They are not shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that included strategy or details regarding nominations.

The live finale features the most changes when compared to the live finales from ''Big Brother''. Five HouseGuests remained inside the House by the season finale instead of the regular three HouseGuests. Live finales of ''Big Brother'' feature a three-part final Head of Household competition with the final eviction of the season in order to reduce the number of contestants inside the House down to two. The live finale for the celebrity season was re-tooled to feature the conclusion of the final 5 round (including a pre-recorded Power of Veto competition and live eviction) then the final Head of Household competition is played in one part where the Final Head of Household wins the power to evict two HouseGuests in order to reduce the number of contestants inside the House down to two.

Production

Background

After the first season of the British version of ''Big Brother'' proved to be a success in the ratings for Channel 4, the network collaborated with the BBC
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