The news came as a bit of a shock, a welcome shock, when CBS announced its plans in regards to the upcoming season of Big Brother.  CBS promised fans of the long-running reality series drastic changes, a ploy to spark interest in a show whose ratings had slipped and fan base had become relatively frustrated by recent seasons.  New executive producer Allison Grodner has gone above and beyond what fans expected of her and is pushing all her chips onto the table for Big Brother 8.

With the announcement of the nightly Big Brother: After Dark, that will feature live and uncensored (nudity, profanity allowed) coverage from the Big Brother house, the US version of the Endemol reality franchise has finally taken the cue from its global counterparts.  Big Brother taps into our voyeuristic sensibilities, that's always been its appeal and is what made the European versions the massive hits they've become.  It was about time that the US followed suit.

The only problem here is that CBS, with all the tie-ins for this season (Big Brother Mobile, the on line live feeds, After Dark, etc.), may be viewing Big Brother 8 as the series' final chance to become a hit here in the States.  Perhaps this is not the case, but, remember, it was iffy whether or not Big Brother would even be renewed for its eighth season.  When it was renewed, it was with a new executive producer and promises of changes.  Sounds like a last-ditch effort.

Will America go for the three-hour live show every night?  Who knows?  According to the various press releases from CBS, it seems that most people who subscribe to ShowTime also receive ShoToo, the channel that will air Big Brother: After Dark.  Will fans who don't have ShoToo make the leap and order the channel?  Or will those people just stick with the online feeds? 

Really, it could go either way.  After Dark could propel Big Brother into cultural relevance here in the US, rather than remaining the fringe hit it is now.  CBS is hoping that Big Brother can turn into THE summer show in the US.  It could happen; it just depends on how voyeuristic we really are.

-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer


(Image Courtesy of Endemol)