Big Brother (franchise)

This article is about the franchise. For other uses, see Big Brother (disambiguation).

Big Brother
International logo of Big Brother
Genre	Entertainment Reality television
Created by	John de Mol
Developed by	John de Mol Endemol
Composer	Vanacore Music
Country of origin	Netherlands
Original release
Network	Veronica
Release	16 September 1999 (1999-09-16) – present

Big Brother is a reality game show franchise created by John de Mol, originally broadcast in the Netherlands. In the show, contestants called "housemates" or "house guests" live together in a specially-constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. During their stay in the house, contestants are continuously monitored by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones. Each season lasts for about three months, with at least ten contestants entering the house during this time. To win the final cash prize, a contestant must survive periodic (usually weekly) evictions and be the last housemate or house guest remaining in the compound by the series' conclusion. In English-speaking countries, the program is often referred to as "BB".

Background

History

The ideas for Big Brother are said to originate from a brainstorming session at the Dutch-based international television production firm Endemol on 10 March 1997 . The first version of Big Brother was broadcast in 1999 on Veronica in the Netherlands. Since then, the format has become a worldwide TV franchise.

Although each country has variations on the original format, the common theme is that the contestants are confined to the house and have their every action recorded by cameras and microphones; and that no contact with the outside world is permitted.

The term Big Brother originates from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, with its theme of continuous oppressive surveillance. The program also relies on other techniques, such as a stripped back-to-basic environment, evictions, weekly tasks and competitions set by Big Brother and the "Diary or Confession Room" where housemates convey their thoughts to camera and reveal their nominees for eviction. Contestants are required to evict one of their own on a regular basis. In the earlier series of Big Brother, contestants were evicted every two weeks. However, the UK version introduced weekly evictions, so now almost all versions of Big Brother now follow the weekly eviction format.

In regular intervals, the housemates privately nominate a number of fellow housemates whom they wish get evicted from the house. In several seasons, however, housemates regularly make their nominations in front of every housemate. The housemates with the most nominations are then announced, and viewers are given the opportunity to vote via telephone for whom they wish to see evicted. Some more recent editions have since included additional methods of voting, such as voting through social media and smartphone applications. The exceptions to this process are in the American and Canadian versions, in which the housemates vote to evict each other. After the votes are tallied, the "evictee" leaves the house and is interviewed by the host of the show. In some cases, two housemates may be evicted simultaneously (a "double eviction"); rarely, no housemates will be removed that week. At the end of the game the last remaining housemate is declared the winner for the particular series and receives prizes (often including a large amount of money, a car, a vacation and—in some editions—a house).

In the first season of most series of Big Brother, the house was very basic. Although essential amenities such as running water, furniture and a limited ration of food were provided, luxury items were often forbidden. This added a survivalist element to the show, increasing the potential for social tension. Nearly all later series provide a modern house for the contest with a jacuzzi, sauna, VIP suite, loft and other luxuries.

The contestants are required to do housework and are assigned tasks by the producers of the show (who communicate with the housemates via the omnipresent authority figure known to them only as "Big Brother"). The tasks are designed to test their teamwork abilities and community spirit; in some countries, the housemates' shopping budget or weekly allowance depends on the outcome of assigned tasks. The housemates have a weekly allowance, with which they can buy food and other essentials.

Most international versions of the show remain quite similar to each other; their main format remains true to the original fly on the wall observational style with the emphasis on human relationships, to the extent that contestants are forbidden from discussing nominations or voting strategy. Since 2001 the American version adopted a different format from the others during its second season, where the contestants are encouraged to strategize to advance in the game. In this format the contestants themselves vote to evict each other. In 2011, the UK version controversially adapted the discussion of nominations before reverting this rule back after a poll by Big Brother broadcaster Channel 5.

Overview

From a sociological and demographic perspective, Big Brother allows an analysis of how people react when forced into close confinement with people outside of their comfort zone (with different opinions or ideals, or from a different socioeconomic group). The viewer has the opportunity to see how a person reacts from the outside (through the constant recording of their actions) and the inside (in the Diary or Confession Room). The Diary Room is where contestants can privately express their feelings about the game, strategy and the other contestants. The results range from violent or angry confrontations to genuine and tender connections (often including romantic interludes).

The show is notable for involving the Internet. Although the show typically broadcasts daily updates during the evening (sometimes criticized for heavy editing by producers from viewers and former contestants alike), viewers can also watch a continuous feed from multiple cameras on the Web in most countries. These websites were successful, even after some national series began charging for access to the video stream. In some countries, Internet broadcasting was supplemented by updates via email, WAP and SMS. The house is shown live on satellite television, although in some countries there is a 10–15 minute delay to allow libelous or unacceptable content (such as references to people not participating in the program who have not consented to have personal information broadcast) to be removed.

Contestants occasionally develop sexual relationships; the level of sexual explicitness allowed to be shown in broadcast and Internet-feed varies according to the country's broadcasting standards.

Isolation

Big Brother contestants are isolated in the house, without access to television, radio or the Internet. They are not permitted routine communication with the outside world. This was an important issue for most earlier series of the show. In more-recent series, contestants are occasionally allowed to view televised events (usually as a reward for winning at a task). In most versions of the program books and writing materials are also forbidden, although exceptions are sometimes made for religious materials such as the Bible, Tanakh or the Qur'an. Some versions ban all writing implements, even items that can be used to write (such as lipstick or eyeliner). Despite the housemates' isolation, some contestants are occasionally allowed to leave the house as part of tasks. Contestants are permitted to leave the house in an emergency.

Contestants have regularly-scheduled interactions with the show's host on eviction nights. Throughout each day the program's producer, in the "Big Brother" voice, issues directives and commands to contestants. Some versions of the show allow private counseling sessions with a psychologist. These are allowed at any time, and are often conducted by telephone from the Diary Room.

Format changes and twists

Regional versions

Locations of Big Brother versions:

  With individual franchises

  Part of Big Brother Africa

  Part of Big Brother Angola e Moçambique; Also part of Big Brother Africa

  With individual franchises; Also part of Big Brother Africa

  Part of Big Brother: الرئيس

  Part of Gran Hermano del Pacífico

  With individual franchises; Also part of Gran Hermano del Pacífico

  Part of Veliki brat

  With individual franchises; Also part of Big Brother of Scandinavia

Due to the intelligibility of certain languages across several nations, it has been possible to make regional versions of Big Brother. All these follow the normal Big Brother rules, except that contestants must come from each of the countries in the region where it airs: Big Brother Angola e Moçambique of Angola and Mozambique, Big Brother Africa of Africa (includes Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), Big Brother: الرئيس of the Middle East (includes Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, and Tunisia), Gran Hermano del Pacífico of South America (includes Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru), Big Brother of Scandinavia (includes Norway and Sweden), and Veliki brat of the Balkans (includes Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia). The British version of the show accepts Irish applicants and was available between 2000 and 2010 as Channel 4 was available; as of 2015 the show returned to Irish screens as TV3 bought the rights from UK broadcaster Channel 5 to air the show.

Multiple areas and houses

In 2001, Big Brother 3 of the Netherlands introduced the "Rich and Poor" concept, wherein the house is separated into a luxurious half and a poor half and two teams of housemates fight for a place in the luxurious half. The Dutch version continued this concept until its fourth season. Other versions later followed and introduced a similar concept, of which some have their own twists: Africa (in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013), Albania (in 2010), Australia (in 2003 and 2013), Balkan States (in VIP 2010 and 2011), Brazil (in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014), Canada (2013–present), Denmark (in 2003), Finland (in 2009 and 2014), France (in 2009, 2011–present), Germany (in 2003, 2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2008 and 2008–2009), Greece (in 2003), India (in 2012 and 2013), Israel (in 2009), Italy (in 2006 and 2007), Norway (in 2003), Philippines (in 2009, Teen 2010 and 2011), Poland (in 2002), Portugal (in VIP 2013 and 2016), Slovakia (in 2005), Slovenia (in 2008, 2015 and 2016), Scandinavia (in 2005), South Africa (in 2014), Spain (in VIP 2004, 2008, 2009–2010 and 2010), United Kingdom (in 2002, Celebrity 2007, 2008, Celebrity 2013 and 2016), and United States (in 2009–present).

In 2011-2012 (GH7), the Argentinian edition added "La Casa de al Lado" ("The House Next Door"), a smaller, more luxurious house which served multiple functions. The first week it hosted 4 potential housemates, and the public voted for two of them to enter the main house. The second week, two pairs of twins competed in the same fashion, with only one pair allowed in. Later, the 3rd, 4th and 5th evicted contestants were given the choice of staying on their way out and they competed for the public's vote to reenter the house. Months later, after one of the contestants left the house voluntarily, the House Next Door reopened for four contestants who wanted to reenter and had not been in such a playoff before. The House Next Door was also used in other occasions to allow contestants from the main house for limited periods of time, especially to have some more privacy (which of course could be seen by the public).

Evil Big Brother

In 2004, the fifth series of the UK version introduced an evil Big Brother. Big Brother becomes villainous with harsher punishments, such as taking away prize money, more difficult tasks and secret tricks. This concept has also been used in Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, South America, Scandinavia, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the Philippines, and Mexico.

Twin or triplet housemates

In 2004, the Big Brother 5 of the US version introduced twins Adria & Natalie Montgomery. They were tasked to switch back and forth in the house. If they successfully changed places numerous times for five weeks without being caught, they could play the game as individual house guests. This twist was used again in 2015 during Big Brother 17 following slightly different rules: If they successfully changed places numerous times for five weeks without being evicted, they could play the game as individual house guests. The twins Liz and Julia Nolan were discovered after the first two weeks, but were not evicted before being able to play as individuals.

This twin/triplet twist was used in several countries. Some made modifications in this said twist; others have had twins in the house together without this element of secrecy. The following are the countries that have featured twins or triplets: Australia (in 2005), Germany (in 2005-2006), Bulgaria (in 2006 and 2012), United Kingdom (in 2007, Celebrity 2011, Celebrity 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016), France (in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015) and 2016, Spain (in 2007 and 2013), Poland (in 2007), India (in 2008), Africa (in 2009), Balkan Region (in 2009, 2013), Philippines (in 2009, Teen 2012 and 2014), Portugal (in 2010 and 2012), Israel (in 2011), Ukraine (in 2011), Argentina (in 2011, 2016) and Albania (in 2013).

Secret missions

Secret missions are a common element of the show since their introduction during the sixth UK series. During these missions, one or more housemates are set a task from Big Brother with the reward of luxuries for the household and/or a personal reward if the task is successful. Some versions of Big Brother have secret tasks presented by another character who lives in plain sight of the housemate. Such characters include Marsha the Moose (from BB Canada) and Surly the Fish (from BB Australia).

The U.S. version of Season 8 (2007) introduced "America's Player", where a selected house guest must complete various tasks (determined by public vote) in secret for the duration of his stay in the house in exchange for a cash reward . It was repeated in U.S. Season 10 (Summer 2008) for a week. Season 16 (2014) featured "Team America", in which 3 houseguests were selected to work as a team to complete tasks (again determined by public voting) for a cash reward. This continued for the entire season despite the eviction of a member.

Opening night twists

Since Big Brother 2, the UK series has opened with a twist. This has included the public choosing the final housemate from three possibilities (Big Brother 2); public voting for a housemate to leave during the first week and the housemates choosing between two housemates with the least number of votes (Big Brother 3); first-night nominations (Big Brother 4); suitcase nominations (Big Brother 5); Unlucky Housemate 13 (Big Brother 6); Big Brother Hood (Big Brother 7); an all-female house and a set of twins as contestants (Big Brother 8); a couple entering as housemates, who must hide their relationship (Big Brother 9); housemates having to earn housemate status (Big Brother 10); a mole entering the house with an impossible task (Big Brother 11); Jackie Stallone entering a house containing her son's ex-wife (Celebrity Big Brother 3); a non-celebrity in a celebrity edition (Celebrity Big Brother 4) and a visit from Jade Goody's family (Celebrity Big Brother 5). During Celebrity Big Brother 6 La Toya Jackson entered first, walked straight into a private bedroom (the bedrooms are usually locked until everyone has arrived) and put her bag on the bed to claim it as her own. Terry Christian became head of the house which was used at the end of the previous non-celebrity series and had to nominate three housemates for the first eviction; the others voted to save one of the nominees, Ben Adams, leaving Lucy Pinder and eventual winner Ulrika Jonsson to face the first eviction. In the summer series of 2009 the house was empty at first, with only crates to sit on. The new arrivals had to earn housemate status by completing tasks; Noirin Kelly was required to shave off her hair and draw a mustache and glasses on her face. Freddie Fisher and eventual winner Sophie Reade had to change their names by deed poll to Halfwit and Dogface. On day four, the six people who had not received housemate status were nominated for a public vote. The person with the fewest votes (Beinazir Lasharie) left, and the house was transformed into a "Big Brother" house. Other countries, such as Bulgaria, the United States and (previously) Australia, have also begun using opening-night twists.

As common opening twist is to only introduce a single sex cast on the premiere of the show while having members of the other sex introduced over the next few days. The eighth UK series first used this twist with an initial all-female house. However, two days later one male housemate arrived. The same twist was used in Bulgaria (BB4). Africa (BBA4) used a similar twist, with an all-male premiere.

Fake evictions

The fifth UK edition introduced fake evictions, where one or two housemates are "evicted". In the eighth UK Series one housemate was evicted, interviewed and sent back into the house.

In the fifth Philippine edition, four housemates (Daniel Matsunaga, Manolo Pedrosa, Jane Oineza, and Vickie Rushton) were fake evicted and stayed in a place called bodega.

In Big Brother Australia 2013 Benjamin 'Ben' Zabel was "fake" evicted on Day 50. He was removed and put into the house's presidential suite, where he spent 24 hours without the other housemates knowing he was still in the house. He had immunity from eviction that week. After his 24 hours, Ben returned to the house. In Big Brother Australia 2014 Travis Lunardi was "fake" evicted and Ben who was fake evicted from the previous edition joined him for 24 hours to give him some advice. Travis returned after 3 days total in the Sanctuary — a small private house with a pool and some amenities. Like Ben from his fake eviction, Travis had immunity from eviction that week.

In Big Brother Brasil 13 Anamara Barreira was "fake" evicted. She was removed and put into a small private apartment without the other housemates knowing she was still in the house. After 24 hours, Anamara returned to the house as Head of Household and with immunity from eviction that week. In Big Brother Brasil 16, an similar situation happened, Ana Paula Renault was "fake" evicted. She was also removed and put into a small private apartment without the other housemates knowing she was still in the house. After 48 hours, Ana Paula returned to the house. She had immunity from eviction that week.

In first season of the Big Brother Türkiye, there's a fake eviction in week 10. Arsel and Hüseyin are part of the fake eviction. Also this week, Seda and Yasin returned the show.

In Big Brother Canada 4, first Kelsey Faith and then Loveita Adams (who were rivals in the house) were evicted in a fake double eviction on Day 28. At the end of the episode, Kelsey and Loveita moved into a special suite where they were able to watch the remaining houseguests. A week later, the remaining houseguests were required to unanimously decide who to bring back into the house. The houseguests chose to bring back Kelsey.

Twists involving multi-franchises

Housemate exchanges

In 2002, Mexico (BBM1) and the Spain (GH3) temporarily made housemate exchanges. Mexico's Eduardo Orozco swapped with Spain's Andrés Barreiro in 7 days. In 2010, the first 2-housemates exchange was held in Spain and Italy. Gerardo Prager and Saray Pereira from GH11 of Spain was swapped with Carmela Gualtieri and Massimo Scattarella of GF10 of Italy for 7 days.

In later years, several housemate exchanges were done around the world: Argentina (GH3) and Spain (GH4), Ecuador (GH1) and Mexico (BBM2), and Africa (BBA1) and United Kingdom (BB4) in 2003; Scandinavia (BB2) and Thailand (BBT2) in 2006; Philippines (PBB2) and Slovenia (BB1), and Argentina (GH5) and Spain (GH9) in 2007; Africa (BBA3) and Finland (BB4) in 2008; Finland (BB5) and Philippines (PBB3) in 2009; Finland (BB6) and Slovenia (BBS1) in 2010; Spain (GH12) and Israel (HH3) in 2010 to 2011; Finland (BB7) and Norway (BB4) in 2011; Argentina (GH7) and Israel (HH4) in 2012; and Mexico (BB4) and Spain (GH16) in 2015.

Evicted housemate exchanges

In 2003, Mexico's Isabel Madow (BB VIP2) and Spain's Aída Nízar (GH5) was swapped for 7 days. This twist was also done between Russia (BBR1) and Pacific (GHP1) in 2005; and Argentina (GH4) and Brazil (BBB7) in 2007.

Evicted housemate visits

Anouska Golebiewski, an evicted housemate from United Kingdom (housemate from BB4) visited Australia (BB3) in 2003. In 2005, United Kingdom (Nadia Almada of BB5) visited Australia (BB5) again. In 2006, United Kingdom (Chantelle Houghton of CBB4) visited Germany (BBG6). This twist was copied in later years by various other countries: Africa (Ricardo Ferreira of BBA3) visited Brazil (BBB9) in 2009; Germany (Annina Ucatis and Sascha Schwan of BBG9) visited the Philippines (PBB3) in 2010, and Italy (George Leonard and Veronica Ciardi of GF10) visited Albania (BB3) in 2010; Sweden (Martin Granetoft and Peter OrrmyrSara Jonsson of BB5) visited Norway (BB4) in 2011; Brazil (Rafael Cordeiro of BBB12) visited Spain (GH12), and Argentina (Agustín Belforte of GH4) visited Colombia (GH2) in 2012; United States (Dan Gheesling of BB10/BB14) visited Canada (BB1 and the BB2 Jury) in 2013; Canada (Emmett Blois of BB1) visited South Africa (BBM3) in 2014; and Spain (Paula Gonzalez of GH 15) visited Mexico (BBM4) in 2015.

A similar event took place between the United States and Canada in 2014 wherein Rachel Reilly (from BB12/BB13) made a video chat to Canada (BB2). Rachel Reilly also appeared on Big Brother Canada's side show, which airs after the eviction episode once a week.

Housemates competing in another country

There were times that a former housemate from his franchise participated and competed in another foreign franchise: Daniela Martins of France (SS3) competed in Portugal (SS1); Daniel Mkongo of France (SS5) competed in Italy (GF12); Brigitte Nielsen of Denmark (BB VIP) competed in the United Kingdom (CBB3); Jade Goody of the United Kingdom (BB3, BB Panto, and CCB5) competed in India (BB2); Sava Radović of Germany (BB4) competed in the Balkan States (VB1); Nikola Nasteski of the Balkan States (VB4) competed in Bulgaria (BB All-Stars 1); Žarko Stojanović of France (SS5) competed in the Balkan States (VB VIP5); Željko Stojanović of France (SS5) competed in the Balkan States (VB VIP5); Kelly Baron of Brazil (BBB13) competed in Portugal (BB VIP); Lucy Diakovska of Bulgaria (VIP B4) competed in Germany (PBB1); Leila Ben Khalifa of Italy (GF6) competed in France (SS8); Priya Malik of Australia (BB11) competed in India (BB9), Tim Dormer of Australia (BB10) and Nikki Grahame of the United Kingdom (BB7, UBB) competed in Canada (BB4); Leonel Estevao-Luto of Africa (BB4) competed in Angola & Mozambique (BB3); Frankie Grande of the United States (BB16) competed in the United Kingdom (CBB18); Fanny Rodrigues of Portugal (SS2) competed in France (SS10); Tucha Anita of Angola (BB3) competed in Portugal (SS6).

Other twists

• Task visits: Cathrine Petersen and Henrik Andreassen of Denmark's BB4 and Patricia Andersen and Umar Nyonyintono of Sweden's BB6 visited each country's Big Brother Houses for 7 days in 2012.
• Kidnapping: Annica Englund of Sweden's BB6 was kidnapped by Denmark's BB4 for 7 days in 2012.
• Current-to-evicted housemate exchange: Evicted Laisa Portella of Brazil (housemate from BBB12) was exchanged with Non-Evicted Noemí Merino of Spain's GH13 in 2012. Portella stayed in the Spanish Big Brother House for 7 days, while Merino stayed in the Brazilian Big Brother house for 5 days.
• Casting selection exchange: Doroti Polito and Leonia Coccia of Italy's GF9 visited Spain's GH10 in 2009.
• Red Button: Gran Hermano Argentina Series 7 (GH7) incorporated a red button in the Confession Room, encased in a transparent box. This button was to be used when a contestant wanted to leave the house voluntarily, and it would fire an alarm in the whole house. When the alarm sound ceased, the contestant would be given five minutes to leave the house. This button is also used in Secret Story series, however in this case whoever presses the button will try to guess someone's secret. There is also an alarm in the whole house.
• Telephone: Gran Hermano Argentina Series 4 (GH4) added a telephone in the living room. This telephone rang once a week for ten seconds, and if nobody picked up the call, the full house would be nominated for eviction. The first person to pick up the receiver was given an order or news from Big Brother, either to their benefit or against them. If an order was refused, they would be nominated for eviction.

Multi-franchise competitions

Eurovision Song Contest

Team and Song	Jury's points				Dates					Winner
	GF11	BB5	GH6	Total	Tests	Performance	Performance	Ratings	Closed
GH12: "A-Ba-Ni-Bi"	12	12	12	36	30 Dec 2010 to 4 Jan 2011	5 Jan 2011	6 Jan 2011	7 Jan 2011	8 Jan 2011	GH12
HH3: "Bandido"	10	10	10	30

FIFA World Cup

Series participants	Prize	Points	Winner	Date
BB10 Germany BB11 United Kingdom	A screening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup (Round of 16) Germany vs. England game	After five penalties, the score was 1–1 and the game went to sudden death. After 36 penalties, German housemate Robert shot the ball wide and UK housemate Ife scored, winning 2–1.	BB11	26 June 2010

Others

In Germany, a new sixth-season version of the show was Big Brother - Das Dorf (Big Brother - The Village). The season ended after 363 days in February 2006 because of low ratings. For season seven, RTL II switched back to a traditional version. The fourth Greek season introduced a mother. During the tenth week of the seventh UK season, the housemates were paired with their "best friend" in the house and had to nominate and face eviction as couples. The ninth American season added a romantic aspect by pairing up the housemates up and having them compete as couples.

The ninth Brazilian season featured the "Bubble": a glass house in a shopping mall in Rio de Janeiro where four potential housemates lived for a week. Later in the season a bubble was built inside the Big Brother house, with another two housemates living in it for a week until they were voted in and the glass house dismantled. The Glass House later was reused in the eleven season, featuring five evicted housemates competing for a chance to join the house again and in thirteen Brazilian season, with six potential housemates competing for two places in the main house.

A familiar twist occurred in the second celebrity edition of the Philippine version, where two housemates related by profession or family played as one. Also in the Philippine version, the second season of the teen edition, also featured the parents/guardians of the teens that are staying in the house. The parents had their own living quarters and were considered as housemates. If a teen housemate was evicted, the coinciding parent/guardian would also be evicted. In Celebrity Hijack UK evicted housemates were given the opportunity to choose if a "ninja" delivered good or bad gifts to the house. Later that year Big Brother Australia 2008 introduced the Housemate Hand Grenade, where an evicted housemate decided which housemate received a penalty. Big Brother 5 of Bulgaria, which began in early 2010, introduced a new family format (Big Brother Family). Whole families entered the house with their spouses, children and relatives. They received a salary for their stay and the winning family received a cash prize, a car and an apartment. The eleventh American season featured Pandora's Box, in which the winning head of household was tempted (with money, a celebrity visit or time alone with a loved one) to open a box. If an HoH chooses to open Pandora's Box, however, there may be unintended consequences.

The twelfth American season featured a saboteur, who entered the house to wreak havoc with tasks suggested by viewers. Big Brother Africa 6 in 2011 was the first season of Big Brother to have two winners, each getting $200,000. The thirteenth American season introduced Dynamic Duos, where eight new house guests would enter the house with three duos from past seasons. The fourth Philippine season featured Unli-Day and Unli-Night, where two separate groups of housemates were covered in two separate programs. It also introduced reserved housemates, shortlisted auditioners who were given a chance to be a housemate by completing tasks assigned by Big Brother (this was also done in Argentina's seventh season). The Philippine version introduced the 100-second session, in which housemates are given a chance to be with their loved ones for only 100 seconds in the Confession Room. The fourteenth American season had four house guests from past seasons returning to the house to coach twelve new house guests. The four returning house guests played their own game for a separate prize of $100,000 until they joined the normal game later after a reset twist. The fifteenth American season Introduced the Big Brother M.V.P twist where every week, the viewers would vote one of the house guests who the viewers thought was playing the best game, also introduced three nominations in the US version where the HOH would nominate the first two houseguests for eviction (like in previous seasons) while the 3rd nomination is made by the M.V.P of that week in a further twist for the M.V.P, the viewers decided who the 3rd nominee would be for the week, half way into the season the M.V.P twist ended and the show continued on with just 2 nominees a week as in previous seasons.

In the fourteenth Brazilian season, 7 mothers and 2 aunts, relatives of the 9 remaining housemates, entered the Big Brother Brasil house to celebrate International Women's Day. The housemates could not see or touch their relatives because the house was divided by a wall. An improvised house was assembled for the mothers and aunts. They stayed in the house for 6 days.

The sixteenth American season and the seventeenth American season featured two Heads of Household every week and had four House Guests nominated for eviction. While, in previous seasons, the HoH was guaranteed immunity until the next eviction, this was not the case due to a new competition called "Battle of the Block," in which the two sets of nominees compete to save themselves. The winning pair of nominees were removed from the block while dethroning the HoH who nominated them; while the Battle of the Block winners were ineligible to be named as a replacement nominee if the Veto was used, the dethroned HoH was not.

Special editions

Celebrity and VIP Big Brother

The Big Brother format has been adapted in some countries; the housemates are local celebrities, and the shows are called Celebrity Big Brother or Big Brother VIP. In some countries, the prize money normally awarded to the winning housemate is donated to a charity, and all celebrities are paid to appear in the show as long as they do not voluntarily leave before their eviction or the end of the series. The rest of the rules are nearly the same as those of the original version. The celebrity version has become particularly popular in the UK, causing UK broadcaster Channel 5 to extend its deal with Endemol enabling them to air two celebrity series in addition to the civilian version every year from 2012, and as of 2016 18 series have aired and in 2019 it will celebrate its 20th series in the summer. In Bulgaria, VIP Brother has replaced the original format of the show and more seasons of the celebrity edition have been produced compared to the regular one. Due to the show's popularity there, it lasts for two months unlike most countries where it only airs for a month.

Variations

The 2006 Netherlands series was entitled Hotel Big Brother. This variation introduced a group of celebrity hoteliers and a Big Boss, who run a hotel and collect money for charity without nominations, evictions or a winner.

Another variation appeared in the UK in early 2008, entitled Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. This temporarily replaced the 2007 Celebrity Big Brother in the wake of a racial-abuse incident. Instead of celebrities playing housemates the celebrities became Big Brother himself, creating tasks and holding nominations with the help of Big Brother. The housemates were considered by the producers "Britain's most exceptional and extraordinary" 18- to 21-year-olds. The prize for the winner of the series was £50,000.

In 2009 VIP Brother 3 Bulgaria introduced the concept of celebrities competing for charitable causes, sometimes allowed to leave the house to raise money for the charity (which changed each week).

US and English Canadian version

Further information on these Big Brother versions: Big Brother (U.S.) and Big Brother Canada

The United States and Canada's version of Big Brother is different from most versions of the series. The American series began in 2000 with a format much similar to the international format, however, due to poor ratings and the strong popularity of Survivor, beginning in the second season, a more game play-oriented format was implemented where the contestants are encouraged to strategize and form alliances with others to avoid weekly eviction and improve their chance at winning. For this new format, a group of 12 to 16 contestants, known as "HouseGuests," compete to win the series by voting each other off and being the last HouseGuest remaining. One HouseGuest, known as the Head of Household (HoH), must nominate two of their fellow house guests for eviction. The winner of the Power of Veto (PoV, introduced in the 3rd American season) has the option to save one of the nominees for eviction, forcing the HoH to nominate another house guest in his or her place. The HouseGuest then vote to evict one of the nominees, and the HouseGuest with the most votes is evicted. When only two HouseGuests remain, the most recently evicted HouseGuests (generally 7 or 9) form The Jury and decide which of the two remaining house guests would win the grand prize.

In 2013, English-speaking Canada began its own version based on the US version, but the viewing audience are given more control of the game. Secret tasks were also introduced and are usually presented by the show's mascot "Marsha the Moose". These two elements cause fans of the show to call it a hybrid of the U.S edition and the U.K/international editions.

Elements of this format (such as having one contestant winning the position of or similar to Head of Household or allowing contestants to talk and strategize about the nomination/eviction process) have been adapted in other editions of the show, notably the French Canadian version, where the format was followed almost exactly, but the public could evict a housemate on some occasions, and eventually decided the winner in the end.

Other editions

The Big Brother format has been otherwise modified in some countries:

• Big Brother: All-Stars (Belgium, 21 days; Bulgaria: Season 1–4, 27–29 days; United States, 72 days; United Kingdom, 18 days; Canada, 64 days; Africa, 91 days; Spain, 56 days; Portugal Secret Story: Season 1–4, 22–50 days): Previous housemates from previous seasons compete. Belgium was the first country to have an All-Stars season (2003). Bulgaria was the first country to have 3 All-Stars season (2014). Portugal was the first country to have 4 All-Stars season (2015). Following the end of Celebrity Big Brother 18 in the UK, there have been many rumors about an all-star Celebrity Big Brother 20.
• Big Brother: Reality All-Stars (Sweden, 6 days; Denmark, 32 days; Spain, 56 days): Contestants from different reality shows, including Big Brother, compete.
• Big Brother: You Decide / Big Brother: Back in the House / Big Brother: Try Out (Poland: Season 1–2, 7–13 days; Norway, 9 days; Serbia, 7 days): Housemates, new or old, compete for a spot in the next regular season without nominations or evictions.
• Teen Big Brother (United Kingdom, 10 days; Philippines: Season 1–4, 42–91 days): Teen aged 13 and older compete.
• Big Brother: All In: A mix of teenagers, regular adults, and celebrities compete in one season.
• Secret Story (France, Lithuania, Portugal, Netherlands, Peru & Albania): Each housemate has a secret.
• Big Brother Panto (United Kingdom, 11 days): Housemates from previous series spent time in the Big Brother House to perform a pantomime at the series' end.

For their tenth year celebration, the Philippines held Pinoy Big Brother: 737, where two editions were held in one season, a teen edition and a regular edition for adult housemates. Two sets of four finalists from each batch made it to the finale, which resulted to having two winners for this season.

There are also "test runs", with a group of celebrities (or journalists) living in the house for several days to test it. There are occasions where people who have auditioned for the show are also put in the house, most notably in the British edition, where many housemates claim to have met before. These series have been televised in Argentina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, the Pacific region, the Philippines, and Spain. In some cases, it is not broadcast, but in others, such as the U.S. edition, it is used as a promotional tool.

Versions

Through 21 September 2016, Big Brother has produced 385 winners in over 54 franchises. The most recent winner is Nicole Franzel from the United States.

  Currently airing (9)

  An upcoming season (17)

  Status unknown (7)

  No longer airing (28)

Country/Region	Local title	Network(s)	Winner(s)	Presenter(s)
Africa	Big Brother Africa	M-Net DStv (live)	Season 1, 2003: Cherise Makubale Season 2, 2007: Richard Dyle Bezuidenhout Season 3, 2008: Ricardo Venancio Season 4, 2009: Kevin Chuwang Season 6, 2011: Karen Igho & Wendall Parsons Season 7, 2012: Keagan Petersen Season 8, 2013: Dillish Matthews Season 9, 2014: Idris Sultan Season 10, 2017: Upcoming season	Current Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa (4–) Former Kabelo Ngakane (2–3) Mark Pilgrim (1)
	Big Brother Africa: All-Stars		Season 5, 2010: Uti Nwachukwu
Albania Kosovo	Big Brother Albania	Top Channel Digit-Alb Website	Season 1, 2008: Arbër Çepani Season 2, 2009: Qetsor Ferunaj Season 3, 2010: Jetmir Salaj Season 4, 2011: Ermela Mezuraj Season 5, 2012: Arbër Zeka Season 6, 2013: Anaidi Kaloti Season 7, 2014: Nevila Omeri Season 8, 2015: Vesel Kurtishaj Season 9, 2017: Upcoming season	Current Arbana Osmani (1 – 7, 9-) Former Ledion Liço (8)
Angola Mozambique	Big Brother Angola	DStv	Season 1, 2014: Larama da Silva Season 2, 2015: Luna Vambano & Mr. Norway Vunge	Dicla Burity (1–) Emerson Miranda (3)
	Big Brother Angola e Moçambique		Season 3, 2016: Anderson Mistake & Papetchulo
Arab World	Big Brother: الرئيس Big Brother: The Boss	MBC 2	Season 1, 2004: Discontinued	Razan Moughrabi
Argentina	Gran Hermano	Telefe Canal 4 DirecTV (live;1–3, 6–8) Cablevisión (live; 4–5, 8)	Season 1, 2001: Marcelo Corazza Season 2, 2001: Roberto Parra Season 3, 2002–03: Viviana Colmenero Season 4, 2007: Marianela Mirra Season 5, 2007: Esteban Morais Season 6, 2010–11: Cristian Urrizaga Season 7, 2011–12: Rodrigo Fernández	Main host: Soledad Silveyra (1–3) Jorge Rial (4–9) Mariano Peluffo (7) Debate: Pamela David (8–9)
		América TV	Season 8, 2015: Francisco Delgado Season 9, 2016: Luis Fabián Galessio Season 10, 2017: Upcoming season
	Gran Hermano Famosos	Telefe Cablevisión (live)	Season 1, 2007: Diego Leonardi Season 2, 2017: Upcoming season	Jorge Rial
Australia	Big Brother Australia	Network Ten (1—8) TV2 (1–3, 5) Prime (4) Nine Network (9—11) TV3 (10–11)	Season 1, 2001: Ben Williams Season 2, 2002: Peter Corbett Season 3, 2003: Regina Bird Season 4, 2004: Trevor Butler Season 5, 2005: Greg Matthew Season 6, 2006: Jamie Brooksby Season 7, 2007: Aleisha Cowcher Season 8, 2008: Terri Munro Season 9, 2012: Benjamin Norris Season 10, 2013: Tim Dormer Season 11, 2014: Ryan Ginns	Gretel Killeen (1-7) Kyle Sandilands (8) Jackie O (8) Sonia Kruger (9–11)
	Celebrity Big Brother	Network Ten	Season 1, 2002: Dylan Lewis	Gretel Killeen
Balkans	Veliki Brat – Big Brother	RTL (4-5) B92 (1 – 3, 5) OBN (5) RTRS (5) Sitel (5) Prva (5) Pink BH (1 – 4) Pink M (1 – 4) Pink (4) A1 (3)	Season 1, 2006: Ivan Ljuba Season 2, 2007: Discontinued Season 3, 2009: Vladimir Arsić Season 4, 2011: Marijana Čvrljak Season 5, 2015: Darko Petkovski	Marijana Mićić (1, 3-4) Antonija Blaće (4-5) Ana Grubin (2) Sky Wikluh (5)
	Veliki Brat VIP	B92 (1-2, 5) BN (5) Prva (5) OBN (5) Sitel (5) Pink (3-4) Pink M (1 – 4) Pink BH (1 – 4) A1 (4)	Season 1, 2007: Saša Ćurčić Season 2, 2008: Mimi Đurović Season 3, 2009: Miki Đuričić Season 4, 2010: Milan Marić Season 5, 2013: Žarko Stojanović	Marijana Mićić (3 – 5) Milan Kalinić (2-3) Ana Grubin (1-2)
	Veliki Brat – Generalna proba	B92	Season 1, 2006: Jelena Provči & Marko Miljković	Marijana Mićić
Belgium	Big Brother	Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2000: Steven Spillebeen Season 2, 2001: Ellen Dufour Season 3, 2002: Kelly Vandevenne Season 4, 2003: Kristof van Camp Season 5, 2006: Kirsten Janssens Season 6, 2007: Diana Ferrante	Walter Grootaers
	Big Brother VIPs	vtm Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2001: Sam Gooris Season 2, 2006: Pim Symoens	No Presenters
	Big Brother All-Stars	Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2003: Heidi Zutterman	Walter Grootaers
Brazil	Big Brother Brasil	Rede Globo Multishow Canal BBB (live on PPV)	Season 1, 2002: Kléber Bambam Season 2, 2002: Rodrigo Leonel Season 3, 2003: Dhomini Ferreira Season 4, 2004: Cida dos Santos Season 5, 2005: Jean Wyllys Season 6, 2006: Mara Viana Season 7, 2007: Diego Gasques Season 8, 2008: Rafinha Ribeiro Season 9, 2009: Max Porto Season 10, 2010: Marcelo Dourado Season 11, 2011: Maria Melillo Season 12, 2012: Fael Cordeiro Season 13, 2013: Fernanda Keulla Season 14, 2014: Vanessa Mesquita Season 15, 2015: Cézar Lima Season 16, 2016: Munik Nunes Season 17, 2017: Upcoming season	Current Tiago Leifert (17–) Former Pedro Bial (1–16) Marisa Orth (1)
Bulgaria	Big Brother	Nova Television Nova+ (live; 1–4) Diema Family (live; 5)	Season 1, 2004–05: Zdravko Vasilev Season 2, 2005: Miroslav Atanasov Season 3, 2006: Lyubov Stancheva Season 4, 2008: Georgi Alurkov Season 5, 2015: Nikita Jönsson	Main host: Niki Kunchev (1–3, 5) Milen Tsvetkov (4) Co-host: Evelina Pavlova (1–2) Aleksandra Sarchadjieva (5)
	Big Brother Family	Nova Television Diema Family (live)	Season 1, 2010: Eli & Veselin Kuzmovi	Main host: Niki Kunchev
	VIP Brother	Nova Television Nova+ (live; 1–2) Diema 2 (live; 3) Diema Family (live; 4)	Season 1, 2006: Konstantin Slavov Season 2, 2007: Hristina Stefanova Season 3, 2009: Deyan Slavchev Season 4, 2012: Orlin Pavlov Season 5, 2013: Stanka Zlateva Season 6, 2014: Vladislav Karamfilov Season 7, 2015: Gino Biancalana Season 8, 2016: Current season	Main host: Niki Kunchev Co-host: Evelina Pavlova (1) Dimitar Rachkov (3) Maria Ignatova (3) Aleksandra Sarchadjieva (4-)
	Big Brother All Stars	Nova Television Diema Family (live; 1)	Season 1, 2012: Nikola Nasteski - Lester Season 2, 2013: Zlatka Dimitrova Season 3, 2014: Todor Slavkov Season 4, 2015: Desislava	Main host: Niki Kunchev Co-host: Aleksandra Sarchadjieva
Canada (English)	Big Brother Canada	Slice	Season 1, 2013: Jillian MacLaughlin Season 2, 2014: Jon Pardy	Arisa Cox
		Global	Season 3, 2015: Sarah Hanlon Season 4, 2016: Nicholas & Philippe Paquette Season 5, 2017: Upcoming Season
Canada (French)	Loft Story	TQS	Season 1, 2003: Julie Lemay & Samuel Tissot Season 2, 2006: Mathieu Baron & Stéphanie Bélanger Season 3, 2006: Jean-Philippe Anwar & Kim Rusk Season 4, 2007: Mathieu Surprenant Season 5, 2008: Charles-Éric Boncoeur	Marie Plourde (3–5) Isabelle Maréchal (2) Renée-Claude Brazeau (1)
	Loft Story: La Revanche		Season 6, 2009: Sébastien Tremblay	Pierre-Yves Lord
	Big Brother	V	Season 1, 2010: Vincent Durand Dubé	Chéli Sauvé-Castonguay
China	室友一起宅 Big Brother China	Youku Tudou	Season 1, 2016: Upcoming season	TBA
	室友一起宅:先导季 Big Brother China:Pilot Season		Season 1, 2015-16: Tan Xiangjun	Zhou Wentao (Live Final)
Colombia	Gran Hermano	Caracol TV	Season 1, 2003: Mónica Patricia Tejón	Adriana Arango
		Citytv Bogotá	Season 2, 2012: Diana Hernández	Agmeth Escaf
Croatia	Big Brother	RTL	Season 1, 2004: Saša Tkalčević Season 2, 2005: Hamdija Seferović Season 3, 2006: Danijel Rimanić Season 4, 2007: Vedran Lovrenčić Season 5, 2008: Krešimir Duvančić Season 6, 2016: Romano Obilinović	Daria Knez (1) Neno Pavinčić (1) Boris Mirković (1 - 3) Renata Sopek (2 - 4) Filip Brajković (4) Marko Lušić (5) Korana Gvozdić (5) Antonija Blaće (2 – 5) Marijana Batinić (6 – )
	Celebrity Big Brother		Season 1, 2008: Danijela Dvornik	Antonija Blaće Marko Lušić
Czech Republic	Big Brother	TV NOVA	Season 1, 2005: David Šín	Eva Aichmajerová Lejla Abbasová Leoš Mareš
Denmark	Big Brother	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2001: Jill Liv Nielsen Season 2, 2002: Carsten B. Berthelsen Season 3, 2004: Johnni Johansen	Lisbeth Janniche
		Kanal 5	Season 4, 2012: Amanda Heisel Season 5, 2013: Bjørn Clausen Season 6, 2014: David Feldstedt	Oliver Bjerrehuus (6) Anne Kejser (5) Marie Egede (4)
	Big Brother VIP	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2003: Thomas Bickham	Lisbeth Janniche
	Big Brother Reality All-Stars		Season 1, 2005: Jill Liv Nielsen	Lisbeth Janniche
Ecuador	Gran Hermano	Ecuavisa	Season 1, 2003: David Burbano	Toty Rodríguez
Finland	Big Brother	Sub	Season 1, 2005: Perttu Sirviö Season 2, 2006: Sari Nygren Season 3, 2007: Sauli Koskinen Season 4, 2008: Anniina Mustajärvi Season 5, 2009: Aso Alanso Season 6, 2010: Niko Nousiainen Season 7, 2011: Janica Kortman Season 8, 2012: Teija Kurvinen Season 9, 2014: Andte Gaup-Juuso	Elina Viitanen (6–8) Susanna Laine (6–7) Vappu Pimiä (3–5) Mari Sainio (Kakko) (1–2, 9)
	Julkkis Big Brother		Season 1, 2013: Jori Kopponen	Mari Sainio
France	Loft Story	M6	Season 1, 2001: Christophe Mercy & Loana Petrucciani Season 2, 2002: Karine Delgado & Thomas Saillofest	Benjamin Castaldi
	Secret Story	TF1 NT1 (Daily recaps: 9 - ) CanalSat (live; 1)	Season 1, 2007: Marjorie, Cyrielle & Johanna Bluteau Season 2, 2008: Matthias Pohl Season 3, 2009: Emilie Nefnaf Season 4, 2010: Benoit Dubois Season 5, 2011: Marie Garet Season 6, 2012: Nadège Jones Season 7, 2013: Anaïs Camizuli Season 8, 2014: Leila Ben Khalifa Season 9, 2015: Émilie Fiorelli	Current Christophe Beaugrand (9 - ) Former Benjamin Castaldi (1 - 8) After Secret Adrien Lemaître (3 - ) Leila Ben Khalifa (9 - ) Julie Taton (9 - ) Nadège Lacroix (7) Emilie Fiorelli(10 - )
		NT1	Season 10, 2016: Current season
Germany	Big Brother	RTL 2 Sky (live; 10–11) Premiere (live; 5–9) VIVA (5, 9) 9Live (8) Tele 5 (4–6) MTV2 Pop (4–5) RTL (2–3) Single TV (2)	Season 1, 2000: John Milz Season 2, 2000: Alida Nadine Kurras Season 3, 2001: Karina Schreiber Season 4, 2003: Jan Geilhufe Season 5, 2004–05: Sascha Sirtl Season 6, 2005–06: Michael Knopf Season 7, 2007: Michael Carstensen Season 8, 2008: Silke Kaufmann Season 9, 2008–09: Daniel Schöller Season 10, 2010: Timo Grätsch Season 11, 2011: Marc Sonnen	Aleksandra Bechtel (4, 10–11) Sonja Zietlow (Opening show, 11) Miriam Pielhau (8–9) Charlotte Karlinder (7–8) Oliver Petszokat (6) Ruth Moschner (5–6) Oliver Geissen (2–3) Percy Hoven (1)
		sixx Sky (live)	Season 12, 2015: Lusy Skaya	Jochen Bendel
	Promi Big Brother	Sat.1 sixx (2–) Sky (live; 3–) maxdome (live; 2) Sky (live 3 hours; 1) Sat.1 emotions (1)	Season 1, 2013: Jenny Elvers Season 2, 2014: Aaron Troschke Season 3, 2015: David Odonkor Season 4, 2016: Ben Tewaag Season 5, 2017: Upcoming Season	Jochen Schropp (2-4) Cindy aus Marzahn (1) Oliver Pocher (1)
Greece Cyprus	Big Brother Greece	ANT1 (1-4) Alpha TV (5) Sigma TV (5)	Season 1, 2001: Giorgos Triantafyllidis Season 2, 2002: Alexandros Moskhos Season 3, 2003: Thodores Jspógloy Season 4, 2005: Nikos Papadopoulos Season 5, 2010–11: Giannis Foukakis	Andreas Mikroutsikos (1–3) Tatiana Stefanidou (4) Roula Koromila (5)
Hungary	Big Brother – Nagy testvér	TV2	Season 1, 2002: Éva Párkányi Season 2, 2003: Zsófi Tóth	Claudia Liptai Attila Till
	Big Brother VIP		Season 1, 2003: Gábor Bochkor Season 2, 2003: Lajos Boros Season 3, 2003: Zolee Ganxsta
	Való Világ powered by Big Brother	RTL II	Season 8, 2016: Current season	Istenes Bence (6 - ) Nádai Anikó (8) BeleValó Győző Gáspár Aurelio
India (Hindi)	Bigg Boss	SET	Season 1, 2006–07: Rahul Roy	Arshad Warsi
		Colors TV	Season 2, 2008: Ashutosh Kaushik Season 3, 2009: Vindu Dara Singh Season 4, 2010–11: Shweta Tiwari Season 5, 2011–12: Juhi Parmar Season 6, 2012–13: Urvashi Dholakia Season 7, 2013: Gauhar Khan Season 8, 2014–15: Ali Quli Mirza, Dimpy Mahajan, Gautam Gulati, Karishma Tanna & Pritam Singh Season 9, 2015-16: Prince Narula Season 10, 2016: Current Season	Salman Khan (4-10) Sanjay Dutt (5) Amitabh Bachchan (3) Shilpa Shetty (2)
	Bigg Boss Halla Bol!		Season 1, 2015: Gautam Gulati	Farah Khan
India (Bengali)	Bigg Boss Bangla	ETV Bangla	Season 1, 2013: Aneek Dhar	Mithun Chakraborty
		Colors Bangla	Season 2, 2016: Joyjeet Banerjee	Jeet
India (Kannada)	Bigg Boss Kannada	ETV Kannada	Season 1, 2013: Vijay Raghavendra	Sudeep
		Suvarna TV	Season 2, 2014: Akul Balaji
		Colors Kannada	Season 3, 2015-16: Shruthi Season 4, 2016: Upcoming season
Indonesia	Big Brother Indonesia	Trans TV	Season 1, 2011: Alan Wangsa	Ferdi Hassan Indra Herlambang Sarah Sechan Shara Aryo
Israel	האח הגדול HaAh HaGadol	Channel 2-Keshet HOT (live) Yes (live)	Season 1, 2008: Shifra Cornfeld Season 2, 2009–10: Eliraz Sadeh Season 3, 2010–11: Yaakov Menahem Season 4, 2012: Yekutiel Sebbag Season 5, 2013: Tahounia Rubel Season 6, 2014: Tal Gilboa Season 7, 2015–16: Shay Mika Ifrah Season 8, 2016: Upcoming season	Erez Tal Korin Gideon (7–) Assi Azar (1–6)
	VIP האח הגדול HaAh HaGadol VIP		Season 1, 2009: Dudi Melitz Season 2, 2015: Moshik Afia
Italy	Grande Fratello	Canale 5 Stream TV (live; 1–3) SKY (live; 4–5, 8–9) Mediaset Premium (live; 6–12)	Season 1, 2000: Cristina Plevani Season 2, 2001: Flavio Montrucchio Season 3, 2003: Floriana Secondi Season 4, 2004: Serena Garitta Season 5, 2004: Jonathan Kashanian Season 6, 2006: Augusto De Megni Season 7, 2007: Milo Coretti Season 8, 2008: Mario Ferretti Season 9, 2009: Ferdi Berisa Season 10, 2009–10: Mauro Marin Season 11, 2010–11: Andrea Cocco Season 12, 2011–12: Sabrina Mbarek Season 13, 2014: Mirco Petrilli Season 14, 2015: Federica Lepanto Season 15, 2017: Upcoming season	Current Alessia Marcuzzi (6–) Former Barbara D'Urso (3–5) Daria Bignardi (1–2)
	Grande Fratello VIP	Canale 5	Season 1, 2016: Current season	Ilary Blasi
Lithuania	Paslapčių namai House of Secrets	TV3 Lithuania	Season 1, 2013: Gintautas Katulis	Agnė Grigaliūnienė Marijus Mikutavičius
Mexico	Big Brother México	Televisa SKY (live)	Season 1, 2002: Rocío Cárdenas Season 2, 2003: Silvia Irabien Season 3, 2005: Evelyn Nieto	Verónica Castro (3) Adela Micha (1–2)
	Big Brother PM	Canal 5 SKY (live)	Season 4, 2015: Eduardo "Chile" Miranda Season 5, 2016: Upcoming season	Adela Micha
	Big Brother VIP	Televisa SKY (live)	Season 1, 2002: Galilea Montijo Season 2, 2003: Omar Chaparro Season 3, 2004: Eduardo Videgaray Season 4, 2004: Roxanna Castellanos Season 5, 2005: Sasha Sökol	Verónica Castro (2–4) Víctor Trujillo (1)
Netherlands	Big Brother	Veronica	Season 1, 1999: Bart Spring in 't Veld Season 2, 2000: Bianca Hagenbeek	Esther Duller (2) Beau Van Erven Dorens (2) Rolf Wouters (1) Daphne Deckers (1)
		Yorin	Season 3, 2001: Sandy Boots Season 4, 2002: Jeanette Godefroy	Martijn Krabbé (4) Patty Brard (3)
		Talpa	Season 5, 2005: Joost Hoebink Season 6, 2006: Jeroen Visser	Bridget Maasland (5–6) Ruud de Wild (5)
	Big Brother VIPs	Veronica	Season 1, 2000: No winner	Unknown
		Talpa	Season 2, 2006: No winner	Caroline Tensen
	Secret Story	NET 5	Season 1, 2011: Sharon Hooijkaas	Renate Verbaan Bart Boonstra
Nigeria	Big Brother Nigeria	M-Net DStv (live)	Season 1, 2006: Katung Aduwak	Olisa Adibua Michelle Dede
Norway	Big Brother Norge	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Lars Joakim Ringom Season 2, 2002: Veronica Agnes Roso Season 3, 2003: Eva Lill Baukhol	Trygve Rønningen (3) Arve Juritzen (1–2)
		TV 2 Bliss	Season 4, 2011: Tine Barstad	Petter Pilgaard Sarah Natasha Melbye
Pacific Region	Gran Hermano del Pacífico	RedTeleSistema RedTV ATV	Season 1, 2005: Juan Sebastián López	Lorena Meritano (Main) Álvaro Ballera & Álvaro García (Regional) Janine Leal (Regional) Juan Francisco Escobar (Regional)
Panama	Big Brother Panamá	TVN Canal 2	Season 1, 2016: Current season	Rolando Sterling Gaby Garrido
Peru	La Casa de Los Secretos	Frecuencia Latina	Season 1, 2012: Álvaro de la Torre	Carla García Jason Day
Philippines	Pinoy Big Brother	ABS-CBN TFC (Worldwide) SkyCable (live) Studio 23 (live; 1–3)	Season 1, 2005: Nene Tamayo Season 2, 2007: Beatriz Saw Season 3, 2009–10: Melisa Cantiveros Season 4, 2011–12: Slater Young	Current Toni Gonzaga (1–4) Bianca Gonzalez (1–4) Robi Domingo (4) Mariel Rodriguez (1–3) Former Willie Revillame (1)
	Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition		Season 1, 2006: Keanna Reeves Season 2, 2007–08: Ruben Gonzaga	Current Toni Gonzaga (1-2) Mariel Rodriguez (1-2) Bianca Gonzalez (2) Former Luis Manzano (1)
	Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition		Season 1, 2006: Kim Chiu Season 2, 2008: Ejay Falcon Season 3, 2010: James Reid Season 4, 2012: Myrtle Abigail Sarrosa	Current Bianca Gonzalez (1–4) Toni Gonzaga (2–4) Robi Domingo (4) John Prats (4) Former Mariel Rodriguez (1–3) Luis Manzano (2)
	Pinoy Big Brother: Special Edition		Season 5, 2014: Daniel Matsunaga Season 6, 2015: Miho Nishida & Jimboy Martin Season 7, 2016: Current season	Current Bianca Gonzalez (5– ) Mariel Rodriguez (7- ) Toni Gonzaga (5- ) Robi Domingo (5- ) Former John Prats (5) Enchong Dee (6)
Poland	Big Brother	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Janusz Dzięcioł Season 2, 2001: Marzena Wieczorek Season 3, 2002: Piotr Borucki	Grzegorz Miecugow Martyna Wojciechowska (1–3) Andrzej Sołtysik (2–3)
		TV4	Season 4, 2007: Jolanta Rutowicz Season 5 (part 2), 2008: Janusz Strączek	Kuba Klawiter (4–5) Małgorzata Kosik (5) Karina Kunkiewicz (4)
	Big Brother: Ty Wybierasz	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Małgorzata Maier & Sebastian Florek Season 2, 2001: Barbara Knap & Jakub Jankowski	Martyna Wojciechowska Grzegorz Miecugow Andrzej Sołtysik (2)
	Big Brother VIP	TV4	Season 5 (part 1), 2008: Jarek Jakimowicz	Kuba Klawiter Małgorzata Kosik
Portugal	Big Brother	TVI TVI Eventos (live; 1)	Season 1, 2000: Zé Maria Seleiro Season 2, 2001: Henrique Guimarães Season 3, 2001: Catarina Cabral Season 4, 2003: Fernando Geraldes	Teresa Guilherme
	Big Brother Famosos	TVI TVI Direct (live; VIP)	Season 1, 2002: Ricardo Vieira Season 2, 2002: Vítor Norte
	Big Brother VIP		Season 3, 2013: Pedro Guedes
	Secret Story: Casa dos Segredos	TVI TVI Direct (live; 1–5) TVI Reality (live; 6–)	Season 1, 2010: António Queirós Season 2, 2011: João Mota Season 3, 2012: Rúben Boa Nova Season 4, 2013: Luís Nascimento Season 5, 2014: Elisabete Moutinho Season 6, 2016: Current season	Teresa Guilherme (2–) Júlia Pinheiro (1)
	Secret Story: Desafio Final		Season 1, 2013: Cátia Palhinha Season 2, 2014: Érica Silva Season 3, 2015: Sofia Sousa	Teresa Guilherme
	Secret Story: Luta Pelo Poder		Season 1, 2015: Bruno Sousa
Romania	Big Brother	Prima TV	Season 1, 2003: Sorin Pavel Fisteag Season 2, 2004: Iustin Popovici	Andreea Raicu Virgil Ianțu
Russia	Большой брат Big Brother	TNT	Season 1, 2005: Anastasia Yagaylova	Ingeborga Dapkunaite
Scandinavia	Big Brother	Kanal5 FEM	Season 1, 2005: Britt Goodwin Season 2, 2006: Jessica Lindgren	Brita Møystad Engseth Hannah Rosander (2) Adam Alsing (1)
		Kanal 9 FEM	Season 3, 2014: Anders Olsson	Pia Lykke Adam Alsing
Second Life	Big Brother Second Life	World Wide Web	Season 1, 2006: Madlen Flint	None
Slovakia	Big Brother Súboj	TV Markíza	Season 1, 2005: Richard Tkáč	Zuzana Belohorcová
Slovenia	Big Brother	Kanal A	Season 1, 2007: Andrej Novak Season 2, 2008: Naske Mehić Season 3, 2015: Pia Filipčič Season 4, 2016: Mirela Lapanović	Hosts: Nina Osenar (1 - 2) Ana Maria Mitič (3) Manja Plešnar (4) Co-hosts: Matej Grm - Gušti (2) Emi Nikočević (4) Tibor Baiee (4)
	Big Brother Slavnih Celebrity version	POP TV	Season 1, 2010: Jože Činč	Nina Osenar
South Africa	Big Brother South Africa	M-Net DStv (live)	Season 1, 2001: Ferdinand Rabie Season 2, 2002: Richard Cawood	Mark Pilgrim Gerry Rantseli
	Big Brother Mzansi		Season 3, 2014: Mandla Hlatshwayo Season 4, 2015: Ace Khumalo & Ntombi Tshabalala	Lungile Radu
	Celebrity Big Brother		Season 1, 2002: Bill Flynn	Mark Pilgrim Gerry Rantseli
Spain	Gran Hermano	Telecinco (Main program and debate) Divinity (daily highlights) Mitele.es (24h live free)	Season 1, 2000: Ismael Beiro Season 2, 2001: Sabrina Mahí Season 3, 2002: Javito García Season 4, 2002–03: Pedro Oliva Season 5, 2003–04: Nuria Yáñez Season 6, 2004: Juanjo Mateo Season 7, 2005–06: Pepe Herrero Season 8, 2006: Naiala Melo Season 9, 2007: Judit Iglesias Season 10, 2008–09: Iván Madrazo Season 11, 2009–10: Ángel Muñoz Season 12, 2010–11: Laura Campos Season 13, 2012: Pepe Flores Season 14, 2013: Susana Molina Season 15, 2014: Paula González Season 16, 2015: Sofía Suescún Season 17, 2016: Current season	Current Jorge Javier Vázquez (17–) Former Mercedes Milá (1–2, 4–16) Pepe Navarro (3)
	Gran Hermano VIP		Season 1, 2004: Marlène Mourreau Season 2, 2005: Ivonne Armand Season 3, 2015: Belén Esteban Season 4, 2016: Laura Matamoros	Jesús Vázquez (1-2) Jordi González (3-4)
	Gran Hermano: El Reencuentro		Season 1, 2010: Pepe Herrero & Raquel López Season 2, 2011: Juan Miguel Martínez & Yola Berrocal	Jordi González (2) Mercedes Milá (1)
	Gran Hermano: La Revuelta		Season 1, 2012: Alessandro Livi	Mercedes Milá
Sweden	Big Brother Sverige	Kanal5	Season 1, 2000: Angelica Freij Season 2, 2002: Ulrica Andersson Season 3, 2003: Danne Sörensen Season 4, 2004: Carolina Gynning	Adam Alsing
		TV11	Season 5, 2011: Simon Danielsson Season 6, 2012: Hanna Johansson	Gry Forssell
		Kanal 11	Season 7, 2015: Christian Sahlström	Adam Alsing
	Big Brother Stjärnveckan	Kanal5	Season 1, 2002: Anki Lundberg	Adam Alsing
Switzerland	Big Brother Switzerland	TV3 Switzerland	Season 1, 2000: Daniela Kanton Season 2, 2001: Christian Ponleitner	Eva Wannemacher (2) Daniel Fohrler (1)
Thailand	Big Brother Thailand	iTV	Season 1, 2005: Nipon Perktim Season 2, 2006: Arisa Sonthirod	Saranyu Vonkarjun Nana Raibeena (2)
Turkey	Big Brother Türkiye	Star TV	Season 1, 2015-16: Sinan Aydemir Season 2, 2016: Upcoming season	Asuman Krause
Ukraine	Big Brother Україна	K1	Season 1, 2011: Kristina Kotvickaja	Olga Gorbacheva Oleksey Kurban
United Kingdom	Big Brother	Channel 4 and S4C (1–10) TVN Lingua	Series 1, 2000: Craig Phillips Series 2, 2001: Brian Dowling Series 3, 2002: Kate Lawler Series 4, 2003: Cameron Stout Series 5, 2004: Nadia Almada Series 6, 2005: Anthony Hutton Series 7, 2006: Pete Bennett Series 8, 2007: Brian Belo Series 9, 2008: Rachel Rice Series 10, 2009: Sophie Reade Series 11, 2010: Josie Gibson	Davina McCall
		Channel 5 MTV (16–) TV3 (16–)	Series 12, 2011: Aaron Allard-Morgan Series 13, 2012: Luke Anderson Series 14, 2013: Sam Evans Series 15, 2014: Helen Wood Series 16, 2015: Chloe Wilburn Series 17, 2016: Jason Burrill Series 18, 2017: Upcoming season	Current Emma Willis (14–) Former Brian Dowling (12–13)
	Celebrity Big Brother	Channel 4 and S4C (2–7)	Series 1, 2001: Jack Dee Series 2, 2002: Mark Owen Series 3, 2005: Bez Series 4, 2006: Chantelle Houghton Series 5, 2007: Shilpa Shetty Series 6, 2009: Ulrika Jonsson Series 7, 2010: Alex Reid	Davina McCall
		Channel 5 MTV (15–) TV3 (16–)	Series 8, 2011: Paddy Doherty Series 9, 2012: Denise Welch Series 10, 2012: Julian Clary Series 11, 2013: Rylan Clark Series 12, 2013: Charlotte Crosby Series 13, 2014: Jim Davidson Series 14, 2014: Gary Busey Series 15, 2015: Katie Price Series 16, 2015: James Hill Series 17, 2016: Scotty T Series 18, 2016: Stephen Bear Series 19, 2017: Upcoming season	Current Emma Willis (12–) Former Brian Dowling (8–11)
	Teen Big Brother	Channel 4/E4 and S4C	Series 1, 2003: Paul Brennan	Dermot O'Leary
	Big Brother Panto	Channel 4/E4 and S4C	Series 1, 2004–05: No winner	Jeff Brazier June Sarpong
	Celebrity Hijack	Channel 4/E4 and S4C	Series 1, 2008: John Loughton	Dermot O'Leary
	Ultimate Big Brother	Channel 4/E4	Series 1, 2010: Brian Dowling	Davina McCall
United States (English)	Big Brother (broadcast edition)	CBS(1–) Showtime 2 (8–14) Pop (15–) Slice Global Global Reality Channel E4 (4, 9)	Season 1, 2000: Eddie McGee Season 2, 2001: Will Kirby Season 3, 2002: Lisa Donahue Season 4, 2003: Jun Song Season 5, 2004: Drew Daniel Season 6, 2005: Maggie Ausburn Season 8, 2007: Dick Donato Season 9, 2008: Adam Jasinski Season 10, 2008: Dan Gheesling Season 11, 2009: Jordan Lloyd Season 12, 2010: Hayden Moss Season 13, 2011: Rachel Reilly Season 14, 2012: Ian Terry Season 15, 2013: Andy Herren Season 16, 2014: Derrick Levasseur Season 17, 2015: Steve Moses Season 18, 2016: Nicole Franzel Season 19, 2017: Upcoming season Season 20, 2018: Upcoming season	Julie Chen
	Big Brother: All-Stars		Season 7, 2006: Mike Malin
	Big Brother: Over The Top	CBS All Access	Season 1, 2016: Current season
United States (Spanish)	Gran Hermano USA	Telemundo	Season 1, 2016: Pedro Orta	Giselle Blondet
Vietnam	Người giấu mặt	VTV6	Season 1, 2013–14: Hoàng Sơn Việt	Huy Khánh

Controversies

Legal

In April 2000, Castaway, an independent production company, filed a lawsuit against John de Mol and Endemol for stealing the concepts of their own show called Survive!, a reality television show where contestants are placed in a deserted island and will have to take care of themselves alone. These contestants were also filmed by cameras around them. The court later dismissed the lawsuit filed by Castaway against de Mol and Endemol. The Survive! reality television format was later turned into Survivor.

In 2000, the estate of George Orwell sued CBS Television and Endemol for copyright and trademark infringement, claiming that the program infringed on the Orwell novel '1984' and its trademarks. After a series of court rulings adverse to the defendants - CBS and Endemol - they settled the case for an undisclosed amount of money on the eve of trial.

Sexual-related incidents

There have been two documented occurrences of possible rape happening during the show. In Big Brother South Africa a male housemate was accused of assaulting a fellow housemate while she was asleep. The pair were filmed kissing and cuddling in bed before the cameras moved away and the male housemate reportedly claimed to housemates the next day that he had intercourse with the contestant. However, the female housemate was apparently shocked by the claims and informed female housemates that she had not consented to having sex with him. (Under South African law, this act would be constituted as rape.) This male housemate was expelled immediately after the allegations surfaced, while the female housemate was removed from the house for her own protection and counselling. In Big Brother Brazil, many viewers reported that they watched a male housemate allegedly force himself on a female housemate while she was passed out drunk after a "boozy party." As a result, the male housemate was later escorted out of the Big Brother house by the police.

Bibliography

• Johnson-Woods, Toni (2002). Big Brother: Why Did That Reality TV Show Become Such a Phenomenon?. Australia: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3315-3.