The Glass House season 1

The Glass House (season 1) is the debut season of the American reality game show The Glass House. The contestants moved into the house on June 10, with the first live feed "webisode" premiering the following day. The series had its television debut on June 18, 2012, on ABC. The show is set to air ten episodes, lasting a total of ten weeks. The airing episodes feature highlights from the previous week, as well as the competitions and evictions. Also on the episodes, two contestants will be sent to limbo each week, meaning they are in danger of being eliminated. Immediately after the show's announcement, it drew comparison to popular reality television series Big Brother, which later led to a lawsuit from Big Brother's network, CBS.

The first season of the show features 14 players competing on the series. A woman named Melissa was revealed to be a member of the cast, though was later replaced by Holly for unknown reasons. The fourteen contestants competed for a $250,000 cash prize, in which the winner is decided by the viewers of the show via online voting. Viewers could also vote on various other things to influence the game and help their favorite players. Upon its premiere, the show received mixed to negative reviews, mainly due to the Big Brother controversy surrounding the series. The premiere episode averaged around four million viewers, a network high for that time slot during Summer.

Format

The Glass House features fourteen strangers living in a house made of glass, with cameras recording their every move. At selected days and times, viewers can watch a live feed into the house. Despite this, the contestants receive two days out of the house, in which they are taken to a hotel and sequestered from each other and outside game communications. There will be a weekly eviction, in which the public decides which of the contestants is eliminated from the game. Aside from choosing who is evicted, viewers will be able to dictate what the contestants wear, where they sleep and what they eat. While in the house, the contestants will split into two groups and compete in various physical and mental competitions. The captains of the two teams are the two contestants who have received the least amount of votes from the public. After losing a challenge, the captain of the losing team is sent to limbo, along with a second member of that team which is voted on by the house. While in limbo, the public will vote which of the two contestants deserves to go back into the house and which one should permanently be eliminated from the game. The contestant with the most votes is eliminated, while the other will return to the house. The contestants are spoken to by a robotic female voice, which they referred to as the "Oracle" up until Day 3, when it was revealed the public would decide the voice's name. After the airing of the first live feed, online blogs and forums labeled the voice "FaRi", a mixture of the words faux Siri, the personal assistant found on Apple's iPhone 4S. On the ninth day in the house, it was revealed the public had decided to officially name the voice Oracle, or "Ori".

Production

Broadcast and platforms

The first season of The Glass House will feature ten episodes, which will air Monday's at 10 p.m. The airing episode will show highlights of the previous week, and will feature the nomination and eviction process. Aside from the weekly episode, viewers can watch an uncensored live feed into the house at various days and times. On Monday's, the feeds will be viewable from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. the following day, while on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the feeds can be viewed from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. The first clip of the live feeds premiered on Tuesday, June 12. The show's first episode premiered on Monday, June 18, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC in the United States. The tenth and final episode is expected to air on Monday, August 27. Aside from the live feed and broadcasted episodes, ABC also uploaded several unseen clips to the website of the contestants interacting with one another, similar to the 2011 edition of Big Brother in the United Kingdom.

House

The exterior of the house is made completely of glass, as are most of the walls inside. The living room features a television, through which the Oracle contacts them. There is also a large red "cat climber" in the living room, which features seats for the contestants to use, each at a different elevation. There are also cream and lime green seats in the room. The kitchen features a counter that extends through most of the length of the room, and lime green and white stools are lined up with the counter. The bathroom features a marble floor, and a wall made almost completely of a mirror. The sinks are in the shape of bowls. Aside from the community bedrooms, there is also the "friend" and "enemy" bedrooms. The "friend" room features cream colored chairs and bedsheets, as well as two beds. The "enemies" room has a much darker feel, with red chairs mixed with red and black bed sheets. Like the "friend" bedroom, there are two beds, and the wall behind the beds has the appearance of paint being thrown at it, featuring orange, blue, and black colors. The house also features an indoor hot tub. On Day 3, a new room was revealed to the contestants and viewers, which has the appearance of a backyard.

Pre-Season

The Glass House was created by Kenny Rosen, who also serves as the shows writer. Rosen had become notable due to his work as a producer on various reality television series, including Hell's Kitchen and the first seven seasons of reality series Big Brother. Contestants could audition on the official ABC website, and had to be 21 years of age or older. The Glass House was first announced on April 30, 2012, along with its June 18 premiere date. On May 4, 2012, broadcasting company CBS warned ABC not to air The Glass House due to its strong similarities to the CBS reality television series Big Brother, in which a group of contestants, referred to as HouseGuest, live in a house while constantly being monitored by cameras and microphones. CBS stated in the letter sent to ABC President Anne Sweeney that they would seek legal action if ABC went forward with the airing of The Glass House. CBS also criticized the fact that The Glass House was being produced by at least nineteen former producers and staff from Big Brother, including Corie Henson, Kenny Rosen, and Mike O'Sullivan. On May 10, 2012, CBS went forward with a lawsuit against ABC. CBS has stated numerous times that they were attempting to get the show's premiere halted, however, the show is still set to air. The fourteen contestants for the series were revealed on June 4, 2012, on the official ABC website. The initial cast for the season featured a 31 year old woman named Melissa, but days after the contestants were announced, Melissa was removed from The Glass House's official website, and was replaced with 21 year old Holly. ABC has yet to confirm why Melissa was removed from the show. Voting for the show began on June 9, and allowed the public to chose bedrooms for the contestants, as well as food they would eat on their first night, and whether to have a pool party or pajama party, and how the first challenge should be split up; men vs. women, old contestants vs. young contestants, or east vs. west. ABC officially released pictures of the house on June 11, 2012 on their official website.

Contestants

The cast of the first season of The Glass House.

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Top: Mike, Jeffrey, Holly, Andrea, Jacob, Robin and Alex

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Bottom: Erica, Gene, Joy, Ashley, Apollo, Stephanie and Kevin

When the original fourteen contestants were revealed, a woman named Melissa was included. Days after the announcement, however, she was removed from ABC's website, and had been replaced with Holly. ABC has yet to confirm why Melissa will not be participating on the show. The original fourteen contestants entered the house on June 11, while various sources have also stated a new contestant will enter the show during the first or second week. On Day 5, Jacob voluntarily left the show during limbo. It is unknown whether a new contestant will replace him in the near future.

Name	Age[I]	Occupation	Hometown
Alex	25	Bail Bondsman	Dallas, Texas
Andrea	31	Bookkeeper	Valencia, California
Apollo	28	Author	Phoenix, Arizona
Ashley	30	Paralegal	New Orleans, Louisiana
Erica	27	Cocktail Waitress	Denver, Colorado
Gene	28	Stuntman	Chicago, Illinois
Holly	21	Retail Sales	Detroit, Michigan
Jacob	28	Cook	Coos Bay, Oregon
Jeffrey	35	Receptionist	Brooklyn, New York
Joy	27	Nurse	Fredericksburg, Virginia
Kevin	33	Police Sergeant	Toledo, Ohio
Mike	48	DJ	Pembroke, Massachusetts
Robin	43	Blogger	Washington, DC
Stephanie	32	Scientist	Boston, Massachusetts

^{^[I]} Contestant's age at the start of the season.

Summary

On Day 1, contestants moved into The Glass House. Holly and Robin were placed in the "enemies" room, while Erica and Andrea were placed in the "friends" room. On Day 2, during the first live feed showing, contestants played a game in which they had to guess the answer to questions that the public were answering live. The questions were multiple choice, and varied from topics such as whether it is acceptable to have sex on the first date to what is the rudest thing a person could do during a first date. Other questions involved the contestants reactions to learning their child was gay, and how long should a couple date before getting married. To answer the questions, contestants had to go to either the "friends room", "enemies room", the bathroom, or the kitchen counter, with each room symbolizing a specific answer. The contestants were later asked to tell who they felt their biggest threat was, with Andrea and Kevin receiving the most votes from their fellow contestants. They later split into teams to compete in the first competition. The competition, titled "Twist and Shout", featured the contestants solving a puzzle built onto the wall based on information about their fellow contestants. The contestants split into east vs. west to do the challenge, with the east team winning. Jacob was the captain of the west team, and therefore became the first contestant to be sent to limbo. The contestants had to chose who to send to limbo with him later on. On Day 3, the public voted for the contestants to each reveal their biggest regret. They had the option to go to a different room to tell their story, and several chose to use the "Twitter Room". Following everyone's confessions, the contestants played a game of "Guess the Sketch". They decided to split up Men vs. Women, with Erica and Apollo being the first drawers, and Jeffrey and Joy being the second. The viewers chose the object they had to draw. The public later voted for the contestants to hear the results of the sixth game in the Stanley Cup Finals over the results of the first game of the NBA finals. On Day 4, the public voted for the contestants to play dodgeball. After playing three games, they performed "sexy yoga", in which an instructor named Elizabeth joined them to teach them various poses, chosen by the viewers. On Day 5, Jacob and Alex were sent to limbo, with Alex receiving ten of a possible twelve votes. Later that day, Jacob chose to leave limbo and walk from the game. With Jacob out of the game, Alex remained in limbo, with the public deciding whether he should return to the game or not. On Day's 6 and 7, contestants were sequestered at a hotel, returning to the house on Monday.

On Day 9, Alex became the first person evicted from The Glass House. For the second week, the viewers chose to put Jeffrey and Robin in the "Enemies" bedroom. On Day 9, Ashley celebrated her birthday in the house. Contestants were also asked to share their worst birthday stories with the viewers. Later that day, contestants competed in a spelling bee, with the viewers choosing the words that the players had to spell. It was revealed later that day that a special guest would join the contestants tomorrow, though it was not confirmed who the guest would be. On Day 10, a Tom Cruise impersonator entered the house for an hour, and the contestants did their impersonations of various celebrities. They later discussed the topic of a man calling 911 over a sandwich, after a public vote decided the topic. Later that day, contestants competed in the second competition of the season, with the team captain being sent to limbo in a few days. Apollo and Ashley were chosen to be the team captain, and both took turns picking members for their team. On Day 11, contestants drew pictures to describe their ideal mate, as voted on by the viewers. They also discussed the various things they missed about the outside world, and later talked about five trending topics on Twitter. Later that day, Apollo and Holly were sent to limbo. On Days 13 and 14, contestants were sequestered in a hotel, with no communication with one another or the outside world.

Voting history

		Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Votes received
Team Captains		Jacob, Jeffrey	Apollo, Ashley
Challenge Winner		Team East	Team Ashley
In Limbo		Alex, Jacob	Apollo, Holly
	Andrea	Alex	Holly
	Apollo	Ashley	Not Eligible
	Ashley	Alex	Holly									2
	Erica	Alex	Holly									2
	Gene	Alex	Holly
	Holly	Erica	Erica									11
	Jeffrey	Alex	Holly
	Joy	Alex	Holly
	Kevin	Alex	Holly
	Mike	Alex	Holly
	Robin	Alex	Holly
	Stephanie	Alex	Holly
	Alex	Ashley	Eliminated (Day 9)									10
	Jacob	Not eligible	Walked (Day 5)									0
Notes		1, 2
Friends Room		Erica, Andrea
Enemies Room		Holly, Robin	Jeffrey, Robin
Walked		Jacob
Eliminated		Alex Most votes to eliminate

Key:

  – Team East

  – Team West

  – In Limbo

  – Immune From Limbo

Notes

• ^Note 1 : Because Team West lost the competition, Team Captain Jacob was automatically sent to limbo and was not eligible to vote that week.
• ^Note 2 : Jacob voluntarily left the show shortly after the reveal of the votes. Despite his walk, Alex still was sent to limbo to face the public vote. If Alex gets more than 50% of the public vote, he will not return to the house.

Ratings and reception

During the 10 o’clock hour, the series premiere of The Glass House ranked #2 in the slot with Adults 18-49 and #1 with Women 18-49. The Glass House boosted its time period week to week by 60% in Adults 18-49, hitting a summer-high for ABC in the hour. Despite the added publicity surrounding the legal action, The Glass House was the lowest-rated of six reality shows on network television Monday night, and was able to beat only repeat programming on CBS. The show also seemed to drive viewers away throughout its hour-long running time, falling about 20 percent from its first half hour to its second, losing about a million viewers in the process, and dissipating the lead-in audience handed to it from the more successful Bachelorette. Over all, The Glass House averaged only about four million viewers for the hour, and a 1.5 rating in the audience preferred by ABC advertisers, viewers between the ages of 18 and 49. Critically, the series received generally negative reviews. Entertainment Weekly gave the premiere episode a negative review, and even mocked the opening, commenting "'The show they didn't want you to see' was the show you didn't need to watch."

#	Airdate	18-49 (Rating/Share)	Viewers (millions)	Source
1	June 18, 2012	1.6/4	4.190