Screw Clickbait Casting: Big Brother Needs an All-Newbie Summer and an All-Star Winter

It’s hard to believe that Big Brother is about to hit its 1,000th episode.

Few shows reach that metric, and it’s fitting that a series many thought would be canceled after a few weeks is still here 26 years later.

In recent seasons, producers have opted for what I’d call clickbait casting, with controversial former cast members and reality TV stars getting a chance to win the $750,000 grand prize.

In theory, this brings in a built-in audience of fans who want to see more of them, but it’s hard to enjoy when the game is so heavily tilted toward returning stars.

Look at the beginning of Big Brother Season 28, for example.

Rick Devens, Angela Murray, and Dee Valladeres were the only three cast members to compete in the first Head of Household competition.

That gave them unprecedented power and influence to build connections with new houseguests who weren’t as exposed to reality TV as the three icons.

This sounds like I’m slighting RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Jason De Puy, but like, this is the casting team’s fault.

Jason could have been on the show as an icon thanks to his turn on the MTV competition series, but producers wanted to zero in on the three CBS veterans for Big Brother Season 28.

Big Brother Season 28 Is Giving the Icons Too Much Power

I understand that producers probably had to pay Angela, Dee, and Rick a lot of money to compete on Big Brother.

For that reason alone, it’s easy to understand why the season has been so heavily tilted in their favor.

Aside from the first Head of Household, the icons won the first three weeks of the Big Brother Time Capsule.

How is it fair that a viewer vote is even part of a season with returning players?

The icons have been given far too much power and have skated through the first half of the game thanks to those advantages.

Dee was almost toast in Week 6, but Rick used his Diamond Power of Veto, which he won at the beginning of the season, to save her and nominate Kamu in her place.

Had these icons not been given so much power, the season’s trajectory probably would have changed for the better.

Producers seem intent on clickbait casting these days because the ratings have surged, so why not put that energy into an All-Stars spinoff?

Yes, we’ve had a couple of seasons with all-returning players. One of them is, in my eyes, the show at its finest, and the other, well, I’d rather forget that.

The summer could be saved for newbies, while an All-Stars iteration could air in the winter over a shorter runtime.

Big Brother: Celebrity Edition excelled with its shorter duration because something was happening every darn day in that house.

Why couldn’t that work for an All-Stars season?

I don’t understand why CBS hasn’t traveled this route with a full-fledged series so far.

I expect the budget would balloon because, to get the faces fans would want involved, the show would need a healthy budget injection.

But if CBS is already willing to spend the money to bring these people back, why not give them their own playground?

An All-Stars season could be shorter, more chaotic, and packed with players who already understand exactly what they’re getting themselves into.

And, frankly, there are enough former houseguests to make it work.

Big Brother All-Stars Could be Huge

Big Brother has been on the air for 26 years. Some winners want another shot, players who were robbed, villains fans love to hate, and plenty of people whose stories ended before they were ready.

There’s no shortage of potential casting.

Meanwhile, the summer could return to what made Big Brother so compelling in the first place: throwing a bunch of people who don’t know each other into a house and seeing what happens.

No returning players with established fan bases.

No former reality TV stars coming in with years of experience.

Just newbies.

And if one of them becomes a legend? Great. Maybe they get an invite to the All-Stars season a few years down the line.

It feels like the obvious solution.

CBS gets the recognizable names it clearly wants, fans get to see their favorites play again, and the regular season gets to remain a place where new players can actually make their mark.

We’re about to hit 1,000 episodes.

If there’s ever been a time for Big Brother to try something a little different, this feels like it.

What are your thoughts on splitting up newbies and all-stars into their own Big Brother shows?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.