Big Brother Canada

For the most recent season, see Big Brother Canada (season 3).

Big Brother is a television reality game show based on an originally Dutch TV series of the same name created by producer John de Mol in 1997. The show is stylized as Big Brother Canada in its title to differentiate from the American version of the same name, which airs in Canada during the summer. The series follows a group of contestants, known as HouseGuests, who are living together in a custom-built home under constant surveillance. The HouseGuests are completely isolated from the outside world, and can have no communication with those not in the house. The contestants are competing for a $100,000 grand prize, with weekly competitions and evictions determining who will win the show. The series takes its name from the character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984). With a French version and the United States version having aired in the country, Canada officially received its own English version of the series in 2013. The show was met with commercial success, and has gone on to become a hit for its parent network.

Since its inception, the show has been hosted by Arisa Cox. It is produced by Endemol and Insight Productions. The show airs at the beginning of Spring in Canada; it originally aired on Slice for its first two seasons, before moving to Global for its third season. Since its inception, there have been a total of 87 episodes aired, and 48 different HouseGuests have competed to win the series. Upon entering the house, the HouseGuests are not permitted to leave the house at any time. HouseGuests are free to leave the house, but doing so would signify them quitting the game, and they would not be allowed re-entry. Should a HouseGuest break the rules set in the house, they can be expelled from the house. The success of the series spawned the spin-off Big Brother Side Show series, which airs following the weekly live episode and is hosted by Cox, alongside former HouseGuests Peter Brown and Gary Levy.

History

Main series

The Big Brother format has been available in Canada since July 5, 2000, when Global Television Network purchased the rights to transmit the U.S. version in Canada. A French Canadian adaptation of the Big Brother franchise, Loft Story, was produced and broadcast for six seasons in Quebec from 2003 to 2009. In 2010, Loft Story was replaced by Big Brother 2010, which was the first international edition of the Big Brother franchise to follow a format similar to that of the U.S edition, though some changes were implemented. Big Brother 2010 aired for one season. Every season of the U.S. version has been simulcast in Canada by either Global or former sister network, CH, while airing in the United States on CBS. Though viewers in Canada could vote in polls for the game, and subscribe to the live Internet feeds, Canadian citizens could not apply to be on the series unless they were also a U.S. Citizen or National. Shaw Media, parent company of Global, announced on May 30, 2012, that the first English version of Big Brother would air in the 2012-13 television broadcast season in Canada on its digital cable channel, Slice. Slice later announced that viewers would have online access to the entire season of live feeds for free, opting out of a subscription-based service like the one offered for the U.S. series.

Initially, the series was scheduled to premiere on February 18, 2013; however, it premiered on February 27, 2013. The launch season featured fifteen HouseGuests competing to win the grand prize. The season ended with Jillian McLaughlin winning the grand prize, after spending 71 days in the house. The show's season finale was met with much controversy following an error with the final vote, gaining the series widespread media attention. With the series proving to be a ratings success, a second season was confirmed shortly after the completion of the first. The sophomore season featured a new house, and premiered in early March. Though fourteen HouseGuests initially entered the game, a fifteenth and final HouseGuest entered after the second week. The live feeds remained free for Canadian viewers, much like the previous season. Jon Pardy went on to win the series, which lasted for 71 days. Following the conclusion of the second season, it was announced that the series would be moving from Slice to sister station Global, who had aired the United States version for years prior. The third season featured sixteen new HouseGuests, and began on March 23, 2015. Despite the show's change in broadcasters, the live feeds remain free for Canadian viewers, and the show's spin-offs are still on air.

Spin-offs

After Dark

Following the confirmation of the show's pilot season, it was confirmed that a spin-off series known as Big Brother: After Dark would air in the country on Slice. The spin-off originated as a spin-off to the United States version in 2007, and shows an uncensored look into the house throughout the night. Big Brother: After Dark has aired throughout all three seasons of the show.

Side Show

A second spin-off series, known as the Big Brother Side Show, began airing following the live eviction episodes of the second season. The show is hosted by Cox, alongside season 1 HouseGuests Gary Levy and Peter Brown. The program saw the trio interviewing the newly evicted HouseGuests, as well as featured guests from prior seasons of the Canadian and American editions. The show is loosely based on the Big Brother UK's Bit On The Side program. The show was renewed for the third season, and was extended from thirty minutes to an hour. Cox, Levy, and Brown all returned to their hosting duties for the second season of the spin-off.

Format

Big Brother is a game show in which a group of contestants, referred to as HouseGuests, live in a custom built "house", constantly under video surveillance. While in the house, the contestants 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 family emergency or passing. 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. While a competition, the series allows viewers to witness the relationships formed in the house and the behavior of the HouseGuests. Though locked in the house, the HouseGuests are free to quit the game, though will not be allowed entry back into the house. Should a HouseGuest break the rules of the game, they could be expelled from the house, and unable to return. The contestants compete for a $100,000 grand prize. Though these aspects of the series are carried over from its initial incarnation, the competition aspect and eviction format are based on the United States version, which adopted this format in 2001 for its second season.

The current format of the series is focused more on competition and strategy than the original series. At the start of each week in the house, the HouseGuests compete for the title of Head of Household. The Head of Household for each week is given luxuries such as their own personal bedroom and free laundry service, but is responsible for nominating two HouseGuests for eviction. The Head of Household would not be able to compete in the following week's Head of Household competition, meaning that a HouseGuest could not hold the title for two weeks in a row. The winner of the Power of Veto could choose to save one of the nominated HouseGuests, forcing the Head of Household to nominate someone in their place. All HouseGuests excluding the Head of Household and nominees later vote to determine which of the two nominees should be evicted, and the nominated HouseGuest who received the most votes is evicted during a live episode. If there is a tie in the voting, the reigning Head of Household is required to make the tie-breaker decision. Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests may discuss the nomination and eviction process openly and freely. The HouseGuests also competed in Have-Not competitions, in which the losers were required to solely eat slop for the rest of the week, as well as sleep in a special bedroom. Upon reaching a point in the game, the evicted HouseGuests go on to become members of the Jury; the Jury is responsible for choosing who wins the series. The members of the Jury are not shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that may include strategy or details regarding nominations. Once only two HouseGuests remain, the members of the Jury cast their votes for the winner.

Much like other adaptions of the series, Big Brother features numerous twists throughout each season. The first season saw the Chevrolet Power Shift twists occurring, which involved twists such as a previously evicted HouseGuest coming back and allowing Canada to have a Power of Veto for the week. With the second season having new sponsorship, the twists were renamed Twistos Twist. The second season featured more game-changing twists, which involved a new HouseGuest entering in the second week and Canada becoming the Head of Household for the week.

Competitions

The Head of Household competition is held at the beginning of each week, and is most often performed on the live eviction episode. The live Head of Household competitions are typically question based, and will see HouseGuests eliminated each round. Various competitions throughout the season will be endurance, requiring HouseGuests to be the last one remaining in the competition. Endurance competitions are often held after game changing announcements, such as when a previously evicted HouseGuest returns. Various endurance competitions may have punished or reward contestants who either fall off first or last. Skill based competitions also appear frequently throughout the season, some of which may last for numerous hours. Skill competitions are sometimes finished during the live eviction broadcast. The final Head of Household competition of each season features three rounds; the first is endurance, the second is skill, and the final is question based. Currently, the record for most Head of Household wins in a single season is held by Jillian McLaughlin, who won four Head of Household competitions in the first season. The Head of Household is in charge of nominating two houseguests for eviction each week. The people who hold the record for most nominations in a single season is Sabrina Abbate from Season 2, with 7 times nominated.

Power of Veto competitions differ drastically from the Head of Household competition, with PoV competitions being more skill based in nature. The record for the most Power of Veto competition wins in a single season is held by Emmett Blois, Jon Pardy, and Ashleigh Wood, who competed on the first, second, and third seasons respectively. Ashleigh holds the record for most consecutive POV wins with three. Food and luxury competitions have been a part of the series since it first premiered.

Then the remaining nominees will face eviction, Their fellow houseguests (except for HOH) will vote to evict one of them. Sindy Nguyen from Season 3 has the record for most evictions in a season with 2 (Gary Levy from Season 1 came back and ended up as runner-up, he was therefore not re-evicted like Sindy was).

In addition to playing for power, the houseguest also compete for food and luxuries in the Have/Have-Not competition. The losers must sleep in a separate bedroom, take cold showers, and eat slop for the week. If a HouseGuests choose to break the slop rule, the whole house may be punished by Big Brother. The HouseGuests also frequently compete in luxury competitions during their time in the house. Most frequently, HouseGuests will compete for the right to watch a film or television show in the house.

Series details and viewership

Season	Channel	Season premiere	Season finale	Days	HouseGuests	Winner	Jury vote	Average viewers (in million)
1	Slice	February 27, 2013	May 2, 2013	71	15	Jillian MacLaughlin	4-3	0.671
2		March 5, 2014	May 8, 2014		15	Jon Pardy	6-1	0.667
3	Global	March 23, 2015	May 27, 2015	70	16	Sarah Hanlon	7-2	1.120
4		February 29, 2016

Notes

^Note 1 : The first episode of both Slice seasons aired on Global as a "Sneak Peek Special".
^Note 2 : In season 2, fourteen HouseGuests entered the house on Day 1, while three additional contestants faced a public vote to decide who the final HouseGuest would be. This HouseGuest entered the house on Day 15.
^Note 3 : Global only airs the main show. Additional programming (After Dark and Side Show) remain on Slice.

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	Canadian Screen Awards	Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Program or Series	List Insight Productions Peter Faragher Sandra Svendsen	Nominated
		Best Host in a Variety, Lifestyle, Reality/Competition, Performing Arts or Talk Program or Series	Arisa Cox	Nominated
		Best Cross-Platform Project - Non-Fiction	List Amy Hampsen C.J. Hervey Chris Harris James Milward Katherine Podgorski Michala Duffield Pietro Gagliano Ryan Andal	Nominated
2015		Reality/Competition Program or Series	Big Brother Canada	Won
		Cross-Platform Project, Non-Fiction	List Ryan Andal Lynne Carter Michala Duffield Zach Feldberg Sean Fernie Pietro Gagliano C.J. Hervey Cynthia Long James Milward Emily Morgan Christine Shipton	Won

See also

• Big Brother (TV series)
• Big Brother (U.S.)

External links

• Official website