Big Brother Premiers First All-Star Season in 14 Years
By: Maddy Grebler- (CitrusTV)
Big Brother fans have been itching for another All-Stars season after the success of the first one in 2006, and after fourteen years, CBS has finally delivered… kind of. Season 22 brought back 16 former players to compete again, but to say this season is a disappointment to many fans is an understatement.
Fans of the reality competition show were ecstatic when CBS announced that Big Brother would, in fact, happen this year, despite COVID-19. Houseguests were quarantined for two weeks and tested many times before the season started. Once they enter the house, they are completely cut off from the rest of the world; essentially, it’s a mass quarantine. Therefore, since all of the houseguests quarantined for two weeks prior and tested negative, they can be around each other without masks and in close proximity. There is no live audience this year, as that would be impossible with social distancing, so the only person allowed on the set outside the house is the host, Julie Chen. Fans were starved for Big Brother content all summer. Many did not know what to do with their Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights without the show. So this announcement, on top of it being a much-awaited All-Stars season, was huge. Unfortunately, fans are not impressed with what they have been given.
Six houseguests—Nicole Franzel, Tyler Crispen, Cody Calafiore, Memphis Garrett, Christmas Abbott, and Dani Donato—formed an alliance called “The Committee” on one of the first nights. This alliance has held power every single week. In the game, one person wins the Head of Household competition, and that person nominates two other houseguests for eviction. So far, all but one of the Heads of Household has been from The Committee (and the one who wasn’t is their close ally), and they still have yet to turn on each other. Fans say this has made the season extremely predictable. In most seasons, there is a big alliance controlling the house, but by now, there would usually be at least one power shift that would put someone from that alliance in danger of eviction. The fact that The Committee has had no setbacks the entire season is boring fans and causing many to stop watching. Additionally, since this is an All-Stars season, fans thought the players would be willing to play hard and make big moves. The fans thought wrong. So far, The Committee has been making extremely safe moves by taking out the weaker players. They have only taken out one strong player, Janelle Pierzina, the entire season. The other houseguests they have evicted are either floaters, not winning competitions, or have no allies in the game, making them easy targets rather than threatening ones. So while it may seem impressive that The Committee never fails to seize power, they are not using it well. Fans who were eager to see an exciting season full of power players making big moves are extremely disappointed by how it is turning out.
This season is also revealing many of houseguest’s true colors. Recently, Franzel, Garrett, Abbott, and Donato were caught on live feeds discussing their fellow houseguest and former winner, Ian Terry. Terry opened up this season to the other houseguests that he is on the autism spectrum. He has received overwhelming support from viewers. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about his housemates. The four aforementioned houseguests were caught on the feeds making fun of him. Garrett imitated Terry’s rocking back and forth, which is how Terry stims, and Franzel, Abbott, and Donato laughed at it. This has caused an uproar in fans. They are absolutely disgusted by the fact that these houseguests are mocking someone for a condition he has no control over and that CBS has made no comment on it. CBS has stated that they do not always agree with what the houseguests do, and they usually speak out against discrimination in the house. The fact that nothing has been said about these houseguest’s actions is extremely angering to many fans. Fans recognize that lying, manipulating, and backstabbing is part of the game, but going as far as to mock someone is making it personal. Garrett, Franzel, and Donato were fan favorites in their first seasons, but after this summer, they have quickly become some of the most hated houseguests of all time.
Garrett is the current Head of Household, and he is the most adamant about keeping The Committee together. There are only four houseguests left in the game that are not in The Committee, so it is likely two of them will find themselves nominated. With such few outside targets left, hopefully, the allies will start going after one another soon, and some big moves will finally be made.
