‘Big Brother’: Why Are Houseguests So Emotional? Is Paul Too Powerful? EP Allison Grodner Answers Our Burning Questions
Q&A
It’s Big Brother on steroids! The 19th season of the CBS reality juggernaut has been so insane that we’re bursting with questions. And exec producer Allison Grodner has the answers.
Why are the houseguests so damn emotional? It usually takes weeks for things to get ugly and volcanic. Not this summer.
It’s been crazy from Day 1! We have a mix of personalities that are far more manipulative and impulsive than usual. People divided up very quickly, seeking revenge, feeling really hurt by the [eviction] nominations. Our three showmances also got started right away, which is unusual. The houseguests can’t seem to help themselves. Before the game started, some of these very same people swore they would never get into a showmance—that it must be avoided at all costs because it’s such a threat to the other players—and yet it happened. Immediately. [Laughs] The showmances started even before we started the live feed!
This season even brought us the first supervillain showmance, with Cody and Jessica.
And it seems to be the real thing and more important to them than the game itself. Big Brother has a great success rate when it comes to long-lasting relationships, marriages and babies—much better than The Bachelor.
You’ve added so many twists and wrenches and temptations this season that the game seems less about the survival of the fittest and more like the survival of the luckiest. Any concerns about that?
To be fair, the Den of Temptation was driven by the viewers, not the producers. But this game has always involved luck, along with skill, endurance and a good social game. I’m not buying that it’s more about luck now. There are still lots of tools to play with. You can still go from the outhouse to the penthouse, if you work it right.
BB18 was won by Nicole, a returning fan favorite. This year Paul, who placed second last season, has been the most powerful player. Isn’t this discouraging to the newbies?
They can either be discouraged or learn from the past and evict the veterans as soon as possible. The first-time players rallied around Paul because Cody and Jessica were a bigger threat. It’s all about the common enemy. And that, for me, has been one of the biggest shocks this season—that a tough veteran like Paul could come into the game and be so dominant and pretty much everyone fell in line behind him. He’s been a truly influential leader.
Your show is often criticized for being too white, yet this season two people of color were voted out very early. Doesn’t that drive you batty?
We want a cast as diverse as possible, but we can’t control the votes. That said, I don’t think Ramses and Dominique were evicted because of their ethnicity. It was their game play.
Older players are often among the first to be sent packing. What explains Kevin’s survival?
It’s probably due to him having seven kids of his own. He knows how to relate to that age group. Plus, I think the houseguests genuinely like having him around. He’s got great social game. He’s not on anyone’s radar. He could go surprisingly far.
Which houseguest were you most sorry to see go?
Cameron, the first out the door. I’d have loved to see him stick around. He’s such a huge fan of the show and so likable. This would be a very different game if he’d been allowed to play it.
Who’s the biggest annoyance in BB history? Zingbot, Mr. Pec-Tacular or Josh clanging his damn pots and pans while bellowing that circus song? And, please, don’t be kind.
Well, it certainly does seem that Josh is out to annoy some of his fellow housemates, and he’s succeeded completely. [Laughs] It can be maddening.
Christmas gets to avoid certain physical competitions because of her bad leg. Is that fair?
This is a first. We’ve never had someone break a bone in the house, but there’s nothing in the rules that says Christmas had to leave the show. An injury is not grounds for disqualification. And she still has her social game. Look at some of the past winners like Dr. Will [BB2] and Derrick [BB16]. In fact, go back through all of Big Brother history—you won’t find a lot of competition beasts sitting in those final two chairs.
Big Brother, Thursdays, 9/8c, CBS
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These may be some of the most naive people the show has ever had. I'm choosing my words carefully when I say that. To say Paul is running this game is an understatement, every HOH is his, every nomination is his, so on and so forth. They might as well give Paul the money right now. The bullying this season has bothered me. Paul being a part of that too doesn't do him any favors. I'd hate to think that the actions of these people are what our world is like anymore. I felt so bad for Jess and Cody. They didn't deserve the treatment they received. Josh is a bully as well. How old are you, 5? I don't want to root for anybody really at this point. Maybe I will cheer for the person who finally gets Paul out. At this rate, I doubt that will happen.
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Why would you feel bad for Jessica and Cody? BB is a social game, and Cody went into the house seemingly with the intention of not liking any of the other HGs right off the bat. He forms an alliance, wins the second HOH, and tries to evict one of his alliance members? Seriously, who does that? They turn on him and he can't take the criticism, then plays an anti-social game. Maybe he'll have time for some self-reflection in the jury house. He's a real piece of work.
Jessica is also a piece of work. Her inner mean girl (her true self?) came out during Cody's HOH. When she was HOH in Week 4, it seemed like she realized she needed to mend some fences and really change the way she and Cody were playing and interacting with the other HGs for both of them to have a chance at staying in the house. But her true mean-girl personality came roaring back, and she and Cody self-isolate from the rest of the house and wallow in their self-pity. Boo-fricking-hoo. You cannot play an anti-social game and expect to make it to the end. They did themselves in.
Having said that, I am no fan of Paul, either. I found him annoying last season, and I find him equally annoying this season. I think it was smart of the other HGs to stick with him for two reasons: (1) the enemy of my enemy is my friend (for now, anyway); and (2) it gets them deeper into the game. They're at the point in the game now where they'll have to start making their own decisions. I hope one of those decisions will be to send Paul to the jury house. If that doesn't happen and Paul makes it to the final two again, I'd like to think he'll not win again, as he's playing the same type of game that did not win him the game last summer.
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You avoided the last question entirely, AG, which was about her getting to SKIP COMPS.
Also... "They can evict the veterans as soon as possible." Yeh how? They tired "asap" and you had to it set up to hand him 3 weeks of safety. "The first-time players rallied around Paul because Cody and Jessica were a bigger threat. And that, for me, has been one of the biggest shocks this season—that a tough veteran like Paul could come into the game and be so dominant and pretty much everyone fell in line behind him." I wonder why?? Friendship bracelets ring a bell???????????
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It's been made very clear a few times that Christmas can compete in physical comps only if she has medical clearance. If she does not get medical clearance, she is ineligible to compete, which means she cannot possibly win that comp. That, in itself, is a huge risk to her safety in the house, especially if it's a POV or HOH comp. If she cannot compete, she cannot protect herself.
I agree that production had too strong a hand in protecting Paul when he entered the house. (But what's new? IMO, production tries to control the game far too much.) As far as the Pendant of Protection, it didn't surprise me at all that the voting viewers chose Paul. He was the most familiar HG by far, so it's only logical that the viewers would vote for him. Looking at it from production's standpoint, what would be the point of allowing a returning player into the house, only to see him or her immediately evicted? That makes no sense.
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(a) It's called playing the game for yourself, not have people flocked to you purposefully as an advantage. It's more INTERESTING to watch someone PLAY the game INSTEAD.
(b) Christmas is then carried by others, because she "can't" compete - gets a free ride to the end. How's that fair? Delusional.
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I agree it's more interesting to watch people play the game than watch an HG get carried to the end, but that's neither here nor there.
Christmas was part of an alliance that happened to stay together until they evicted everyone not in their alliance, at which point they had to start turning on each other. She is in a three-person alliance with Paul and Josh.
If they are the final three, and Paul wins the final HOH, I think he'll take Christmas to the end, precisely for the reason you stated above---she could not compete in many of the comps, making her the weaker player. Why wouldn't he take the person he thinks he can easily beat?
If Josh wins the final HOH, I can see him taking Christmas over Paul because he and Christmas are each other's primary alliance.
I didn't say anything about whether her situation was fair or not. It is what it is, and, as stated by the showrunners in other interviews, it is not against the rules for an injured HG to remain in the game.
Look at this way: If you were Christmas, would you leave the game and rehab at home, or would you stay in the game, rehab in the house, AND get a weekly stipend while doing so? Yeah, that's what I call a no-brainer.
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