On the Big Brother 2014 finale day, the fans received some important news: Big Brother was renewed for two more seasons. This means Big Brother will at least have 18 seasons and air until 2016. We weren’t surprised that Big Brother got renewed, but hearing it did for two more seasons was a shock. What happened in Big Brother 16 that made CBS order two more seasons?
The controversy of Big Brother 15 made us fear that the series had become too risky for the network. Luckily, Big Brother 16’s cast immediately put our fears to rest. The cast was a lot more socially conscious than the last season. Many of the cast members of Big Brother 2014 had one major goal: make America like me. Even the cast members who we expected to go down in the controversial reality star hall of fame were way more likable than we ever anticipated. A likable cast meant that the fans became more invested in their success inside and outside the Big Brother house.
The Big Brother 16 cast’s likability helped create the Big Brother fandom intensity. We’ve never seen this much Big Brother fan devotion. The first time we saw the power of the fans was when choosing if Team America passed or failed a mission. It was an “overwhelming no.” During the Big Brother 2014 finale, Julie announced that the America’s Favorite Player vote received over 10 million votes. Many Big Brother superfans, and even casual ones, were invested in controling the destiny of their favorite players. They needed to reward the players they liked and punish those they didn’t like. The power hungry fans made Big Brother 2014 buzz worthy.
Social media played a huge role in feeding the Big Brother 2014 buzz. Every time the show aired, at least one Twitter trending topic was about it. The power of Big Brother showed the most when the show wasn’t even on the air. Fans united to try to save Zach with the #Renom Rule, and then they came together to battle Ariana Grande fans. One night on Twitter, it became a battle between the Big Brother fans and the Grandes with the #Frankie4Pov versus #AnyoneButFrankie topics going head to head on Twitter. Besides the Twitter wars, Big Brother became so social media cool that this year a lot more celebrities were tweeting about it.
Derrick’s incredible game play also helped CBS see the show’s potential. It proved that there were still players out there who knew what strategies to use to win the game. The last really smart Big Brother newbie player was Dan back in Big Brother 10. So for the fans who only care about game play, Derrick is someone to admire. He created a bar that future cast members will want to match or beat, which could lead to more people wanting to be on the show. A better cast may mean better ratings.
With a likable cast, social media buzz, a dedicated fan base, and actual good game play, it seems like a very smart decision by CBS to renew it for at least two more seasons.
