Big Brother Australia is back for a second season after last year’s revival, but trouble is already brewing.
Only weeks after it’s premiere, ratings are low and fans are complaining about the format, with the network reportedly worried about the future of the show.
While it’s a tricky balance to master (keeping things fresh and honouring the roots of the show), it seems producers haven’t got it quite right. At least, that’s what the fans are saying.
And newly evicted housemate Pam spoke to WHO, defending the thing viewers are grumbling about: the contestants.
Why are Big Brother fans complaining about the show?
Listen, reality TV fans always find a reason to grumble and Big Brother viewers are no different.
They’re complaining about everything from the contestants being “influencers” rather than normal people, to the lack of challenges they need to do, to them talking directly to cameras.
“NO influencers, NO actors/actresses and no family members of past Big Brother housemates that try to influence the votes. Put the normal great fun everyday Aussies in there,” one viewer said online.
“Whoever did the contestant selection needs to be replaced,” another said, while a third called for “endurance challenges” and “Friday night challenges”.
Simply put, one fan said, “The current format is crappy.”
Ratings are off to a rocky start
The ratings have been much lower than expected since the season kicked off on October 26.
On Tuesday, the Big Brother was the 23rd most-watched show of the day, with 853,000 tuning in.
In comparison, the equivalent show last year (one week and a day after the season premiere) rake in 996,000 viewers, a notable 14 per cent drop.
According to TV Blackbox, the show’s ratings are 35 per cent down year-on-year, with production company Endemol Shine Australia worried it will not be able to return next year as ratings stand.
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Newly evicted housemate Pam defends the big ‘personalities’
After being evicted on Wednesday night, Pam told WHO it’s great to have so many big personalities on the show, saying the variety is a good thing.
“Boy, is there a melting pot of personalities in there. I mean, you’ve got the extroverts, you’ve got the introverts, you’ve got people wandering around sort of thinking, well, what am I going to do next? There’s people waiting for Big Brother to, you know, call them to the diary room,” she said, potentially hinting at the rule breaking that’s been going on.
Whether you love or hate the direction of the show, there’s no question the big personalities are needed to keep things interesting.
If they don’t, the show won’t be entertaining, and that will be another reason ratings drop.
It’s a delicate line, and one I’m not envious of the producers having to toe.
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