Allison Grodner: 'Big Brother' going old school for show's tenth season

By Christopher Rocchio, 07/03/2008

Big Brother is apparently going old school for its upcoming tenth season.

"We've had our share of interesting and amazing twists and turns and casting secrets and so forth," Big Brother executive producer Allison Grodner told WeLoveBigBrother.com during a Tuesday interview.

"A big part of Season 10 was sort of looking back and going, 'Hey, why don't we go back to where it all began -- back to the beginning few seasons and the original concept of the show with strangers moving into the house with diverse points of view, coming from all places, all different ages, all different walks of life -- and try to put that back into play for this special Big Brother 10 season. So that's a big part of this."

Big Brother's tenth season premieres Sunday, July 13 at 8PM ET/PT, but Grodner said the game will have already started by that point.

"I'm not saying there won't be twists and turns to keep our people on their toes... The game starts before these people even enter the house," she told WeLoveBigBrother.com. "Expect the unexpected. Expect a completely different Big Brother from what you've seen this past year."

Grodner also assured that the tenth-season's 13 houseguests are "different from any other cast we've had."

"As far as the cast is concerned, rest assured they are all strangers," she told the website about the cast.

"We have a wide range of ages on the show this year. There's young, there's old, there's in between; there's parents, there's students; there's people with white collar jobs, blue collar jobs. It's all very different. We've got a lot of very specific types of people in this house, and people who have very extreme points of view than maybe we've had in the past."

Grodner also explained that Big Brother's tenth-season house will be made in the image of the guests who inhabit it.

"This year [the house] reflects the cast in all the different places and eras they come from," she told WeLoveBigBrother.com. "This is a very different thing and it goes with the cast."

In addition, Grodner confirmed live studio audiences will also be present during the eviction episodes -- which will air Wednesdays at 8PM ET/PT beginning July 15. It will represent the first time since Big Brother's first season that the show will have a studio audience present for the live weekly evictions.

"We feel like it adds energy to the show," she explained to the website. "It gets [host Julie Chen] on her toes to get the fans involved, to have them in our audience and to have some audience involvement. It will really be a nice, refreshing change."

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CBS reveals the identities of 'Big Brother' tenth-season houseguests

By Christopher Rocchio, 07/08/2008

CBS has revealed the identities of the 13 houseguests who will be competing on Big Brother's tenth season, which will premiere Sunday, July 13 at 8PM ET/PT.

"There's somebody for everyone in this cast," Big Brother executive producer Allison Grodner told The Associated Press in a Tuesday report. "It's going to be interesting to see people that come from such opposite worlds living together, which has always been a part of this show, but this season, we really do have our most diverse group ever."

Big Brother 10's cast consists of six females and seven males who range in age from 22- to 75-years-old and hail from Rhode Island to California and various locations in between. They also appear to have a wide spectrum of occupations, from a gay rodeo competitor and a Hooters girl to a Catholic high school teacher and a former Marine.

In addition, the 13 tenth-season houseguests are all strangers -- representing the first time that has happened since Big Brother's Summer 2002 third season.

"When approaching this season, we wanted to look at what made this spark and last for 10 seasons," Grodner told The AP. "Every season had its unique twist. I think, in a way, going back to basics and having the cast be all strangers is part of the twist of 10. Of course, there will be more."

Grodner played coy about what the additional twist or twists would entail, but reiterated a previous comment that one will play itself out before the debut broadcast.

"It's really a power-play," Grodner told The AP. "The game will actually start before they enter the house."

CBS has also redecorated Big Brother's two-story house to reflect the diverse age range of the tenth-season's cast -- as its rooms will be themed to different decades, such as the kitchen resembling a 1950s-style diner and a bedroom featuring 1970s-inspired furnishings, according to The AP.

Following its July 13 debut, Big Brother will move into its regular thrice-weekly broadcast schedule -- with Tuesday night episodes airing at 9PM ET/PT beginning July 15 and Wednesday night episodes airing at 8PM ET/PT beginning the next night and serving as the tenth-season's live eviction show. Julie Chen will reprise her hosting role.

Big Brother 10's 13 houseguests are:

- Michelle Costa, a 28-year-old real estate agent from Cumberland, RI

- Steven Daigle, a 35-year-old geographic consultant and gay rodeo competitor from Dallas, TX

- April Dowling, a 30-year-old finance manager with obsessive-compulsive behaviors from Higley, AZ

- Robert "Memphis" Garrett, a 25-year-old mixologist and party planner from Los Angeles, CA

- Dan Gheesling, a 24-year-old Catholic high school teacher from Dearborn, MI

- Jessie Godderz, a 22-year-old bodybuilder from Huntington Beach, CA

- Brian Hart, a 27-year-old telecommunication account manager from San Francisco, CA

- Gerry MacDonald, a married 75-year-old former Marine and retired marketing executive from Magnolia, TX

- Renny Martyn, a 53-year-old hair salon owner from Metairie, LA

- Bryan Ollie, a 27-year-old marketing sales representative from Bloomington, MN

- Keesha Smith, a 29-year-old Hooters waitress from Burbank, CA

- Angie Swindell, a 29-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative from Orlando, FL

- Libra Thompson, a married 31-year-old human resources representative and mother of three from Spring, TX

I am so happy for you Ace.

I've never seen a single episode.

I'm gonna read the bios right now

I like Gramps!

Ace said:

Me too and I already think Dan is annoying.

Michelle has always spoken her mind and was the only person to jump up at her brother's wedding when the priest asked if there were any objections.

Keesha considers Hooters an important part of her life.

Can't wait for this season to begin!!!

I thought this thread was going to be about Project Runway.