Survivor fans: Big Brother may be something to check out in the offseason
Though the two shows have different casting expectations and different audiences, Survivor fans may want to check out Big Brother just to see.
Last year, weeks after the Game Changers finale, I began watching my very first season of live Big Brother. I even covered the first week of action from a Survivor fan’s perspective here on Surviving Tribal, and the reason I bring this up is that I plan to also cover the first week Big Brother 20.
Why is a Survivor fan site covering the first week of Big Brother? You might think it’s an oversell, but there are some striking similarities between the two games. While Survivor lasts 39 days, Big Brother 20 will last 60 days longer. Both shows see players sent away from society and every action recorded on film 24/7, but the latter lets viewers watch the action of the Big Brother house online via live feeds.
Competitively, both shows follow a similar style of gameplay. In Big Brother, each “week” players compete in a Head of Household competition. Just like in Survivor, it could involve puzzles, endurance, feats of strength and dexterity, or memorization. The Head of Household is safe for the week, but they must nominate (usually) two players in the house that everyone but them and the nominees most vote to evict from the house.
Thankfully, those on the block get to compete in a Power of Veto competition. Alongside the Head of Household and three randomly-selected players, they compete in (effectively) an Immunity Challenge. Whoever wins the Power of Veto (including HoH and non-nominees) can decide to use it to keep a player safe, then forcing the Head of Household to put up a new nominee. The PoV holder cannot be chosen to replace, keeping them safe, too.
After the PoV, the houseguests (minus the nominees and Head of Household) vote on who to remove from the game. If there’s a tie, the HoH casts the deciding vote on who goes home and hosts the next week’s HoH competition (they cannot compete twice in a row).
The goal is to make it to the Final Two and convince a sequestered jury of 7-9 peers (usually nine nowadays) who have not seen the show on TV that they deserve to win $500,000. There are usually three episodes aired per week.
Where Survivor thrives on survival skills and working alliances deep until the end, Big Brother shifts a lot of its focus to social skills, secret alliances and ways to make yourself look like a smaller target. You can’t win Immunity Challenges five times in a row to win your way to the end, meaning you have to balance your HoH wins. Furthermore, it’s you alone who are nominating people, increasing the chances you will be targeted in retaliation.
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Survivor YouTuber Peridiam is also a fan of Big Brother, and I highly recommend watching his beginner/”what season to watch” videos if you want to learn where to start. It should be noted that the summertime show is decidedly about young, hot people causing drama, but that does not mean that the drama isn’t a strategic ploy at times.
Just like Survivor, Big Brother at its greatest celebrates strong, thoughtful gameplay. The best players are able to either work both sides of the house, operate within multiple alliances and generally avoid even being nominated. Furthermore, the Power of Veto can be used strategically so that pawns can be nominated, taken down and the real target put up as a replacement, preventing their immunity attempt.
That said, the general immaturity of the players cast for the show means there are a ton of dumb/weird people that are more like lemmings than players. Furthermore, tons of people enter showmances immediately, thus bringing more of a focus on shacking up over getting to know the players as individuals. Finally, some go on to gain a social media following instead of trying to win.
Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking 35 Sole Survivors By Season
If you’re like me and are counting the days until Survivor comes back on TV, Big Brother is something you turn on and find commonalities. It may not be as great a show, but it does lead to good conversations for like topics, including jury management and more. Check out Inside the BB House for full coverage all season long!