Is Big Brother's return a big mistake in an over-saturated reality TV market?
Pictured: Big Brother Reveals Its Iconic Eye
Billy Connolly hates reality TV.
The Scottish comedy legend is known for his outspoken views on watching “somebody fumbling around trying to look famous”.
But he perhaps put it best when it comes to describing the format of reality TV show Big Brother as "people sitting in a house watching people sitting in a house. What’s that about?”
The ‘why’ of reality TV deserves an entire thesis; Inverted narcissism, the illusion of intimacy, people-watching addiction, a giant social experiment, crowd politics, social science…We could be here all day.
However, it’s fair to say that the explosion of watching real people do real things in unusual settings has a vice hold on viewers and dollar signs in the eyes of the creators.
But today we are here to discuss the return of Big Brother, the show where producers lock a bunch of people into a house for three months and watch them with cameras all day and all night. There are 24 hour live feeds, so you can even watch people sleep (if you are a total creep).
Then the creators stitch together the footage, and create storylines based on how the ‘contestants’ are interacting with one another. Cue drama, tears, evictions and excellent pass-the-popcorn moments.
After a five-year hiatus, the ultimate social experiment will return to our screens in October. But with similar shows moving towards more adventurous, bling-y themes, the big questions are whether or not the show's format is too sluggish, and will it still have a place in the very crowded reality TV market?
Big Brother was originally a hit for Channel 4, before moving to Channel 5. It has been off British TV screens for years but will return next month to ITV, which is hoping to replicate the ratings success of Love Island.
But I’m afraid, this is no love island. This isn’t about looking good in a bikini, or trying to seek love or find hidden treasure. It’s not about survival (traditional survival, anyway), and doesn’t involve backdrops of glamorous cities or fabulous outfits.
This is about people who choose to be locked up all summer. It's a motley crew cast of housemates from all walks of life who will call the Big Brother-created studio home, with cameras capturing their every move.
Even the show’s former boss on Channel 4 called its comeback ‘depressing.’
Ian Katz explained that he is more interested in bringing new shows to viewers instead: “I’m sure [Big Brother] will bring an audience to ITV, but I do think there is something depressing about this microwave moment with TV shows being reheated. If Channel 4 is about anything, it is about finding that new dish.”
Professor Eoin Devereux is Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Popular Music and Popular Culture at the University of Limerick. He says Big Brother is a tried and tested show that everyone knows works.
“Big Brother set the standard in terms of reality TV. Its popularity hinged on its originality and the quality of the programming. It was also localised to suit different audiences across the world. It also imaginatively tapped into a wider sense that surveillance was part and parcel of the late modern world or to paraphrase the Boomtown Rats hit ...There's Always Someone Looking At You.
"For audiences, reality TV manages to combine a form of voyeurism and curiosity as to what 'ordinary' people, plucked from relative obscurity, will do in a setting like the Big Brother House. Reality TV also promises to make at least one of the 'ordinary' participants famous."
But haven't we evolved past watching others sit about doing nothing, or is there a sociological point to a show like this? In other words, what hole are we trying so desperately to fill?
Professor Devereux says it’s a particular connection people are craving. “Because audiences have become more familiar with formats like Big Brother, the appeal may be fading but there remains a sense that reality TV connects with the illusions of intimacy that are a feature of the media-saturated world. “
Or maybe it's just entertaining?
Presenter of Newstalk’s movie and TV show Screen-time John Fardy is cynical about the show’s comeback.
“Honestly, I think it’s past it. I think it’s a bad idea bringing it back because this type of reality TV has changed," says Fardy. "I mean it all started with The Real World on MTV, I remember watching it in secondary school and it had a function, you know, it got us discussing race and social issues. But that was 30 years ago.
"What’s become a lot more popular now is scripted TV shows like The Kardashians, the Housewives of Beverley Hills. The trend is more with shows that have an actual function where people are doing things as opposed to just sitting around and not doing much of anything. I know there are challenges and Big Brother will probably mix it up but it’s still there in the confined space of the house.
"I think the ship has really sailed. I don’t get it.”
What makes other reality TV shows like Selling Sunset or Below Deck so popular is that there’s a job, there’s an action. It’s usually extreme.
Granted Big Brother also shares those personal dynamics that makes it irresistible to watch, particularly when personalities clash or conspire.
“TV is cyclical, you know” points out Fardy. “And there comes a point when you have to say, okay, this doesn't work anymore, we saw that with The X Factor, for example. Shows have a beginning, a middle and the end, and I’m not sure why anyone thought it was a good idea to bring Big Brother back."
The other risk is that without the forward momentum of a task or a particular ‘point’ to the show, a void can sometimes take hold that breeds negativity, hateful rants or bullying.
But controversy is nothing new for Big Brother.
The show has had its fair share of headline-splashing moments. Perhaps the show’s brand new set and updated format will surprise us all.
Professor Devereux also points out that social media is likely to play an even bigger role in the show’s success.
“It’s interesting to think about how audiences come to follow and support individual participants. Realty TV therefore gives rise to lots of audiences and fan activity online. Discussions and debates about reality TV have now converged into the online world.”
Presenters AJ Odudu and Will Best will welcome Big Brother to viewers which will air on Virgin Media in Ireland from 8 October.
The hosting duo will follow in the footsteps of Davina McCall, Emma Willis and Brian Dowling, who all presented the popular programme during its 18-year run on TV, before it was axed in 2018 amid a ratings slump.
Optimistically, Jane Stiller, Chief Marketing Officer at ITV has described the show’s return as the “TV moment of the year”.
"We know there is already such a huge appetite from original fans of the series and also from those yet to immerse themselves in the Big Brother world. And they're in for such a treat! Look out for our brand new Big Brother eye everywhere you would and would not expect in the forthcoming weeks. Big Brother really does see it all..."
One wonders if it can also spot the writing on the wall.
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