Bad News 'Big Brother' Fans — The Show Isn't as Real as You Think

Fans of the hit series Big Brother are often left on the edge of their seats waiting to see whose going to "survive" and who's going to be sent packing. All of the juicy drama that comes with 16 strangers living in a house together for three months makes each episode that much more fun to watch, with the chaos increasing every time a new season drops.

But one question still plagues the series: Is Big Brother real?

A lot of people have become more than a little untrusting of reality shows in general, so it makes sense that fans are a bit skeptical of the series. With that said, we've done a little digging to find out what's happening behind the scenes on Big Brother to distinguish what is real and what isn't.

As TV Overmind points out, there are sources who claim Big Brother is fake from the very beginning, with the winners of each season essentially being chosen before filming even begins.

An article in Uproxx states that a former CBS employee allegedly accused one of the show's producers of faking it. Using a fake name, the person said that Allison Grodner rigged the show so that a friend of hers would win.

In addition to that, Screen Rant points out that contestants find out that they're going to be on the show via a phone call; there are cameras placed in their home to record their reactions. The article argues that to cut down on production costs, there's "simply no way" that CBS would place cameras in the homes of people who weren't selected to be on the show.

While there is no clear evidence that suggests the entire Big Brother show is fake, we do know the "house" they live in is. The house featured in the Big Brother series is actually a fake set situated on the CBS lot, ScreenRant points out. Did that throw you for a loop?

During the Season 24 premiere of Big Brother, Joe "Pooch" Pucciarelli selected the Backstage Boss ticket at "BB Fest." Following the HoH competition, our trusty host — Julie Chen Moonves — officially revealed all details regarding the twist.

Since he found the Backstage Boss ticket, Julie told Pooch that he would be "backstage" for the entire week; not only does he receive immunity, but he can not be nominated for eviction no matter the situation. Nevertheless, there is a catch: Pooch is not allowed to participate in any Week 1 competitions and can not cast his vote during the first eviction of the summer.

Hold on a second; there's more to the Backstage Boss twist!

After delivering the good news, Julie dove head first into the bad — Pooch had to choose three other houseguests to join him "backstage." In the end, Pooch selected Paloma, Alyssa, and Brittany.

OK, so what did that mean for the three women? Well, they also couldn't be nominated, play in the week's competitions, or vote on eviction night. However, one of them could still find themselves walking out the front door come eviction night.

And now that Big Brother been renewed for a 25th season, we can't wait to see what twists and turns lie ahead for the contestants, or house guests if we want to use proper Big Brother verbiage.

Season 25 of Big Brother premieres on August 2, 2023, with new episodes dropping on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST, and live episodes on Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST.