Big Brother 11 is the eleventh season of the American reality television series Big Brother which premiered July 9, 2009 w
ith the season finale airing on September 15, 2009 on the CBS television network. The show airs three times a week: Sundays at 8 p.m. (ET/PT), Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), and Thursdays at 8 p.m (live ET/delayed PT). The eleventh season will last 73 days, an increase of two days over the previous season. Julie Chen returned as host, and Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan and Scott Einziger are the executive producers. The show is produced by Endemol USA and Allison Grodner Productions.Broadcasts and platforms
The eleventh season was confirmed three days after the finale of Big Brother 10. CBS issued an official press release on September 22, 2008 confirming the pickup. The main television coverage of Big Brother is screened in three weekly highlights programs. These episodes summarize the events of the previous two to three days in the House. Along side these shows is a spin-off show, Big Brother: After Dark, which screens three hours live directly from the House. For the first time in the history of the show Big Brother will have a two hour live season finale on September 15, 2009. Ratings for the eleventh season were up 5% in overall viewers by August 20, 2009.
Big Brother will maintain an online platform with live subscription feeds from RealNetworks, a redesigned and relaunched website, online videos, full episodes, a fantasy game and segments on Inside Dish with Ross Mathews. For the first time Big Brother will launch two Twitter accounts; one will feature updates from the production staff and one will feature updates from the current Head of Household. Episodes of Big Brother will continue to be streamed on CBS Mobile Channel on FLOTV. Mobile users will also influence the show with their mobile phone and a simulation game based on Big Brother will be available to mobile customers.
Pre-season
Casting for Big Brother 11 began during the final week of Big Brother 10. Applications and video tape submissions were due by May 4, 2009. Applicants chosen to be a finalist went to Los Angeles, CA from which applicants were narrowed down to a pool of forty finalists. The first open casting call for the season was held in Lansing, Michigan by local CBS affiliate WLNS-TV on April 1, 2009. Various open casting calls will be conducted across the nation including Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Waverly, IA, and Columbus, OH.
Julie Chen interviewed casting director Robyn Kass and former HouseGuests Mike Malin and Brian Hart about the upcoming season and their experiences going through casting on March 19, 2009. Julie Chen confirmed that she would continue to host Big Brother during her pregnancy despite tabloid rumors stating she would take maternity leave. Twelve of the thirteen HouseGuests were revealed during The Early Show on July 1, 2009 by Julie Chen.Jessie Godderz was revealed as the final HouseGuest during the season premiere on July 9, 2009.
HouseGuests
Summary
During the first week Big Brother divided the HouseGuests into four cliques of three; Athletes, Populars, Brains, and Off-beats. The HouseGuests competed as individuals except when a HouseGuest from a clique wins Head of Household, all members of that clique were immune from eviction. Four past HouseGuests returned to support one of the cliques in the House; Michael "Cowboy" Ellis of Big Brother 5 supported the Off-beats, Jessica Hughbanks of Big Brother 8 supported the Populars, Brian Hart of Big Brother 10 supported the Brains, and Jessie Godderz also from Big Brother 10 supported the Athletes. Natalie and Russell won the first Head of Household competition, "The Wedgie," for the Athletes allowing Jessie to return to the House as a full HouseGuest and the first Head of Household.
Big Brother replaced the food competitions with Have and Have Not competitions. HouseGuests would be divided into either the "Haves" or the "Have Nots" depending on their performance in the competitions. The Head of Household and their respective clique were immune from the Have and Have Not competitions. The Brains lost the weekly Have and Have Not competition "Big Brother Rave" and became the "Have Nots" for the week, resulting in them eating only slop plus the weekly food restriction, taking cold showers and sleeping on metal beds. Chima and Lydia were initially nominated for eviction by Jessie on Day 5. Russell won the Power of Veto competition "Pop Goes the Veto!" and saved Lydia from eviction and Jessie nominated Braden as her replacement. Braden was evicted on Day 12 after Jessie broke the tie to evict him.
In the second week Ronnie won the second Head of Household competition "Most Likely To..." This resulted in the Brains becoming the In-Crowd, immune from eviction or being the Have-Nots for the week. At the Have and Have Not competition, Casey and Chima won a screening of The Ugly Truth. Casey and Chima had to choose one clique to become the Have Nots for the week and they chose Jordan and Laura from the Popular clique. At the nomination ceremony, Ronnie nominated Laura and Jeff for eviction. At the Veto Competition, Jeff won the Golden Power of Veto competition "The Big Brother Mint" and saved himself and Ronnie nominated Jordan as his replacement. Laura was evicted on Day 19 by a vote of 8-1.
In the third week, Jessie won the Head of Household competition "Buzzworthy". The Athletes became immune from nomination or being the Have-Nots for the week. At the Have and Have Not competition, "Back Yard Bash", only one member from each clique participated in the competition. Kevin, Chima, and Jordan were the participants with Chima losing and the Brains becoming the Have-Nots for a second time. Also, America voted for the Have Nots to receive Cabbage and Cocktail Weenies for the week. At the Veto competition, Michele narrowly won the Power of Veto over Jessie. During the competition, Casey also won a margarita party for the house and Jessie won $2,500 for himself. Casey also "earned" a banana costume, which he had to wear for the week. At the Veto ceremony, Michele removed herself from the block. Jessie replaced her with Casey. On Day 26, Casey was evicted by a vote of 7-1. After his eviction, Julie Chen announced the end of the cliques twist, leaving every HouseGuest on their own to ensure their safety. Chen also announced an exclusive power only one HouseGuest will be granted by America's vote. She revealed only to the viewing audience this power is called the "Coup d'État," first introduced in Big Brother: All-Stars. This power allows the holder to overthrow the HoH and replace his or her nominations right before the live eviction vote. Only the HoH and the Power of Veto winner that week will be immune from the nomination. This power can only be used once and within the next two evictions.
In the fourth week, Russell won the Head of Household competition by enduring the longest on a swing like contraption, beating out Jeff in the end at approximately 12:26 a.m. EST, nearly four hours after the start of the contest. During the Head of Household competition Jordan won the power to make three houseguests Have Nots. She chose Jessie, Kevin, and Natalie. America voted to give the Have Nots squid and squash for the week. In the Veto competition, Michele ended winning it for the 2nd week in a row. However, she ultimately decided not to use the Power of Veto on either of the two nominees. Ronnie was evicted by a 4-3 vote on Day 33. Prior to his eviction, it was revealed that a record 12 million votes were cast for the Coup d'État power, in which Jeff received. He ultimately chose not to use it and may only use it at the next eviction, but if not, the power will be exhausted by the end of week five.
In the fifth week, Chima won the Head of Household competition "Say What?" and nominated Lydia and Russell for eviction. At the Have and Have Not competition, Jeff, Kevin, Lydia, and Michele became the week's Have Nots, and were given Liver and Limes by America. Kevin won the Power of Veto but decided not to use it. On Day 40, right before the eviction vote, Jeff decided to use the power of "Coup d'État" to replace Chima's nominations with his own. He nominated Jessie and Natalie for eviction. He, Chima, and his nominees were not permitted to vote. Jessie became the fifth evicted HouseGuest by a 3-2 vote, and the first member of the jury that will vote for the winner of Big Brother. At the end of the episode, Julie Chen announced the sixth eviction episode will be a special live double eviction, with the eviction held immediately at the show's start, followed by an entire week of competitions and the seventh eviction, all in one hour.
In the sixth week, every HouseGuest was eligible to become Head of Household. Michele won the HoH competition "Hit the Road" and nominated Chima and Natalie for eviction. On Day 42 after throwing her mic into the Hot Tub, not having her mic on, and bad mouthing production, Chima was removed from the house. Michele was dethroned as the HoH; as a result, another HoH competition was held on Day 42, with Jordan becoming the new HoH. She decided to nominate Natalie and Lydia.Because of Chima's expulsion, the live eviction episode was not a double eviction as planned. Instead, the Power of Veto competition was played live, followed by the veto ceremony and eviction. On Day 47, at the live veto competition, Jordan won and decided not to use it. Lydia was evicted by a 3-1 vote, becoming the second juror.
In the seventh week, Jeff won the "Can Do" Head of Household competition, and Michele and Russell become the Have-Nots for the week during the competition.[37] America voted for the Have-Nots to dine on churros and chitlins for the week. Jeff nominated Kevin and Natalie for eviction.[38] Jeff won the POV competition and vetoed his own nomination of Kevin; he nominated Russell as a replacement.[39]. Russell was evicted by a unanimous vote of 3-0 on Day 54, making him the third member of the jury. During the live show, Julie Chen announced the end of the Have-Nots twist to the HouseGuests. Chen also announced a new unknown twist to the audience that the new HoH will be the first to discover.
In the eigth week, Kevin won the Head of Household competition "The S'more The Merrier."
Voting history
A record of the votes cast, are stored in a voting-table, shows how each HouseGuest voted to evict throughout his or her time in the House. The Head of Household and the nominees were not allowed to vote, but in the event of a tie, the Head of Household will break it. Twists to the normal nominations process are noted, such as immunity from nomination and eviction (referred to as "exempt") and double evictions. The last seven evictees of the season are part of the Jury of Big Brother 11, who vote for the winner during the Finale.
For the first three weeks, Big Brother divided the HouseGuests into four cliques; Athletes, Populars, Brains and Off-beats. When a HouseGuest from a clique won Head of Household, the other members of the clique were immune from eviction along with the Head of Household. At the end of the week three, the cliques dissolved, leaving all HouseGuests to play on their own.
