Fans have been in a tizzy regarding Big Brother All-Stars over this past week after the casting reveal was delayed without any explanation. Now we have an answer to when we'll finally know which former players will be a part of the season, but is CBS' history-making strategy a good thing?
After letting fans sweat it out and speculate for a day, news has broken that the official cast reveal will be reserved for the live two-hour move-in premiere for the first time ever. Check out the announcement from the Big Brother account below, and continue on for why this may not be the best idea.
On one hand, I am glad that we'll finally learn who the cast is during the Big Brother All-Stars premiere. Of course, that was something that was going to happen regardless, as it's not like we wouldn't have seen them anyway. Saving the reveal for the premiere is exciting, though I also think it's going to be a huge time sink and dominate those two hours.
Part of the reason the live two-hour move-in was going to be so exciting was that it would be two unfiltered hours of the game's greatest players establishing introductory alliances, getting to geek out over each other, and size each other up for what should be a big season. Now, I'm thinking that the cast reveal will be a sizable chunk of the move-in, and potentially eat up a majority of the live two hours.
With no episode after that until Sunday, I can't help but feel like fans are being cheated out of some fun for a reveal that, let's be honest, would've been fine as a press release. Big Brother fans should theoretically know all the all-stars participating, and now it's going to be a wait filled with crazy internet speculation until that premiere actually comes. I can't speak for everyone, but I can say I certainly would love for the rumors to end and the season to begin as soon as possible.
Additionally, I think to announce the cast on the premiere hinders CBS's ability to do anything interesting with the game live, meaning that once again most the action this first week will take place on the live feeds. I can't necessarily argue that's not always the case, but I do feel some sort of guilt that the television-only viewers won't get a sneak peek at some of the raw craziness that happens before the production team edits it all down.
I would also add that in all the joy of finally having an official announcement, some may have forgotten that CBS had teased this would be happening the Wednesday before the premiere. I'm still interested in finding out why that plan was abandoned, and if the rumors are true that the show's final casting for Big Brother All-Stars had still not been locked. What's the story there? Was Nicole Franzel to blame? Probably not, but I enjoy the memes all the same.
Big Brother All-Stars will premiere on CBS Wednesday, August 5 with a two-hour live move-in special starting at 9:00 p.m ET. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more on the upcoming season, and for more happening in television and movies.
