Big Brother Season 24 had a lot to live up to when the unprecedented changes in Season 23 erased some of the ugly trends that plagued the franchise since its beginning. The latest season immediately had a rocky start with Paloma Aguilar’s exit and mainstream news outlets reporting on the mistreatment of Taylor Hale, but some awesome things are happening in the game that are really making me love the new season.
CinemaBlend continues to track the events of the game with a Paramount+ subscription, and whether you’re a live feed viewer or someone just tuning in for episodes, there’s already plenty to love about Season 24. For anyone who might’ve hopped out early on, here are some of the changes happening in the game that are really wonderful.
The Live Feed Experience Is Vastly Improved
Big Brother’s live feeds set it apart from almost every other reality series, but I don’t think it’s a secret that the experience in recent years wasn't the greatest. Season 23’s feeds were consistently cut when a Houseguest sang or talked about something they shouldn’t, and Celebrity Big Brother Season 3 didn’t turn on its live feeds until it was already well into the game. These long gaps prevented viewers from seeing key game moments that would’ve provided more context to episodes and gave a feeling to some that subscribing to Paramount+ wasn’t worth it.
It seems like someone in power got the message because a lot of the past problems that Big Brother’s live feed devotees complained about are gone in Season 24. Feeds Bot confirms that outside of the day Paloma Aguilar left the game, they're active without cuts for a vast majority of the day. Of course, we’re still missing the usual competitions and ceremonies, but fans can now watch a solid chunk without the cameras cutting to the title card with music. It’s a significant improvement that improved the live feed experience, and I hope it continues as the season goes on.
Houseguests Are Targeting Actual Threats
The start of Big Brother Season 24 had a disappointing start, as many of the incoming Houseguests quickly gravitated towards the “popular kids” vs. “outcasts” trend. Taylor found herself the target of the house, as did Brittany Hoopes, because of their inability to make friends ASAP. It seemed like the house was in for a predictable season of a majority alliance systematically evicting people who never seemed to have a shot at winning, but something magical happened after Paloma exited the game.
Jasmine Davis flipped the script with her Head of Household, as did Joe “Pooch” Pucciarelli. Pooch volunteering to be a pawn helped Jasmine and others realize it was better to take out an actual threat to advance their game, which spared Taylor another week. In Week 3, Matt Turner is doing the same thing and targeting Ameerah Jones. It’s good to see the actual competitive threats and well-aligned Houseguests up for eviction early and surprisingly going home while weaker targets stay. It’s actually shifting the balance of who is really considered a powerful player in Season 24 and making for some dynamic and entertaining gameplay.
There Haven't Been Wall Yellers Or Game Interference
Big Brother fans are a passionate bunch, but sometimes that passion can go way overboard to the point that it ruins the integrity of the game. Disgruntled fans upset by the actions of other Houseguests or who hope to change the game for other players have gone to extreme lengths. Recent examples include Season 21’s bullhorn incident or the Season 22 wall yeller who tried to expose the partnership of Cody Calafiore and Nicole Franzel.
These incidents are almost always a nightmare for the Houseguests, who lose the backyard when it happens. Live feed viewers also are impacted while production puts the Houseguests on lockdown. If all that wasn’t bad enough, it rarely ever changes anything already set in motion game-wise, so there are really only downsides to it. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be happening in Big Brother 24 yet, and if the season remains interesting, I wouldn’t expect it to occur.
Houseguests Are Standing Up For The Mistreatment Of Others
As previously mentioned, Big Brother Season 24 quickly made mainstream headlines when Houseguests targeted Taylor and isolated her from the rest of the house. The opening days on live feeds were reminiscent of past controversies, with Houseguests enduring microaggressions and racism by other players. It felt like a massive step back after the improvements in Season 23, and like the game may never truly shake those issues. Taylor saw the block twice in the first two weeks, and it seemed like she’d continue to see the block and be targeted as a “house problem” by Houseguests until they finally evicted her.
That all changed with Turner, who decided to go against the grain. He saw no value in taking out someone with no significant status in the game, and neither did Joseph Abdin and Kyle Capener. It all resulted in a partnership that combined their forces with the outcasts in the game, and “The Leftovers” was born. It’s an alliance that could go far in Big Brother, and it all started with someone doing the right thing and sticking up for the mistreatment of another Houseguest. That’s not something that happens often in the reality series, so it’s great to see it happening after how things originally started.
Actual Blindsides And Unexpected Twists Are Happening
While the episodes might suggest otherwise, live feed viewers know that Big Brother can get very formulaic once the game is underway. Decisions are usually set in stone on who’s getting evicted as early as Sunday, which makes for boring feeds from Monday to Thursday as the Houseguest going home slowly realizes their fate. Season 24 broke from tradition when the house surprised Pooch with his 12-0 vote eviction.
Now, as Week 3 draws to a close, it’s looking like the eviction might even result in a split vote, a true rarity in modern Big Brother. If the house starts playing the deception game and continues to keep others in the dark, some wild things will happen, and I’m 100% here for it. Big Brother can be a very exciting game, and blindsides and truly unexpected events help that along greatly.
Big Brother airs on CBS on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET and on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m ET. Here’s hoping the season stays on track from this promising start and gives many fans the type of season they’ve hoped to see for a while.
