The legendary Cirie Fields is in the Big Brother house, meaning some longtime Survivor fans have started watching the CBS reality series for the first time, and many are finding that contestants spending 100 days in an isolated social experiment is much different than a month on a deserted island. It's so different, in fact, that new viewers took to social media with their confusion, asking some big questions about the show and its host Julie Chen, with some of the world's most prominent experts on Big Brother are struggling to answer.
This attempt to education was recently brought to my attention after seeing a hilarious clip from the team at Rob Has A Podcast, in which host Rob Cesternino tried to answer questions posed by Survivor fan Shannon Gaitz to the best of his abilities. Take a look at the exchange below, which will likely make any Big Brother fan chuckle:
Ever thought what someone unfamiliar with Big Brother would think about Julie as the host? Here's what @ShannonGaitz had to say about her presence! (or lack thereof)💀🛎#BB25 #RHAP pic.twitter.com/mVx4Uwm9O1August 15, 2023
Cesternino was caught off-guard, so he likely didn't have any of that info holding steady off the top of his head, but for Gaitz and any other Survivor fan curious about these questions, here are some answers to questions about Julie Chen Moonves and more that were thrown out during the short but humorous clip.
Why Julie Chen Moonves Isn't In Every Episode
Julie Chen Moonves, unlike Survivor's Jeff Probst, does not appear in most episodes of Big Brother. Unless her voice is recorded or her face is shown on a monitor during a random episode, she's only there to guide the drama during the season premiere, on eviction nights, and then for the finale. That may seem strange, considering she's the host, but such a guiding force isn't needed for any of the show's other events. Trust me when I say that Big Brother will drill the rules of each competition down the throats of viewers via diary room breakdowns, and giving Moonves those duties would just be a redundancy.
Why Julie Chen Moonves And Other Outsiders Aren't Allowed In The House
Big Brother tries its best to limit the Houseguests' interaction with the outside world as much as possible. There are rare exceptions where they're allowed to leave for competitions or special prizes — as well as rare moments when former players will show up to host a competition — but beyond that, the house is closed to outsiders, including Julie Chen Moonves. In emergencies where something needs to be fixed, the Houseguests are placed on lockdown and confined to rooms while someone goes in to fix something. Those with a Paramount+ subscription can see a softer version of lockdown on Wednesdays when the backyard is usually shut off for the crew to build the next challenge ahead of Thursday.
Why Julie Chen Moonves Probably Sounds Uncomfortable Hosting Competitions
Julie Chen Moonves has hosted Big Brother since the beginning, but as the podcast pointed out, she still sometimes sounds uncomfortable or unsure during on-air competitions. There's definitely some truth to Rob Cesternino's comments that harken back to the classic Chenbot jokes of Moonves sticking to a script.
With that said, the live shows are a bit looser in format, and just about anything can happen. This includes anything from unexpected censorship of Houseguests or technical audio issues. All of these can trip up a host trying to communicate the rules of a challenge while also having to listen for time cues in order to appropriately space it all out and end the episode on time. In my personal opinion, even the most seasoned professional will trip up in such circumstances, so I can't fault Moonves for any errors or lack of creativity with commentary during competitions in those instances.
No, The Announcer Is Not "Big Brother"
I had to laugh at Shannon Gaitz's random comment about the announcer at the start of the episodes not being Big Brother because I had the same problem when I started watching. The announcer recaps all of what happened "previously" on the show, but when watching the live feeds, there's a different voice instructing the Houseguests.
There is no official mascot that represents "Big Brother," even if the show has plenty of specified iconography. OTEV, Zingbot, and the rubber duck with sunglasses are all notable mascots of the series, but none of them would be called Big Brother. Some questions in this franchise are best left unanswered, lest we start to wonder if we, the viewer, are the titular voyeur.
Catch new episodes of Big Brother on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET and on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Those looking to see everything happening can tune into the live feeds with Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
