History Series / BigBrother

'''Not to be confused''' with Creator/GeorgeOrwell's classic work ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour,'' in which Big Brother represents the totalitarian Party that treats free thought as a crime. Its name is, however, based on the fact that in the book cameras are everywhere, with everyone being watched by "Big Brother", which is about all most people (think they) know about it. For information on that trope, see BigBrotherIsWatching. For the trope on the totalitarian figure of "Big Brother" who may or may not exist, see ShadowDictator.

* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: The Celebrity revival series in 2024 did this three times. When the housemates had a spiritual-themed task, there was a montage of them waking up while some peaceful music was playing, only for it to quickly be shown from their reactions and a change in the show's audio that it was actually being played through the speakers in the bedroom. The same thing happened on the day when they had a police-themed task, this time with [[Music/SophieEllisBextor "Muder On The Dance Floor"]] playing. Then, when Big Brother announced that the remaing housemates were finalists, some songs were played, which could have easily been mistaken for diagetic if they hadn't been shown singing and dancing along to it.

* NoDamageRun: There were houseguests who managed to make it to the finale without being nominated or receiving ''very few'' nominations. Amanda & Sam in ''Big Brother 2007'' UK received no nomination votes, while Josie in ''Big Brother 2010'' never faced the public vote until the end.

* DeadHatShot: An example involving eviction rather than death; in the Celebrity series in 2024, actor Bradley Riches ended up with a backdoor eviction before the final (albeit he did get a chance to stay goodbye to the others). After he left, there were a few shots of the frog headband he often wore around the house left behind on his bed.

* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: The Celebrity revival series in 2024 did this twice. When the housemates had a spiritual-themed task, there was a montage of them waking up while some peaceful music was playing, only for it to quickly be shown from their reactions and a change in the show's audio that it was actually being played through the speakers in the bedroom. The same thing happened on the day when they had a police-themed task, this time with [[Music/SophieEllisBextor "Muder On The Dance Floor"]] playing.

* PeripheryDemographic: Celebrity series 21 garnered a strong online following from fans of ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' due to the presence of popular contestant Courtney Act on the series.

* StPatricksDayEpisode: The ''Celebrity Big Brother'' 2024 series took place in March, and the episode that was filmed on St. Patrick's Day (and aired the following day) involved the housemates taking part in various festivities while wearing themed outfits. It also happened to be the next round of nominations, which included a huge twist; Big Brother asked for a random person to enter the Diary Room, where they were given a secret task to put a toy snake on the bed of someone they wanted to instantly evict; however, the real twist was that this person would have the luck of the Irish and be immune to nominations, giving them a free pass to the final. Coincidentally, [[ExecutiveMeddling (or maybe]] [[BatmanGambit not so coincidentally)]], this ended up being Irish celebrity Louis Walsh.

*** Indeed, in the previous series, [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy Spiral]] and [[BlackAndNerdy Michael]] had a conversation about the word and intents of its use.

* {{Irony}}: To avoid controversy due to the racist bullying in the previus Celebrity Edition, Emily Parr was ejected from Big Brother UK for [[NWordPrivileges using the N-word in a conversation with Charley]]. However, it sparked a controversy ''instead'' about how people viewed it as [[DoubleStandard Unfair]], since Charley was not even punished for saying it, and Emily had not offended any other houseguests.

* ThatsAllFolks: Both times the UK series had a final season[[note]]''Ultimate Big Brother'' in 2010 was meant to be the show's finale before it was picked up by a different network. It ended again with Season 19 in 2018, but once again it was picked up by a different network five years later[[/note]], the finale ended with a voice announcing "Big Brother will get back to you".

* NeverLiveItDown: Former MP George Galloway will never live down his infamous, cringeworthy "would you like me to be the cat?" moment in Celebrity Big Brother 4. It might have been part of a task, but even so, him pretending to be a cat growling and licking cream out of the hands of actress Creator/RulaLenska was one of the biggest UK car crash TV events ever, and it's still remembered to this day.

* TeamMom: Lea attempted to be this in [=BB7=] and was later succeeded by Susie.

''Big Brother'' is a [[TropeMaker groundbreaking]] RealityShow that started in the Netherlands in 1999, and has since spread around the world -- there have been versions in the United States, South America, Australia, the Middle East (where it was canceled after ten days due to religious protests), Africa (where it caused a constitutional crisis in Malawi), throughout Europe, and (in Asia) India, briefly Thailand, the Philippines and Canada. However, by far the most famous version of the show is the British version, which was so popular that a CelebrityEdition was made. Brazil also had a CelebrityEdition but it wasn't by the same network that held the broadcasting rights to Big Brother and wasn't different enough to avoid being ScrewedByTheLawyers. Said edition was known as "Casa dos Artistas" (House of the Artists). The 2007 version of ''Celebrity Big Brother'' set the UK record for most complaints about a TV programme, mostly due to the Shilpa Shetty racism row.

The US version notably abandoned the public-voting-out after the first season: the public keep voting out the trouble-makers, who the producers saw as "more interesting" [[ExecutiveMeddling and wanted to keep]], and went to a more ''Series/{{Survivor}}''-like system where the house guests vote each other out. This was later adopted by the Canadian version. However, they must vote out one of two contestants nominated by a third contestant who won the "Head of Household" title that week. Therefore, there is less safety in the large, unconcealed alliances you see on ''Series/{{Survivor}}''. The change also meant that the show didn't have to manufacture drama purely by casting the looniest people alive.

Homaged by the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]], with a {{dystopia}}n future version where the contestants are disintegrated when they're voted out. This is often assumed to be a parody or a TakeThat against RealityTV, but WordOfGod confirms it as [[AffectionateParody a tribute.]] The show also inspired the MiniSeries ''Series/DeadSet'' by Creator/CharlieBrooker, in which seven contestants and some of the show's backstage staff battle a ZombieApocalypse. Both feature cameos by host Davina [=McCall=]. It also inspired ''Literature/DeadFamous'' which turns the concept into a murder mystery.

It's often actually turned into {{Machinima}}, see WebAnimation/SBBBrothers for just one example.

Check out and help build the [[Characters/BigBrother character sheet.]]

The premise is simple: lock several "ordinary" people in house, supply them with alcohol ([[OldShame you won't see this aspect much anymore due to the disasters that followed]]), and watch the results on omnipresent cameras. Viewers can watch the edited highlights in the evening, or watch it live on cable or the Internet. The public then proceed to vote them out every so often.

* TheEndOrIsIt: The end of Season 8's final episode has the lights turning off on the now-empty house. A few cursory credits roll... and then the Big Brother eye turns back on, the theme music starts playing, and we go to the real credits. Most likely a nod to the fact that Big Brother Canada is not over, despite the 8th season being CutShort.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: AJ eventually became this.
* SiliconSnarker: Zingbot 9000, a robot who appears OnceASeason to make disparaging quips about the show's contestants.

* RearrangeTheSong: At least four times: ready for [https://youtu.be/bDEdfJ4mgnk Series 5 in 2004]; again in 2004 for the ''[https://youtu.be/eeVDJaRyD5w Big Brother Panto]'' during Christmas; again in 2010 [https://youtu.be/KKK_M-4LzY0 with a trumpet version for a promo]; and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vnyvmSVP_s in 2023] for the remake.

* ThatsAllFolks: Both times the UK series had a final season[[note]]''Ultimate Big Brother'' in 2010 was meant to be the show's finale before it was picked up by a different network. It ended again for real with Season 19 in 2018[[/note]], the finale ended with a voice announcing "Big Brother will get back to you".

* Does Not Like Shoes: Contestants on this program tend to go barefoot inside the house.

The US version notably abandoned the public-voting-out after the first season (the public kept voting out the trouble-makers, who the producers saw as "more interesting" [[ExecutiveMeddling and wanted to keep]]) and went to a more ''Series/{{Survivor}}''-like system where the house guests vote each other out (which was later adopted by the Canadian version). However, they must vote out one of two contestants nominated by a third contestant who won the "Head of Household" title that week. Therefore, there is less safety in the large, unconcealed alliances you see on ''Series/{{Survivor}}''. The change also meant that the show didn't have to manufacture drama purely by casting the looniest people alive.

As a reminder to those who want to be on the show, keep in mind it is not a true escape from reality, just a vacation, and many things must be taken into consideration. People who participate in the game can and will be subjected to ManipulativeEditing for the sake of entertainment. When people leave the house, they may find it affects their personal life in a good or negative way as well, because for many, this is their first experience with national television and potential stardom. Those who behave well will find themselves favored by the public and likely to go on to do great things, but for those who act insidiously, they may suffer the critical reception of the nation, predatory remarks in the media, or even workplace termination. Getting a big head on the show is often the worst mistake one can make, as the viewers have proven time and time again that they do ''not'' appreciate overly cocky, arrogant and trashy behavior when it exceeds the bounds of reason.