Big Brother 27 is over, and while winner Ashley Hollis has already secured that $750,000 grand prize, conversation about the season continues in the fandom. One of the topics of scrutiny is the newly added BB Blockbuster and its role in the game. Did it change the game in a positive way, or did it make the CBS social-strategy game too competitive?
Those who watched Big Brother online or on CBS, or watched all the live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription, saw the effects of the BB Blockbuster firsthand. It allowed two players who were especially weak at the social aspect of the game, Keanu Soto and Kelley Jorgensen, to make it to the jury phase, with Keanu making it to the Top 5 of final Houseguests. EW spoke to executive producer Rich Meehan about the criticisms from some fans that the BB Blockbuster favors physical competitors who can survive simply by winning, and he had a great counterpoint:
I think some of the criticism of it putting too much emphasis on challenges, I hear that, But ultimately, look at who won the last two seasons — two social players. So, you know, yes and no. It’s very hard for someone to win out on Big Brother. The Blockbuster might save them and extend their life in the game, but it’s very hard to win out. It’s very hard to win every challenge. If you went back through the history of the show, there’s not a lot of people that have been able to do that.
Season 14 and 18 Houseguest Frank Eudy, who absolutely dominated the physical parts of the game but was terrible at the social element. That can take someone very far, especially in Big Brother Season 27, but as executive producer Allison Grodner pointed out, it wasn’t enough to win:
Look at Keanu. He just couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t do it, and let’s not forget, the person who ultimately won Big Brother this year was someone who hadn’t won a single thing since the Week 1 veto until she won Part 2 of the Final Head of Household competition. If that’s not evidence that BB 27 wasn’t too competition-heavy, I don’t know what is.
Specifically regarding Keanu, I think there’s another side to the argument that there are plenty of social game players who made it deep into Big Brother but fell short because they had to win a competition and failed. Hannah Chaddha of Big Brother Season 23 comes to mind, as her strategy was praised, but she ultimately couldn’t win when she needed to.
I believe the main takeaway for future BB Houseguests is that anyone who wants to win needs to have as well-rounded of a game as possible if they wish to have the easiest path to victory. It’s easier said than done, of course, but I think it’s completely necessary with the new changes to the game. Winning being only a comp beast or social mastermind won’t be easy, as let’s be honest, had Ashley not won Final HOH and taken Vince Panaro to the end rather than vice versa or taken Morgan Pope, I don’t think she would’ve won this season. Others may disagree, which is probably why this debate will rage on until the premiere of Season 28.
Big Brother is done for the year, but casting is already underway for Season 28 coming next summer. There’s also a chance we’ll be getting a spinoff this winter, though we can only wait on CBS to confirm or deny that rumor as the weeks pass.