Big Brother Australia is switching up the format this year but one thing remains the same and it’s got a whole lot to do with past seasons of the series.
While the 2023 season is introducing singles in a Love Island meets the BB House mash-up, host Sonia Kruger says that the series is going back to its roots to showcase what people are interested in. The relationships.
Speaking to Mediaweek ahead of the show’s November 6 premiere, Kruger said that she was “looking forward” to fans witnessing this new iteration because it’s “very different from the past couple of years.” In fact, for “OG fans” (from the early 2000s) — or “faithfuls” as Kruger also calls them — the producers kept the original production in view.
Sonia Kruger, Big Brother. Seven
“That was kept in mind when we were looking at this particular series,” Kruger said. “As in what was it that was successful back then? It was really about the relationships. It was how people interacted with each other. And that’s the thing that fascinates all of us quite a bit. It’s the voyeur in us. We want to see how other people conduct themselves in relationships.”
In addition to this, Kruger also said that this new season will shy away from the format created after Channel 7 took the rights.
“There’s been a lot of strategy and that kind of Survivor-esque sort of style to it,” she said. “And I think with every television show, you kind of need to keep evolving and keep changing and this is what the producers of Big Brother do really well. They’re never just sort of sitting back and resting on their laurels.”
Minnie arriving at the Big Brother 2023 House. Seven
Big Brother Uncut has been brought back for the BVod generation
Another addition to this season will be the return of Big Brother Uncut — a fan-favourite that has been curated to house the more “mature” content.
“There’s that little bit extra content that you won’t get on the main channel that you won’t get in that earlier time slot that you’ll get on Uncut,” she said, adding it was a strategic addition for the majority of fans who watch the show on catch-up.
“When you look at the way people watch television now, most people under the age of 40 don’t even own a TV. They’re all watching on a device. They’re watching on a laptop or phone. And I do that now. I go to bed with my iPad… it’s my time to put my headphones on and really get absorbed in something. And that’s why we see shows like Big Brother continue on-air and continue to perform in such a strong way.”
Big Brother Uncut is back. Seven
Sonia Kruger on why Big Brother brought in singles in 2023
Kruger, who has been at the helm of the series since 2012, said that while they’ve “tried a whole bunch of different things over the years”, what she finds interesting is that this year, “basically, all of these people are young, single and hot.”
“There’s a lot that goes on in the house,” she said. “The whole process of them falling in love, falling out of love, jealousy, love triangles, you know how that affects them strategically because, at the end of the day, they still have to nominate. They still have to play the game. So for me, that’s been fascinating to watch.”
The Gold Logie winner — who has also seen success with The Voice and Dancing with the Stars — also admitted that it’s hard not to “invest” in this year’s Housemates. Adding to this, she said that it was easy for them to invest in each other.
“There are no outside distractions. There’s no job to go to, they don’t have social media to kind of absorb their time so that’s all they have to worry about. And you can see with some people, they adapt really quickly, they make friends really easily with other people, it takes them a little bit more time and then you realise that you don’t really know them at all.”
Watch Big Brother from Monday to Thursday at 7.30 pm on 7 and 7Plus and Big Brother Uncut drops Thursdays 8:30pm exclusively on 7plus.