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EXCLUSIVE: It’s barely been a month since Big Brother 26 premiered on CBS and already the producers have way more stories to share than they ever hoped. A combination of clever new twists and the batch*t crazy behavior from Angela and Tucker have made this season an unexpected delight for longtime fans.
Ahead of tonight’s special episode that will feature analysis from former BB players Cody Calafiore (S22), Taylor Hale (S23) and Jag Bains (S25), longtime executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan of Fly On the Wall Entertainment break down the season so far and what to expect in the coming weeks.
DEADLINE The narrator on Sunday said this has been a wild three weeks. He wasn’t kidding. I guess you can never know how things will turn out, right?
ALLISON GRODNER I mean, obviously we like to think we built the structure with some of the twists and powers and all of that, but in the end, who could predict Angela walking down the stairs, the Angela and Matt thing and Tucker’s audacity? Those are surprises and good ones at that.
RICH MEEHAN If you have twists and powers, the cast and then the unexpected, it all converges together perfectly but in a surprising, fun way. And then everything you hoped for plays out. You never know exactly how, but at least it gets played and it’s entertaining and fun to watch. It’s checked all of those boxes this season.
DEADLINE How did you like it when some viewers accused you of planting Angela into the game?
GRODNER I mean, good idea!
MEEHAN She’s been so fun to watch, so unexpected. With all those things, I don’t necessarily blame people for wondering, because it’s been surprising and shocking along the way. But it is always funny, the conspiracy theories that are out there.
DEADLINE People have dug up the fact that she’s done reality shows before, too. That’s just the nature of the business these days, right? You can’t get contestants totally fresh.
GRODNER There are a tons of shows, but I don’t think because she was on The Price is Right and in a Dr. Phil episode makes her necessarily an actor.
MEEHAN She hasn’t done a lot. She hasn’t done the competition reality type of show. That’s very different from a fun game show.
DEADLINE Did you feel sorry for Matt when Angela went after him at the beginning?
GRODNER I think Matt made some mistakes in terms of that conversation he had [with Angela in the HOH room], but I think there’s no doubt that she was a bit extreme, calling him out. Then again, the house does get the best of you. There’s paranoia in that house always, and she succumbed to it, for sure.
MEEHAN We know that first HOH power goes to your head a little bit.
DEADLINE Let’s talk about this summer’s artificial intelligence theme. I thought it was an interesting choice, especially coming after the dual strikes when AI was such a big deal. Why did you do that?
MEEHAN It’s BB AI, which is our fun theme and fun take on it. For the last handful of years, we’ve tried to find something that’s buzzy and zeitgeist-y and it just seemed AI is everywhere, from the finance world to the entertainment world to everything. It’s being talked about in some way, shape, or form.
GRODNER We’ve been on 26 seasons. You can look back at all of the different themes of the seasons. We try to tap into what’s being talked about, then take our unique spin on it. We’re going to poke fun at things. We’re going to use it in a different way.
DEADLINE Will you stick with the AI arena all season?
MEEHAN You will have to stay tuned.
DEADLINE What can we can expect from tonight’s recap episode with the former BB houseguests?
GRODNER We’ve got Jag and Taylor and Cody coming back to look at these first three weeks and give their analysis. They discuss some of these pivotal moments that have happened. It’s crazy to think it’s only been three weeks. We have so much material for this show for them to rehash, and then they give their predictions. We’ll see if they’re right, but it’s really fun to hear from some of the best who’ve played the game.
MEEHAN It will be great insight from players who have lived through it and have gone through it. We’ve never actually lived in the house. We never actually played the game. So it’s always fun to get that insight about how they’re playing, who’s making good decisions and who’s making bad decisions. I think everyone is surprised by how much has gone down in this first three weeks. When you look at the big events and the crazy moments, it’s usually a season’s worth. But we’re just getting started.
[Tonight’s show] will be different. This isn’t like a clip show that we’ve done or one of those look-back shows that we do at the end of the season. This is them dissecting pivotal moments that have happened so far, and we have a lot of fun with it. We will show footage from some of these key moments, with them talking us through it.
DEADLINE Why are you doing this? To help extend the season?
GRODNER It’s actually not that at all. I mean, it is crazy. Our team has to pull off four episodes this week. It’s a lot to do. But we really felt it was important because we launched during a lot of big news and sporting events that are happening in the world, and we want to make sure after all the preemptions, the convention, the past two weeks in Paris, that our fans feel like they can get caught up on the show and still go on this ride with us. It really shows people how crazy this season has been and that it’s not too late to get invested.
DEADLINE Speaking of big news, did you tell the house that President Biden dropped out of the race?
GRODNER No. If you saw Julie’s interview with Matt, the one that was posted to social media, she told him everything that had happened from the assassination attempt to Biden dropping out of the race, and his genuine reaction was fascinating. There might be time later in the season, when we will give them a little bit of a taste in a news quiz, as to what they think might have happened. If not, they’ll hear about it on the way out.
DEADLINE Why does the HOH pick all the veto chips now?
MEEHAN It’s because there are three nominees instead of two. You can’t have the two nominees and the HOH because there’s not enough spots. So since there’s only two chips available, we just have the HOH draw. It’s for fairness. Otherwise you’d have to leave somebody out.
DEADLINE Will you stick with the three nominees for seasons to come?
MEEHAN Well, the three nominees were tied to the AI arena. We have done three nominees in the past at times, but this was specifically tied to the AI arena twist. We have a plan for how it plays out for the summer. As long as there will be AI arenas, we’ll be doing it. People really like the AI arena, so I’m sure we’ll talk post-season about it.
GRODNER It really gives the live show that extra drama. We just love the feeling and the excitement and the energy that it brings. And so far, they have been really exciting, at least in my opinion. They’re quick, they’re simple, but everyone’s screaming
MEEHAN It’s like a live sporting event.
DEADLINE The way Quinn used his special power on Sunday … man, it couldn’t have gone better, right?
MEEHAN It’s funny because when you design a power like that, you could play it different ways. But the intent is that it could make you a target if you reveal it, which is what ultimately what Quinn became worried about. But in the end, the original design of it was if it was kept a secret, it would’ve been crazy and funny for Angela sitting there and having no idea of what was coming, and then suddenly she sees herself as an avatar and doing things that she never did or never said. That was the intent and the fun of it. It did change once Quinn revealed everything. But in the end, it’s still a weird thing to watch yourself as an avatar talking.
GRODNER Angela was still shocked. Everyone was shocked seeing it. It was very creepy. Would it have been great if it was a total surprise? Absolutely. But as we know, expect the unexpected, and I think they all work out the way they’re supposed to work out. This gave us drama in the veto meeting.
DEADLINE Why did we see some of the players get bags of clothes? Has that always happened and you are just now televising it?
GRODNER Obviously we wouldn’t normally show that, but it does happen. It’s been happening for years. This is inside baseball, but we have to clear anything that has logos or designs on it. Our team will take things they need to clear and then put them back into the house. So what you saw was a moment when the bags of clothes came back to them that were cleared, and then of course, something happened in the middle of it. So we’ll always show something like that.
DEADLINE Couldn’t you put up a sign that says, ‘please do not keep telling Julie that she’s beautiful? We all know she’s beautiful. Get over it.’ The houseguests continue to fawn over her!
GRODNER Yeah, it’s interesting. Those live votes are unpredictable.
MEEHAN When the casts of previous seasons do something, it catches on. Like the dancing in the hallway.
GRODNER At least Julie sometimes has some fun with it and it can be entertaining, but I get it. It’s a little much.
DEADLINE Were you surprised that America put Quinn on the block?
GRODNER No, because I think the Tucker/Quinn rivalry was so dramatic in that meeting, it seems almost like an obvious choice. You want to see them go head to head. They wanted to see the battle live.
DEADLINE So you don’t think viewers dislike Quinn?
GRODNER I don’t think it was personal. I mean, that wasn’t my takeaway from it. I think it was the storyline. They just wanted to see it.
DEADLINE Did I hear the narrator on Sunday say there’s going to be another twist introduced this week?
GRODNER Yeah. You’ll hear a little bit about it in tonight’s special episode. And then yes, it’s going to play out. I don’t know if we gave the timeframe though, right Rich?
MEEHAN No. I believe it’ll be the initial tease concept that goes out tonight, and then probably on Thursday’s live show you’ll learn more about it.
DEADLINE Who is the sleeper competitor so far?
GRODNER I think there are a few, because we’ve had so much drama with Tucker and Angela and Matt and Quinn. They’re all in the forefront right now. So you have players who are actually playing, they’re just not as loud. T’kor is definitely playing. She’s smart, and she seems to be in a really good place.
MEEHAN I think Chelsie’s playing a great game. She didn’t have any drama on her HOH. And she has a lot of friends in the house. Joseph’s flying under the radar, though I’m not sure where.
GRODNER Those three are people to watch. They’re playing, but maybe really haven’t been as loud and in the middle of the drama. So I think they might have some staying power.
