Big Brother 12 (American season)
Big Brother 12 is the twelfth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The series premiered on CBS on July 8, 2010 and lasted ten weeks until the live finale on September 15, 2010. The twelfth season saw a slight increase in ratings when compared to the past season of the series. The season premiered to a total of 7.35 million viewers, a slight increase from the previous season's launch and the highest for a premiere episode since Big Brother 8. The season finale had a total of 7.89 million viewers, continuing to average slightly above the past season and the highest since the eighth edition. In total, the series averaged 7.76 million viewers, higher than that of the previous two seasons and the highest since Big Brother 5 in 2004. Big Brother 12 was initially set to feature a total of 14 HouseGuests, though one HouseGuest left the show before entering the house and was not replaced. The series ended after 75 days, in which HouseGuest Hayden Moss was crowned the Winner, while Lane Elenburg was crowned the Runner-Up.
Production
Development
Big Brother 12 is produced by Endemol USA and Fly on the Wall Entertainment with Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan returning as executive producers. This season of the program was announced on September 10, 2009, five days before the season finale of Big Brother 11. Casting for the program began during the final week of Big Brother 11 with potential applicants submitting video tape submissions that were due by April 23, 2010. Open auditions began on March 27, 2010 in Los Angeles, California and continued across the nation in various cities including Chicago, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Columbus, Ohio. Applicants chosen to be a finalist went to Los Angeles, California, from which forty finalists were chosen. CBS warned people of unofficial casting companies charging a fee to audition for the show while casting ended on May 20, 2010. Executive producer Allison Grodner later stated "We're excited for the summer. We're excited for a brand new cast of terrific competitors. And we do have that. There are personalities and backgrounds of people, types of people that we have not seen before in the Big Brother house, which is hard because we've been doing this now for 11, 12 seasons."Prizes
The 13 HouseGuests this season were competing for the main prize of $500,000. The winner of the series, determined by the previously evicted HouseGuests, would win the $500,000 prize, while the Runner-Up would receive a $50,000 prize. Other than the main prize, various luxuries and prizes were given out throughout the season.Broadcast
Big Brother 12 was broadcast on CBS from July 8, 2010 to September 15, 2010. This season lasted a total of 75 days, an increase from the previous season. This season featured some changes to the schedule that was used in the previous edition, with episodes airing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday each week. This is a change from the previous season, which aired on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. The Thursday episode, which aired at 8pm Eastern Time, featured the live eviction and subsequent Head of Household competition taking place. During the live eviction, the show was hosted by Julie Chen. The Sunday episode, which aired at 8pm Eastern Time, featured the food competition and nomination ceremony, as well as some highlights from the previous days. The Wednesday episode, which aired at 8pm Eastern Time, featured the Power of Veto competition and the Power of Veto ceremony, along with more highlights of recent events in the game. The series was broadcast on Global Television Network in Canada.Much like the previous editions, the live feeds were also available again for this season. HouseGuests enter the house a few days before the premiere, and the feeds are not live for the first few days. They later go live after the broadcast of the launch episode. This season did see the return of the Big Brother: After Dark spin-off series, which aired on Showtime Too nightly from midnight to 3a.m. Eastern Time. The show served as a live feed into the house, and was edited only for slanderous statements and music copyrights. Much like the previous season, Big Brother 12 is available for digital purchasing on iTunes and Amazon.com. Big Brother maintained an online platform with live subscription feeds from RealNetworks, a redesigned and relaunched website, online videos, full episodes, a fantasy game and segments on Inside Dish with Ross Mathews. For the first time Big Brother launched two Twitter accounts; one featured updates from the production staff and one featured updates from the current Head of Household. Episodes of Big Brother continued to be streamed on CBS Mobile Channel on FLOTV. Mobile users were also able to interact and influence the show through SMS text messaging and, for the first time, a simulation game based on Big Brother was also available to mobile customers. New features included a video trivia game and the "Big Brother Ultimate Fan" contest where the winner was able to attend the season finale meet the HouseGuests.
House
As with each season since Big Brother 6, the program was filmed at CBS Studios in Studio City, California. The production team was located in the second story of the House which included the story department, audio department and the switchers and shaders. The house was equipped with 52 cameras and 95 microphones to record the participants. The art department that created the competitions for the program was located outside the house. The house theme was the beach and Miami. The living room featured blue and grey colored walling and furniture. The room that had featured a gym the previous season was now known as the "Cabana" room, and simply featured a large seating area. The bathroom in the house was colored in white, yellow, and brown, while yellow railing and plastic flamingos are featured by the stairs leading to the Head of Household room. There are various palm trees around the kitchen ceiling and the balcony at the Head of Household bedroom. The house included four bedrooms each varying in design and comfort. The Head of Household bedroom featured blue, purple, and white colors while the second bedroom was designed to be given the appearance of sunset. The third room initially used by the HouseGuests was later turned into the Have-Not room, which featured various bugs in jars with lawn chairs used as beds.Format
The format remained largely unchanged from previous seasons. HouseGuests were sequestered in the Big Brother House with no contact to and from the outside world. Each week, the HouseGuests took part in several compulsory challenges that determined who would win food, luxuries, and power in the House. The winner of the Head of Household competition was immune from nominations and was instructed to nominate two fellow HouseGuests for eviction. After a HouseGuest became Head of Household he or she was ineligible to take part in the next Head of Household competition. HouseGuests also took part in Have vs. Have-Not competitions for which they would be divided into either the "Haves" or the "Have Nots" depending on their performance in the competitions. HouseGuests that became "Have Nots" for the week were only allowed to eat slop and a weekly food restriction, chosen by the viewing public, take cold showers, and sleep on lawn chairs. The winner of the Power of Veto competition won the right to save one of the nominated HouseGuests from eviction. If the Veto winner exercised the power, the Head of Household then had to nominate another HouseGuest for eviction.On eviction night all HouseGuests except for the Head of Household and the two nominees voted to evict one of the two nominees. Before the voting began the nominees had the chance to record a final message to their fellow HouseGuests. This compulsory vote was conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room by the host Julie Chen. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household would break the tie and reveal their vote in front of the other HouseGuests. Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests could discuss the nomination and eviction process open and freely. The nominee with the most votes from the other HouseGuests was evicted from the House on Thursday and interviewed by Julie Chen. HouseGuests could voluntarily leave the House at any time and those who broke the rules were expelled by Big Brother. The last seven evictees of the season, known as the jury members, voted for the winner on the season finale. The jury members were sequestered in a separate house and were not allowed to watch the show except for segments that included all of the HouseGuests. The jury members were not shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that included strategy or details regarding nominations.
HouseGuests
Fourteen HouseGuests had been cast for this season, but one, Paola Aviles, a 30-year-old real estate agent, voluntarily left during the sequester period and was not replaced. The HouseGuests entered the House on July 3, 2010.| Name | Age | Residence | Occupation | Result |
| 24 | Tempe, Arizona | College student | Winner Day 75 | |
| 24 | Decatur, Texas | Oil rig salesman | Day 75 | |
| 32 | Bayonne, New Jersey | Insurance adjuster | ||
| 22 | Huntington, Arkansas | Hotel sales manager | ||
| 34 | West Hollywood, California | College professor | ||
| 30 | Riverside, California | High school swim coach | ||
| 32 | Elgin, Illinois | Web designer | ||
| 40 | Texarkana, Arkansas | Deputy sheriff & Sergeant | ||
| 25 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Cocktail waitress | ||
| 24 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Boutique manager | ||
| 39 | Miami Beach, Florida | Podiatrist | ||
| 24 | Glen Carbon, Illinois | Model | ||
| 27 | Tampa, Florida | Bartender |