Yahoo News Ho! Ho! Huh? “Big Brother” to air “Reindeer Games” all-stars mini-season
The two-week event is a massive departure from regular installments with no host, no live feeds, and no houseguests. Wait… what?
Just last week, we asked Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves if there could be a winter installment of the franchise due to the actors strike that had ground production on scripted content to a halt. "I have been poking around with the producers asking the same question," she told EW then. "I think the SAG strike could position Big Brother to be in demand, but they have not made the call yet."
Well, that call has now been made. It was revealed on Thursday's live finale for season 25 — one day after the strike ended — that the franchise is going to follow-up its longest season ever with another installment in just over a month. But that installment represents a radical departure from the format.
Big Brother Reindeer Games — which premieres Dec. 11 on CBS — will feature nine former players (including one from the just completed season 25) competing in six episodes over two weeks. But while these will all be former Big Brother players, they won't be playing anything even remotely close to Big Brother.
For one thing, none of them will actually be living in the house. They also will not be voting each other out. Instead, the BB legends will be doing battle in "the most holiday-riffic, challenging and unpredictable competitions," according to the network. Each episode will feature three competitions that culminate in something called "Santa's Showdown" that determines which player is eliminated at the end of an episode. Four players will eventually make it to the finale on Dec. 21, with one ultimately claiming the $100,000 prize.
None of these competitions will be taking place in real-time as the entire series will be filmed before the premiere episode, meaning not only will there be no live shows, but the Big Brother live feeds will also remain dark throughout the run. Oh, and there is no host.
Instead of Chen Moonves warning contestants to expect the unexpected, players will be guided through the series by — and I promise I am not making this up — "Santa's Elves." Not only that, but the aforementioned elves just happen to be former players themselves: Jordan Lloyd (winner of season 11 and from season 13), as well as season 23's Derek Xiao and Tiffany Mitchell.
And while the nine competitors competing for the cash have yet to be named, the entire Reindeer Games concept was apparently unleashed during a skit in which Frankie Grande, Britney Haynes, and Danielle Reyes delivered Emmy-worthy acting performance while setting off — and once again, I cannot stress how much I am not making this up — a "Time Laser." So that would seem to be a strong indication the trio would be involved… unless they just really enjoy showing up on the CBS lot to shoot Time Laser sketches.
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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
