Each week, Big Brother executive producer Allison Grodner will answer a few questions about the latest activity in the BB21 house. In this second installment, she talks about the Gr8tful alliance, Camp Comeback, and the authenticity of that bobcat urine.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was there ever an alliance of eight in the past? This is a ridiculously sized alliance, right?
ALLISON GRODNER: Eight is ridiculous because it has never lasted. It is too many people to put trust in before really getting to know them. We have had groups of eight try to form an alliance on opening night, but that quickly crumbled in the first week. There was The Bomb Squad of season 16 that fell apart by week 3 when Devin went rogue. There are already cracks showing in Gr8tful, so it will be interesting to see how far they go.
Clearly the HGs choreographed a hallway dance. Do you encourage this, or do they do it all by themselves?
This is something they do on their own. We definitely do not encourage it, as it can take time away from an already packed live show if they get too elaborate.
Isn’t Camp Comeback more of a reward for people who deserve to leave first because they weren’t good at the game? Now they have the best of both worlds: They aren’t “playing,” but they can totally manipulate the house by participating in strategy. Why is this fair to the existing HGs?
Camp Comeback is a new twist in the game and the social experiment. What will happen to the strategy of the houseguests when they are forced to live with the person they send out? These new campers are not really being “rewarded,” as they have no power and they must live in a less-than-desirable room. In the end, only one of them will get back in. There are pros and cons to this twist, for both the houseguests and the evictees.
Have you found it odd over the years that the HGs get all dolled up on eviction night as if that’s their ONLY night on broadcast TV? Do they forget we see them as slobs the rest of the week?
Yes! I think it is funny that they are okay being seen in sweats for hundreds of hours but will dress up for the one-hour live show. I guess sitting on the couch and talking to Julie is like their one night out on the town.
Was Cliff achy in the groin after that brutal challenge with the flying balls?
I didn’t ask him, but it sure looked painful.
Did you really capture the scene of bobcat urine?
Not me personally, but our expert competition staff spent weeks carefully procuring all of the various exotic smells. The things our staff do on this show are amazing and, many times, absurd.
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Julie Chen hosts as the houseguests battle it out.
