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Big Brother 11

Big Brother renewed for 12th season after adding viewers, but why growth this season?

by Andy Dehnart 9 Sep. 2009 | 6:21 pm

CBS announced this afternoon that it has renewed Big Brother for a 12th season, which will air next summer. Absent from the announcement is mention of executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan, who recently formed a new company, but I can’t imagine they won’t return.

The press release says that the show has become “one of only a handful of programs to post growth in its 10th season” having grown “+7% in viewers (7.08m from 6.60m), +4% in adults 18-49 (2.5/08 from 2.4/07) and +5% in adults 18-34 (2.0/07 from 1.9/06).”

While this season has had great drama, thanks to Chima’s dramatic exit and its aftermath, and has a great, hatable villain in Natalie, these impressive ratings kind of depress me. It was as if The Amazing Race‘s family edition had earned high ratings even though it was one of the weakest seasons.

This season of Big Brother started with a super-lame twist (remember the cliques?) and a series of comparatively bad challenges. (They’re never great, but these were atypically awful.) And now we’re left with a lackluster, if not loathsome, final three.

Where were these ratings last summer, which was a far more satisfying as a whole? Or in season six, when we saw some of the greatest strategy and drama in the history of the game? And why are people tuning in now, when it’s not as great as it could be? Is there really nothing else on TV?

CBS Orders More “Big Brother” [CBS press release]

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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