Julie Chen Moonves wants a season of Big Brother: Hotties vs. Mommies
These days, Big Brother just sticks a bunch of randos in a house together and lets them battle it out. That's fine. I mean, it is the entire concept of the game, and seeing how said randos deal with living amongst each other is the original appeal of the program. But, once upon a time, Big Brother would throw surprises not just in terms of twists like the Coup d'Etat, Pandora's Box and something called the "Whacktivity Comp", but twists when it came to the actual contestants themselves.
The casting shenanigans began in season 4 with the X-Factor twist. But the X in this case was really an "EX" as five houseguests learned they would actually be playing against their exes. The twist was later repeated with just one ex-couple each on both season 8 and season 9. And the show was just getting started.
Season 5 of Big Brother featured the Project DNA twist. While DNA ostensibly stood for "Do Not Assume" it also hinted that there was something askew with the cast-members themselves. Two players, Jennifer "Nakomis" Deadmon and Michael "Cowboy" Ellis were estranged siblings completely unaware of their connection until they were in the house.
That season also saw the first implementation of the Twin Twist, with twin sisters Adria Klein and Natalie Carroll swapping in and out of the house without the other players knowing it. The Twin Twist was repeated in season 17 with Liz and Julia Nolan, while Big Brother: Over the Top saw siblings Alex and Morgan Willett both competing at the same time.
CBS Julie Chen Moonves of 'Big Brother'
Season 6 of Big Brother took the secret pairs concept of the previous summer and amplified it to the point where every person in the house had a secret partner… but each pair believed they were the only one with an outside connection.
So, would the show ever go back to any of these crazy casting maneuvers? We posed that question to Julie Chen Moonves. "I don't think I would repeat any of the twists," says the host. "I liked the exes twist. That was season 4. That was amazing, seeing people's faces drop."
Chen Moonves also enjoyed watching players have to swap out while swap intel every few days: "We've had a few twin twists, where the twins had to switch out every three days, change in the Diary Room, and download each other on what's happened. That was amazing. We've had so many amazing twists and seasons and moments. But those are hard to top."
While the host does not necessarily want to repeat any previously used casting twists, that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own idea that she has been pitching (along with an all-winners edition). Prepare yourself, people. "I always thought it would be funny where you get eight to 10 hotties," says Chen Moonves. "You throw them in there and they're all sizing each other up, and then you throw in their mothers. Oh, way to kill it!"
Wait? Did Julie just pitch Big Brother: Hotties vs. Mommies? Because we think she did. While much too much has been made over the years about Ciera Eastin voting her mother out of Survivor: Blood vs. Water, the intensity would definitely be ratcheted up to 11 once one player comes after another's mom… or offspring!
Of course, there is simply no way you could surprise the contestants with this twist like with the exes back in season 4 because there is no chance a mother and child would not tell each other beforehand. But adding a full-on Blood vs. Water element into the Big Brother universe could certainly spice things up, and perhaps be a good way to prevent the unbreakable big house alliances that have formed in reason seasons. Plus, who doesn't want to watch a parent telling her kid to "Make sure you eat all your slop today, honey!"???
What do you think? Are you on board for Julie's idea of Big Brother: Hotties vs. Mommies?
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
