So much for Big Brother's tenth season taking a back-to-basics approach.

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CBS has announced Big Brother 10 is bringing back "America's Player" -- last summer's Big Brother 8 twist that required houseguest Eric Stein to perform weekly tasks that were determined by home viewer votes.

During tonight's Big Brother 10 broadcast, home viewers will have the chance to vote via text messaging or CBS' website for which houseguest will be given the chance to serve as America's Player.

The houseguest who garners the most votes will be offered the chance to serve as America's Player for one week, and if they accept, he or she will do the viewers' bidding for the opportunity to win a total of $20,000. 

According to CBS, the tasks will be "both personal and strategic" and range from "getting certain houseguests nominated for eviction to convincing their fellow houseguests to vote for who America wants out of the house."  Like last summer, the America's Player houseguest won't receive immunity and will "never" be able to tell the other houseguests about their status. 

When contacted on Thursday afternoon, a CBS spokesperson could not confirm whether the America's Player twist will end after a single week or be reoccurring and allow viewers to make subsequent America's Player choices.

At first glance, bringing last summer's Big Brother twist back would seem to conflict with both CBS and Big Brother executive producer Allison Grodner's previous statements about this summer's Big Brother edition.

"To celebrate 10 seasons of Big Brother we are going 'old school' and returning to the original concept for the show," Grodner said in an early July announcement that stated the season would feature a "back-to-basics approach" and "a return to the [show's] original format."

Stein's season-long stint as America's Player -- which saw him complete tasks that ranged from secretly putting mustard on another houseguest's personal belonging to voting for evictions based on what the majority of viewers wanted -- proved to be fairly lucrative. 

He received $10,000 for every five tasks he successfully completed and left the Big Brother house with $40,000 -- only $10,000 less than Danielle Donato, the season's runner-up, ultimately received.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.