CBS has announced the identities of contestants who will be competing in its upcoming Big Brother 6 reality series and revealed several of the new season twists that the cast will be encountering.
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While each houseguest will be aware that their "secret partner" will also be entering the Big Brother house with them, they will also believe that they are the only secret team competing in the series. In addition to the inherent alliance benefits of keeping their pre-existing relationship a secret, Big Brother's producers will also be giving the houseguests another reason to keep their relationships secret -- an even bigger cash prize.
If a team of secret partners can manage to keep their relationship secret and become the house's last two houseguests, Big Brother 6's winner will receive $1,000,000 (double the show's regular $500,000 prize) while the runner-up will receive $250,000 (five times the show's normal $50,000 prize.) If a secret partner team does not comprise the show's final twosome, then the finalists will receive the show's normal prize payouts. "It's in their best interests to keep it a secret," Big Brother executive producer Allison Grodner explained to Daily Variety.
Similar to last season's "Project DNA," CBS won't reveal the secret partner relationships to home viewers during Big Brother 6's Thursday, July 7 premiere. Instead, it plans to keep viewers speculating for a few days and will reveal the relationships during the show's first live broadcast on Thursday, July 14.
Additionally, just as last summer's "Project DNA" was part of the season's larger "Expect The Unexpected" theme, Big Brother 6's secret partner twist will also only be a part of the new season's broader "The Summer Of Secrets" theme -- but for now, CBS is remaining silent about most of the show's additional twists. "Every year we do something exotic... this year, there are a number of secrets involving the cast, involving the new house and involving the game. And like an onion, they'll be peeled away week after week throughout the summer," executive producer Arnold Shapiro teased to Variety.
One of the additional twists that has been revealed is the fact that the fourteen houseguests will only find ten beds when they enter the house -- a situation caused by the fact that the show's new two-story house (a change that was first revealed last fall) has a secret bedroom.
In addition to the secret bedroom, Big Brother's new two-story house -- the first new house since the show premiered five years ago -- will include a loft-like layout that will feature a Head Of Household room that's located on second floor, a second floor overlook that will allow the houseguests to monitor all the first floor action, and a new full-size gym. The new house will also feature a Jacuzzi and a new backyard pool that's nearly twice as big as that of the old house. New upgrades also happened on the production side, with the new house having more cameras (47, up from 42) and microphones (76, up from 66) than the old one. As part of the new set, returning Big Brother hostess Julie Chen will also have a new studio.
As in recent years, Big Brother 6's cast is largely young, single, and attractive. For the first time ever, the new season won't even feature a token 40+ contestant, with Big Brother 6's oldest houseguest being only 36 years old. The fourteen contestants -- eight women and six men -- competing in Big Brother 6 are:
• Maggie Ausburn, a single 26-year-old emergency room nurse from Las Vegas, NV
• Beau Beasley, a single 25-year-old personal shopper from Pembroke Pines, FL
• Ivette Corredero, a single 25-year-old waitress from Miami Beach, FL
• Michael Donnellan, a single 28-year-old artist from Orange County, CA
• Ashlea Evans, a single 22-year-old fashion design student from Plantation, FL
• Howie Gordon, a single 34-year-old meteorology student from Chicago, IL
• Sarah Hrejsa, a single 22-year-old retail manager from Chicago, IL
• April Lewis, a newly married 30-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative from Dallas, TX
• Eric Littmann, a married 36-year-old firefighter and father from Boston, MA
• Janelle Pierzina, a single 25-year-old VIP cocktail waitress from Miami Beach, FL
• Rachel Plencner, a single 33-year-old horse breeder from Parker, CO
• James Rhine, a single 29-year-old loss prevention manager from Atlanta, GA
• Kaysar Ridha, a single 24-year-old graphic designer from Irvine, CA
• Jennifer Vasquez, a single 27-year-old Arena Football League dancer from Plano, TX
Although CBS won't reveal the contestants "secret partner" pairings until July 14, based on their common residence locations, speculation on some of the pairings has begun, with Michael/Kaysar (Los Angeles area), Howie/Sarah (Chicago), April/Jennifer (Dallas area), and two pairs from among Beau/Ashlea/Ivette/Janelle (Miami area) emerging as some of the more obvious likely pairings.
