Big Brother: After Dark

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Big Brother: After Dark
GenreReality television
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
No. of episodes1,002
Production
Executive producerAllison Grodner
Running time120–180 minutes
Original release
NetworkShowtime 2 (2007–2012)
Pop (2013–2019)
Slice (Canada, 2012–2017)
ReleaseJuly 6, 2007 (2007-07-06) –
September 23, 2019 (2019-09-23)
Related
Big Brother (U.S. version)
Celebrity Big Brother: After Dark

Big Brother: After Dark (often shortened to BBAD) is a spinoff of the American reality series Big Brother. The program debuted on Showtime 2 in the United States and Slice in Canada on July 5, 2007, as a companion show launched in conjunction with the eighth season of Big Brother; it moved to TVGN (now Pop) on June 26, 2013, coinciding with the debut of the fifteenth season of the parent series.[1][2] A Canadian version of Big Brother: After Dark was also developed as a companion series to Big Brother Canada, also airing on Slice. The series did not return with the 22nd season of Big Brother in 2020 nor the three seasons after that. It is unknown why but some say it could be due to the Viacom and CBS merger that took place in 2019.[3]

Series overview[edit]

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedBig Brother
season
First airedLast airedNetwork
174July 6, 2007 (2007-07-06)September 17, 2007 (2007-09-17)Showtime 28
274February 13, 2008 (2008-02-13)April 26, 2008 (2008-04-26)9
364July 14, 2008 (2008-07-14)September 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)10
466July 11, 2009 (2009-07-11)September 14, 2009 (2009-09-14)11
569July 9, 2010 (2010-07-09)September 14, 2010 (2010-09-14)12
669July 7, 2011 (2011-07-07)September 13, 2011 (2011-09-13)13
769July 12, 2012 (2012-07-12)September 18, 2012 (2012-09-18)14
884June 26, 2013 (2013-06-26)September 17, 2013 (2013-09-17)TVGN[a]15
990June 26, 2014 (2014-06-26)September 23, 2014 (2014-09-23)16
1089June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26)September 22, 2015 (2015-09-22)Pop[a]17
1190June 24, 2016 (2016-06-24)September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21)18
1283June 29, 2017 (2017-06-29)September 19, 2017 (2017-09-19)19
1390June 28, 2018 (2018-06-28)September 25, 2018 (2018-09-25)20
1489June 27, 2019 (2019-06-27)September 23, 2019 (2019-09-23)21

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b In 2013, After Dark moved from Showtime 2 to TVGN which was later re-branded into Pop. TVGN and Pop are broadcast over the same airspace the only difference being the network name.

Broadcast and features[edit]

The show covered events happening in the House during 9:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. PT.[1][2] According to executive producer Allison Grodner, these three hours would be entertaining as "That's prime time for the Big Brother house. It's when our HouseGuests are most wide awake and having fun, talking about strategy and playing the game. People are going to see quite a bit."[4]

When the program debuted on Showtime 2, Big Brother: After Dark aired live seven nights a week from midnight to 3:00 a.m. Eastern (11:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m. Central) while a season of Big Brother is in progress. (Although it was tape delayed on Showtime 2's West Coast feed, this was of little consequence as some major providers offered both coastal feeds of Showtime 2 as part of the service's multiplex tier.)[5] The show uses the same live feed footage available to Internet subscribers 24 hours a day throughout the season, though the show's producers choose the camera angles and scenes within the program. Every twenty minutes during the show, after a short promotional break showcasing Showtime's original series, a "scroll" was featured on the bottom of the screen to explain to viewers what events occurred that day prior to the start of the show. Due to the uncensored nature of the show, it was rated TV-MA-LS (for adult language and sexual situations) on Showtime 2. For the show's five-season run on Showtime 2, Big Brother: After Dark was the only first-run original program that was produced specifically for any of Showtime's seven multiplex channels (the bulk of the network's first-run original programming airs on the main Showtime channel, and is replayed on its various multiplex channels and on certain sister channels like Pop).

The majority of the shows on Big Brother: After Dark are live with certain exceptions. During the ninth season of Big Brother the April 21, 2008, episode was pre-recorded from earlier in the day due to an eviction and endurance competition still in progress at 9:00 p.m. PT/12:00 a.m. ET.[6] A similar situation occurred during the twelfth season on September 7, 2010, when the remaining House-guests were woken up early specifically to pre-record that night's show. This was to avoid spoiling which House-guest had been evicted earlier in the day during a taped eviction episode.[7] There have also been cases where a still scene and the program's theme music, "Best Of Big Brother: After Dark", or reruns of recent episodes are played instead during portions of the series (such as competitions and tense situations between house-guests) the producers might rather show exclusively within the CBS broadcast, along with removing segments of House-guests humming or whistling copyrighted music, which is still a chargeable "performance" of a work under ASCAP/BMI guidelines. House-guests are also forbidden from talking about the audition and casting process or the more internal and proprietary components of the show, or some diary room confessions, along with promoting business interests. In this case, Big Brother will tell the House-guests over the house's loudspeaker system "You're not allowed to talk about production". Further violations of the singing and production talk rules earn the House-guest a call to the diary room for a producer talk, along with other rules violations.

On May 29, 2013, it was announced that Big Brother: After Dark would move to TVGN (now Pop) beginning on June 26, 2013. While it was promoted by TVGN as continuing to be shown uncensored as it was on Showtime 2, because of the content standards it voluntarily maintains due to the basic cable channel's advertiser-supported format, the TVGN/Pop airings of Big Brother: After Dark are censored for profane language (by muting of the audio) and nudity.[8] (TVGN/Pop is, in most cases, carried on the "lifeline tier" of most cable providers that all subscribers receive, though it is carried on expanded basic or digital add-on packages in some areas; Showtime, by contrast, is not bound to any content standards as it operates as a subscription-based premium service).[9] The TVGN/Pop version – which carries regular commercial breaks, but without the scroll out of break – airs live most nights from midnight to 3:00 a.m. ET (11:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. Central) and on Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m. ET (12:00-2:00 a.m. Central)[10] on the channel's Eastern Time Zone feed, but continues to be shown on tape delay for audiences on the West Coast.[9] The broadcast continues to air uncensored in Canada.

Orwell Games[edit]

The "Orwell Games" occur every Wednesday and Friday during the live broadcast.[10] During the Orwell Games fans of the show are able to participate in opinion polls, hashtag battles and insider trivia. Tweets from fans are also shown live at the bottom of the screen during certain portions of the broadcast. Fans also have the opportunity to win tickets to the live finale of the current season.[11]

Celebrity Big Brother: After Dark[edit]

Main article: Celebrity Big Brother: After Dark

A similar series of the program. entitled Celebrity Big Brother: After Dark, debuted on Pop on February 7, 2018, as a spin-off to the U.S. version of Celebrity Big Brother.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "CBS'S SUMMER OF "BIG BROTHER" ON-AIR (CBS), ONLINE (REALNETWORKS, CBS.COM AND THE CBS AUDIENCE NETWORK), ON THE PHONE (CBS MOBILE) AND NEW THIS SUMMER - ON SHOWTIME!". The Futon Critic/CBS. June 11, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  2. ^ a b ""BIG BROTHER: 'TIL DEATH DO YOU PART" HERE...THERE..EVERYWHERE". The Futon Critic/CBS. February 11, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  3. ^ "Big Brother 22: Why After Dark Did Not Return in August 2020". ScreenRant. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  4. ^ Big Brother: After Dark, by Isabelle Carreau TV Squad
  5. ^ Donohue, Steve (January 8, 2008). "Big Brother: After Dark Returns to Showtime". Multichannel News. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  6. ^ Alison Grodner Productions, Endemol USA (February 23, 2008). "Episode 4.21.08". Big Brother: After Dark. Season 2. Episode 55. Showtime 2.
  7. ^ Alison Grodner Productions, Endemol USA (September 7, 2010). "Episode 9.07.10". Big Brother: After Dark. Season 12. Episode 62. Showtime 2.
  8. ^ Andy Dehnart (June 27, 2013). "Why Big Brother After Dark is censored on TVGN". Reality Blurred.
  9. ^ a b "Exclusive: 'Big Brother After Dark' on Move to TVGN: "No Difference" Says TVGN Senior VP". 7 June 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Pop TV". www.poptv.com. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  11. ^ "Pop TV". poptv.com. Retrieved 2017-08-03.

External links[edit]

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