“Big Brother” host Julie Chen Moonves wants older contestants

It’s been an entertaining and topsy-turvy season Big brother. Could this have something to do with the age of the contestants?

Usually a haven for young people in their twenties, the Big brother This season the house has been filled with a group of older characters. While Season 24 of the CBS reality series last summer only featured one player over the age of 45 (Terrance “DJ Showtime” Higgins, who was 47), Big Brother 25 It included four different contestants in that age group: Felicia Cannon (63), Ceri Fields (53), Bowie Jane (45), and Hossam Gowaili (45). Not only that, but the cast also included five people in their 30s.

Is having greater diversity in ages something that host Julie Chen Moonves wants to continue to see moving forward? “Absolutely,” the host tells EW. “And look how long Felicia and Ciri lasted. I mean, they’ll be at least in the final six. And one of them will be at least in the final five if he doesn’t go all the way. We’re used to that.” You have an older, middle-aged person, maybe every couple of seasons with a group of young, exciting people.”

Choosing big personalities over charismatic characters is usually a recipe for success, so the host hopes we’ll see more of that in the coming seasons. But in the meantime, there’s a big double eviction episode happening tonight, so we spoke to Chen Monfils about who’s in the best place among the final seven, and who played the best among the jury, if she’d like to see more of it. Survivor Players enter Big brother Home, and how we never hear from the contestants’ loved ones.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, what do you think of this group that we left in tonight’s double eviction?

Julie Chen Moonves: There are no real alliances this season. They are unfaithful to each other, except for Ciri and Jared. I mean Felicia would go to Jag and throw Siri under the bus. Cirie tries to recruit Blue to be with her even though she and Felicia have a No. 4 with Jag and Matt. Matt went to give her a heads up that the Jag was on her. I mean it’s so crazy.

One change I was thinking about is how in the past you all had segments from the weekly eviction episodes where we would meet the contestants’ families and loved ones and get their perspective on what they thought about what they were doing at home, which could be interesting if there was exhibitionist behavior. Or really dishonest backstabbing behavior. Have you ever missed it, like in Season 16 when we saw Kristen’s husband and parents react to her flirting with Kody?

I think so, but the reality is that in terms of at-home content, there are so many stories to be told that we don’t have time for that. When we don’t play the opening credits where you see the actors, then it’s like, “Oh, it’s a tight show. They have to use every second of the recorded takes and that’s it.” So, it’s a nice problem to have, but I miss seeing that. I wonder if, for letters from home at least, we’ll have a tearjerker? I’m sure we will. Maybe in the final show.

You’ve had a few Big brother Players go to SurvivorBut Siri is the first Survivor Player to come next Big brother. Do you want to see more? Survivor Are players trying it at home?

We broke Siri! She had had enough. Survivor It is a small fraction of time, and she has chosen a season that will last 99 days, longer than ever before. I do not mind Survivor People are playing Big brother, but there’s something very nice about a new group of unknowns. That’s why I prefer it even to former players. Even if you hire four former players as coaches, it’s nothing new. So I like to find new people and then find it flattering that other offers take them up.

Who among the people who didn’t make it to the judging panel do you think played the best match?

Hi Sam. He’s smart and good, but he’s not humble and doesn’t let anyone else talk. He was like the captain of the team, but then he lost his team. He could rally, and looked good in competitions. He’s smart, he’s physical, but he didn’t have the personality.

Christine, it’s hard to judge. Mikul, she’s kind of just floated by – smart, but she didn’t have to do a lot to get where she is. Izzy was in it. She was passionate about the game, she was loved, she had teammates, she had people who worked with her. Not Jared, he was too immature and was playing too hard and too fast, rushing into things and telling Blue about Ciri being his mother. He just needed to grow up a little.

So I would say Hisham or Izzy. Riley, it might have been, but we couldn’t see enough. I don’t think she can handle the pressure of authority. She could have been good in all competitions, but when dealing with house politics and the pressure of the power she had, I think she was a little too sentimental for the role.

What I thought was really interesting about this season was all the competition monsters because there’s usually one, right? But you had Hisham in the beginning, and he was winning everything. Then Cameron won it all, and now Jag has won it all. It’s like one corporate monster replaces another.

I know! I’m waiting for someone other than Jag to rise to the occasion. Kind of like the season Casey won. Tyler looked positioned to win and they went into the final two rounds, but then towards the end, her winning streak was undeniable. It wasn’t like people didn’t like Tyler, but it was more like, ‘Yes, she won.’ So I’m waiting for, I don’t know, maybe he died to show up as this guy. Or blue. She came in second place in the POV, and the timing was good. It’s got the stamina – to last a long time, to hang on, to take a beating in that spinning game. So I’m waiting for someone else to take some wins from Jag.

Considering that this person could be eliminated from the vote within hours during tonight’s live double eviction, who’s in the best place for the endgame?

Bowie Jane, because no one even thinks about her! [Laughs] But in the end, you won’t get the votes to win unless you suddenly become a monster overnight. But maybe Siri. They had been so foolish to let her survive all these weeks. No one necessarily shoots her. Felicia may have thrown her under the bus a little, but not necessarily fired her.

Lucky for Cirie, when Jag got a point tonight, he did the right thing and thought, “Okay, my target is still Blue because she can win things and Cirie hasn’t proven her quality in challenges.” But, to be fair, she was never chosen to play in Veto, so she only played in the HOHs.

It’s striking that they all seem to know Cirie’s past and know how dangerous she would be if she were near the end, yet they allow her to stay.

It’s her magic. I think she’s just very maternal and she’s someone you love as a person — and that counts for something Big brother.

What is hosting like? Big brother In the fall instead of the summer? I know you’ve done this once before with Over the top You’ve seasoned spring once before, but is your internal seasonal clock off now?

I say, “Wait, we’re going to celebrate Halloween at… Big brother “Maybe I’ll play Zingbot in the next live show. I have no idea. It’s definitely messing with my wardrobe because the color I’m wearing next week looks a little summery, but it’s Southern California, so it’d be good to expect the unexpected, right?”

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