{"id":274637,"date":"2025-11-10T03:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T03:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/274637\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T03:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T03:54:09","slug":"we-meet-the-housemates-and-stay-up-to-watch-the-chaotic-livestream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/274637\/","title":{"rendered":"We meet the housemates and stay up to watch the chaotic livestream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans may be sad that original host Gretel Killeen is busy with The Traitors<\/a>, but Tracina steamed ahead despite difficult circumstances. The episode, recorded the night before as is standard with previous premieres, had to pause for two hours due to lightning risks, with much of the crowd evidently dissipating in the time between. It won\u2019t be the only surprise Big Brother throws at Tracina.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s early days, but the show has been refreshingly raw, with contestants eschewing rehearsed entrance lines, visibly nervous and shaken by the experience. As you would be, locked in a house with 11 strangers with conflicting beliefs and life experiences. With the premiere filmed on Saturday, we got to whizz through their first night, where connections formed fast \u2013 as did storm clouds, or what seemed to be slight friction between several housemates.<\/p>\n

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When Michael entered, for example, he didn\u2019t introduce himself to Abiola, a 24-year-old \u201cloud, fat, Black lesbian\u201d. It could have been nerves, but the small moment stuck out. Abiola is one of two people of colour cast on Big Brother, alongside Mia, 23, a Sri Lankan woman whose slightly shrill excitement immediately seemed to put her on the outs with her housemates.<\/p>\n

However, the cast features more men with moustaches and people with names beginning with C than it does non-white housemates. It\u2019s not at all representative of Australia \u2013 an odd, disappointing choice given how, as naff as it seems to say, reality-TV shows can really allow audiences to understand different perspectives. The imbalance could also easily create an uncomfortable tension. (A spoiler from last night\u2019s live-stream: Abiola and Mia are voted two of the house\u2019s most annoying contestants in a challenge.)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the house isn\u2019t otherwise diverse, with housemates plucked from across the country, spanning \u201cordinary\u201d jobs such as tradie, tech sales, teacher, social and retail workers, with an age range spanning 21 to 49. There is also a potential 13th housemate, 67-year-old Jane, who could be voted in by the public on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Big Brother\u2019s most inspired casting is Conor \u2013 a charming, slightly geeky disability advocate with Tourette\u2019s<\/a>, who uncontrollably swears and slurs upon entering the house. He\u2019s evidently on the show with a mission, telling housemates, \u201cWhat I say is inherently funny, just laugh at that. Don\u2019t laugh at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fascinating to watch how quickly dynamics establish. The oldest woman, Alana, 45, is instantly shafted into a \u201cmother of the house\u201d role. Conor gravitates towards the relatively reserved Edward, a 30-year-old who\u2019s never had a girlfriend. The three 20-something men with abs to bare become best buds instantly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to call a winner, but first-in chatterbox Colin might be Conor\u2019s strongest competition, a 21-year-old mulleted MMA enthusiast who loves conspiracy theories, his \u201cgood bloke\u201d of a mum, and will seemingly drop dead if he isn\u2019t either punching the air or saying the word bro at any one moment. That sounds annoying \u2013 but he\u2019s the exact right balance of endearing and irritating.<\/p>\n

\"Conor<\/p>\n

Conor (left) is a 31-year-old disability advocate from Queensland and Colin (right) is a 21-year-old aspiring MMA fighter from NSW.Credit: Ten<\/p>\n

Much like Survivor, the best Big Brother casts don\u2019t need much producer prodding beyond testing living conditions. And the first episode\u2019s twist is that the housemates don\u2019t have their luggage, souring celebrations as people realise they\u2019ll have to sleep in their premiere looks. It\u2019s a surefire way to start tension without feeling too gimmicky.<\/p>\n

When the live-stream started after Sunday\u2019s premiere, we were dropped straight into an argument about designating one of the toilets women-only due to the boys\u2019 lack of hygiene. It\u2019s not long before things turn lewd, either, when someone starts a game of \u201ctwo truths and a lie\u201d, with some discussion of pretty extreme sexual acts prompting the editors to cut to the house\u2019s empty backyard.<\/p>\n

With the adults-only Big Brother Uncut not returning, the live-stream\u2019s going to push the boundaries \u2013 and editing reflexes \u2013 of the team who will have to keep in mind various television restrictions as the show also streams on 10Play. (Tip: there are no ads on TikTok.)<\/p>\n

This stream will be absolute chaos. If the main show leans into that, too, it might stand a chance of reaching the glory days of the 2000s.<\/p>\n

Big Brother airs at 7.30pm on Channel 10, Monday to Friday and 7pm Sundays. <\/p>\n

Did you watch the first episode of Big Brother? We would love to hear your thoughts on the show in the comments below. <\/p>\n

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans may be sad that original host Gretel Killeen is busy with The Traitors, but Tracina steamed ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-274637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}