It's hard to imagine, but in the summer of 2000, there was no such thing as "The Bachelor." There was no "Amazing Race," no "American Idol," no "Fear Factor" and no "Project Runway." CBS took a lofty gamble in green-lighting a little something called "Survivor," which premiered on May 31 and became a runaway success. By July 5, it found a partner in "Big Brother," a show that locked 10 strangers in a house on a studio lot in Los Angeles and left them to battle for a $500,000 prize. The network purchased the rights to the Netherlands series of the same name -- a reference to George Orwell's 1984 -- for an estimated $20 million. The series, which asked viewers to vote for one of two houseguests to be banished each week, faced dwindling ratings and critical pans, even after luring a handful of dedicated viewers with online live-feeds that provided 24/7 access. Despite the unfavorable reception, CBS renewed the show for a second season, rebooting the format so that houseguests competed weekly to be crowned Head of Household and then voted to evict one another. Ratings increased, critics came around and a reality-television sensation was born.
Today, "Big Brother" is in its 17th season, attracting 5 to 7 million viewers per episode and feeding a legion of loyal fans who've made the show a summer staple. Each season employs twists, some more enticing than others, but the structure remains the same: Julie Chen shepherds 12 to 16 houseguests through three months of competitions, alliances, evictions and showmances, all in the name of the show's mantra -- "expect the unexpected."
Heading into this season's first double eviction, The Huffington Post turned to 15 former contestants to trace what it's like to participate in one of reality TV's fixtures. The show's producers declined to comment, so consider this a houseguest tell-all, patched together via individual, lengthy conversations with each person. Now you have one minute to gather your belongings and settle in because it's time to eavesdrop on the houseguests.
THE HOUSEGUESTS:
Casting
Based on open casting calls, audition tapes and recruiting, potential contestants undergo weeks of scrutiny before the crew arrives at the finalists' homes and hands them oversized keys that act as a ticket onto the show. Reality television was still a fledgling industry in the early 2000s, but token archetypes quickly emerged among the casts.
William Collins: It was around 2000. When I heard the advertisements for "Big Brother" -- you would stay in a house for three months -- I thought it was the local radio station doing another one of these things for the radio. I went on the website, and like most people do, I wasn’t reading in-depth. I was probably about three-fourths finished with the application when I thought, “This doesn’t seem like a radio program for some reason.”
Danielle Reyes: My audition tape showed a picture of my high school basketball team. I said, “Hey, I need you to focus on the cute one," so I zoomed in on myself. I said, “Look at her, lucky No. 15. You think she is going to live the life. She is going to go to college, she is going to live the 'Sex and the City' life. But let me let you in on a little secret: When that photo was taken, she had a 2-year-old daughter. That life that she thought she had did not happen." I remember doing my spiel and I’m standing there in workout gear, just being casual, and at the end of my tape I said, “If you thought Dr. Will was something, wait till you guys get a load of me.” And they gave me a call. I was so shocked because I forgot I had auditioned.
Dan Gheesling: It took me four years to get on the show. I made it to the finals in Season 6, but scheduling didn’t work out and I couldn’t make it. I was close to being on Season 9. Lucky for me it worked out for Season 10 because Season 9 is considered maybe one of the less exciting seasons to watch.
Mike Malin: I sent in the tape and then I was called to come meet with casting, where I went on video camera and they grilled me for about 20 minutes. One thi