TV Hot Spot: News

'Big Brother 9': The Hunt Is On

Post by: Sal

While not confirming those pesky rumors that a new season of "Big Brother" could start as soon as February, CBS has opened up casting for the reality favorite.

CBS announced Thursday (Nov. 15) that "Big Brother 9" will have organized casting calls in 17 cities (some very close to each other) between Saturday, Nov. 17 (in Los Angeles and Columbia, South Carolina) and Saturday, Dec. 8.

Additional information is available through the CBS website.

CBS also announced the return of Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan as executive producers and Julie Chen as host.

While there had been rumors of a celebrity season, the show's format appears to be unchanged: A group of strangers will share a house bedecked in cameras for three months, voting people out every week. The last houseguest wins a prize.

The one thing that isn't revealed is when "Big Brother 9" will premiere. The CBS release only says that it "will be broadcast in 2008 on dates to be announced."

CBS didn't announce the eighth season pick-up for "Big Brother" until this past February, before premiering the show in July. The early start means that at the very least CBS will be ready to start "Big Brother 9" early in the spring should the writers' strike continue and should the network have an emergency need for adult 18-49-friendly programming possibly filling three primetime hours per week.

Take Care,

Sal