Big Brother 19 interview: Allison Grodner on Cameron’s eviction, Paul’s return

This season, we’ve got something special coming after every Big Brother 19 eviction show: Q&As with executive producer Allison Grodner. We have a chance to ask her three questions via email about the week that was in the Big Brother house, and some of the decision-making that went into making these events transpire.

This week, we discussed with Grodner the eviction of Cameron (pictured above with Julie Chen), plus also the decision to bring back Paul Abrahamian and the competition that would have transpired in the event Christmas, Cameron, and Jillian elected to compete rather than go to an eviction vote.

CarterMatt – What went into the decision to bring Paul back so soon after playing last time?

Allison Grodner – Last year we had four returners from previous seasons and two were from the season before. Paul was a big part of BB18 and a big personality. A lot of fans were disappointed that he did not win and we thought it would be great to see him get another shot at the grand prize.

Is there anything that you can say about the competition that Jillian, Cameron, and Christmas would have competed in had it taken place? Is that something you’ll save for down the road?

We had it completely built and ready to go in the backyard. That is one of the things that is so exciting about this Summer of Temptation. We have to be ready for anything that the Houseguests might choose.

Evicting someone on the first night is always tough, but is it even harder to see someone like Cameron go given that he’s been such a big fan of the show? Do you think that superfan status worked against him?

Evicted on opening night is definitely a bummer. Cameron is a great guy and a huge fan so it was a big blow for him but I don’t think he should take it too personally. There really wasn’t a lot of time for him to do anything wrong. I think his eviction had a lot to do with the girls bonding quickly on move in day and deciding to vote along gender lines. It is possible that introducing himself as a microbiologist and choosing to throw the safety competition didn’t help either…

As always, we welcome your thoughts on this interview below, and be sure to come back for more Big Brother news, including a review and our first live-feed update, later tonight. (Photo: CBS.)