Big Brother 20 interview: Allison Grodner on Kaitlyn’s Bonus Life challenge

We are just over 24 hours removed from the craziness of Thursday’s Big Brother 20 episode, which included the shocking elimination of Kaitlyn Herman after her no-so-shocking eviction. We were fairly confident that she would complete that puzzle of herself in the amount of time allotted, but that didn’t exactly happen.

We have more discussion on that for you in the video at the bottom of this article (subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more!); for now, though, let’s get to our weekly interview with show executive producer Allison Grodner! We’re talking with her all season long and this time, she discusses everything from the Bonus Life competition to what Kaitlyn’s loss means for the rest of the season and the recent trend of bringing back former houseguests to host Veto Competitions.

CarterMatt – Did you have any expectations for how the Bonus Life competition was going to play out, and what do you think about Kaitlyn’s performance?

Allison Grodner – We have learned to expect the unexpected at all times in Big Brother and that is what I love about this show. The challenge may have seemed simple but you have to factor in what it would be like to play immediately after an almost unanimous eviction. It would have been fun to see Kaitlyn get another life in the game but she had the chance and she gave it her best shot under the circumstances. It is easy to watch from the sidelines and judge but until you feel the emotion and pressure of the Big Brother house you have no idea what these houseguests go through.

Because Kaitlyn did not win her competition, is it possible that a different houseguest could get a chance to return later this season? Did you have different plans mapped out for the season depending on the outcome [of the competition]?

The entire season is mapped out and we have to be prepared for any and every outcome. I cannot reveal what is coming up but we do have plenty of twists and turns planned that are going to continue to make this an exciting summer.

This week we saw Rachel Reilly return to the house, and Julie Chen said before the season that every edition of Big Brother will be honored in some way. Given that there is so much BB history to pull from, how are you deciding when and where to pay tribute to past seasons?

We are inviting popular houseguests from the past to participate throughout the season as hosts for competitions and other events. Ideally, the competition they host makes sense for who they are – like Cody and Jess introducing a dating game. Whether it is a perfect fit or not, we are excited to see some Big Brother legends back in the house for a special appearance.

Related – Check out more of our live-feed updates!

The aforementioned video about Kaitlyn’s competition fail is below, and if you enjoy that, check out our full Big Brother playlist! There are new ones posted every Thursday, plus occasionally when something big happens in the house.

What did you think about Kaitlyn’s exit, and what do you want to see from here? Share below!

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