‘Big Brother 15’ speculation: Does early start date ensure All-Star season?

Yes, we know that “Big Brother 15” is more than five months away still … and that this article may very well be proof that we have a little bit of an addiction and we should get some help. But considering how deprived we are of anything related to the show at the moment (even when it comes to “Big Brother Canada,” which is not premiering until February 27), we’ll take just about any scoop that we can … and the announcement that the new season is premiering earlier than usual on June 26 was enough to set us off.

Since this announcement was made, there has been one question stirring around both the internet and in the collective braintrust on this end: why is the show “expanded” this year? There are two common theories behind the early start date, and each makes a certain level of sense.

1. The show is looking to do another All-Stars season, and an earlier start means more people that they can cast. We know CBS loves their returning players, and if this show is following the lead of Jeff Probst and “Survivor,” it’s possible that we may not see many more seasons of just newbies ever again.

2. The show is going to have everyone enter the house live, which is something that we always love to see from the perspective of a live feed viewer.

When it comes to the first possibility here, let’s debunk it at least to the extent that CBS is casting new players for the season. You can submit an application for the show online over at this link. Plans can always change, but for now it’s clear that producers are at least looking to see what new blood is out there.

From a personal level, we would have no problem seeing a “Fans vs. Favorites” season a la what has been done successfully on “Survivor,” at least so long as the fans you cast are people like Frank Eudy or Ian Terry and will actually try to compete hard against the veterans. Ultimately, we can’t really find a correlation on this show between whether or not a cast has veterans and whether or not the season as a whole is good. Let’s take a quick look at some of the seasons post-“All Stars” for evidence.

Season 8 – All newbies, very entertaining

Season 9 – All newbies, terrible and the “Survivor: Thailand” of “Big Brother”

Season 10 – All newbies, strong but not top 3

Season 11 – One returning player, one of the best ever

Season 12 – All newbies, disappointing

Season 13 – Six returning players, terrible and with too much producer intervention

Season 14 – Four returning players, also one of the best ever (thanks mostly to Dan Gheesling)

If you want to read more on the new season premiere, be sure to check out the official article from TCA here.

Photo: CBS