Are The ‘BB17’ Houseguests Fans Of The Show?

Being a Big Brother fan is definitely not a prerequisite for being cast on the show, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. But, were all of the Big Brother housemates fans of the show to begin with? It's a question worth asking, especially considering having a solid working knowledge of how the game is played and how past players have won is super important to winning Big Brother.

Unsurprisingly, the answer isn't particularly complicated: Turns out, a lot of the houseguests on Season 17 talk openly about how obsessed they are with the show. I mean, it means sense — why would you apply to be on a show if you didn’t, at least, sort of like it? And, even if you haven’t watched it since the start, once you were asked to join the cast, why wouldn’t you watch every single episode like a Big Brother sleuth?

Still, while some houseguests may be super vocal about what big fans of the show they are, a handful have decided to keep whether or not they're apart of the fandom to themselves this season, perhaps so that they don’t appear to be such huge threats. This is great for their game play, but it makes it seriously difficult for those of us watching at home to figure out whether or not our favorite players are super fans or just recent studiers of the game.

So, like the journalist I am, I did a little research into each houseguest and found out just how loyal they’ve been to the Big Brother franchise. Where exactly do they each lie on the fandom spectrum? With super fans on one side and people who binge watch multiple seasons in order to study the game on the other, the housemates this season are all over the map.

Vanessa, for instance, calls herself a huge fan, but doesn’t hint at much super fandom in her bio video. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s relying more on her game theory and poker player skills to get far in this game. Da’Vonne came into the house with her gameplay guns blazing, while John took the opposite approach and remained super quiet about his status as a fan. As for Shelli and Clay, the series' key showmance, the couple apparently only recently started watching the show, but caught quickly — in fact, according to Clay, he only watched the show for the first time four months before setting foot in the Big Brother house.

Some of the other moderate fans: Audrey, and Becky both claimed to be huge fans of the show, but didn’t go into too much detail in their bio video or during their first few days in the house. Jason, however, called being on Big Brother his biggest aspiration in life. So, at least there's that! James is a fan, but said in his bio video he’d rather play the game with integrity — a major burn to past players and winners.

It’s really no surprise that the houseguests are all fans of the show — each and every one of them — but their level of obsession is the interesting part. Here’s something you wouldn’t expect: Meg said in her bio video that she’s not just a fan, she’s a take-notes-while-watching kind of fan. Really? Meg? Quiet, likable, keeps-to-herself, Meg? I guess the biggest fans and the best players are always the ones you would never suspect.

Now, as for whether or not this level of obsession will ultimately make a difference this season...that remains to be seen. Since things change so quickly in the Big Brother house, it can be hard to keep up. To keep track of everything going on in the Big Brother house, check out Bustle’s very own Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room. Listen to the latest episode below, and be sure to check out future episodes on Bustle’s SoundCloud page and iTunes.

Image: CBS (3)