Big Brother: Why Janelle Pierzina Wants Viewers To Influence The Game

Janelle Pierzina, a Big Brother legend, is advocating for a major format change for the long-running reality competition show. The first season of Big Brother was drastically different from the seasons that followed. The format of the first season had America voting for the houseguests to be evicted. Starting in the second season, the game became a strategy-based power struggle with little influence from the viewing public. Though the original format was retired years ago, Janelle Pierzina wants the show to return to its roots as a popularity contest.

Janelle is considered one of the most iconic contestants to ever appear on Big Brother. She has played the game four times, more than any other player, and is known for her tenacious personality and competition prowess. Unfortunately, she has yet to win the game, but she holds several Big Brother records and remains an immensely popular figure in the Big Brother community.

In a reply to a tweet by Big Brother 8 winner “Evel” Dick Donato, Janelle recently opined about the current season, stating the show should consider reverting to its original format and have the viewers vote to evict players. She suggested the competition-based powers of the current format remain, but instead of the houseguests voting to evict one of the Head of Household’s nominees, the American public would instead cast the votes. Janelle’s suggestion comes on the heels of the Big Brother 23 cast targeting fan favorite Derek Xiao for eviction this week. Janelle thinks a fan vote would be “much more engaging for the viewers” and would leave popular players like Derek X. in the game longer.

Though it is certainly frustrating when fan favorites get targeted for eviction, Janelle’s proposed solution would not help the show in the long run. If the viewing public were to control the results of the show, the contestants would begin to pander to the viewers rather than play strategically. This would lead to seasons with little conflict and predictable outcomes. Furthermore, many of the most celebrated Big Brother players would not have done as well if their seasons were influenced by America’s vote. Players like Danielle Reyes, Dan Gheesling, and Maggie Ausburn were not beloved by America when they played but have gained reputations as some of the best Big Brother strategists.

It could be argued that Big Brother could do more to switch up the format of the show and keep the game fresh. Fans have expressed frustrations about large alliances steamrolling the game for several years, for instance. However, Janelle’s suggestion for change would most likely have more negative consequences than positive ones.

Big Brother 23 airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8 PM ET on CBS.

Source: Janelle Pierzina/Twitter

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