Fans of Big Brother know to expect the unexpected when it comes to production twists, despite the fact that the show generally follows a pattern from year to year.
While some unexpected developments have put players’ games in jeopardy (see season 8’s “America’s Player,” Eric Stein), other house guests have benefited from the unanticipated developments.
As part of the “X Factor” twist in season 4, Jun Song, for instance, feigned to despise her ex-boyfriend Jee Choe when he entered the house. In reality, the ex-couple had a covert side alliance for the majority of the contest, and Jun eventually took home the top prize.
The Power of Veto
Once upon a time, the Power of Veto was not a core component of Big Brother, but a twist introduced during season 3 in 2002.
The twist — which allows the winner of the veto competition to save one nominee from the eviction block — has been used in every subsequent season and serves as a counter to the Head of Household’s power.
The Power of Veto gave season 5 houseguests Marvin Latimer and Nakomis Dedmon the ability to develop the Big Brother strategy known as the backdoor in 2004. That season, Jase Wirey became the first victim of the technique.
In a successful backdoor, the Head of Household nominates two pawns for eviction rather than their intended target. The HoH then arranges for the Power of Veto to be used on one of the pawns, thereby putting their target on the block without giving them a chance to compete for safety.
The X-Factor
In the beginning of the fourth season of Big Brother in 2003, there were eight housemates. The last five houseguests, all of whom were former lovers of the first eight candidates, were subsequently revealed to the contestants.
After Scott Weintraub’s ex-girlfriend Amanda Craig arrived in, the twist quickly became explosive, and Scott started hurling furniture around the house. Weintraub’s conduct led to his expulsion from the game.
The X-Factor twist reappeared in season 8 when Joe Barber learned that Dustin Erikstrup, his ex-boyfriend, was also participating in the competition, and it again in season 9 when Sharon Obermueller and Jacob Heald, another ex, were matched together to compete as “soulmates.”
Project DNA
Project DNA, comprised of Secret Siblings and the Twin Twist, was introduced during season 5.
For the Twin Twist, a pair of identical twins, Adria Klein and Natalie Carroll, both played as Adria, swapping places every few days unbeknownst to their fellow houseguests. The twins successfully made it to week five without the other contestants catching on, at which point they both entered the game as individuals. The twist returned during season 17 in 2015, when twins Liz Nolan and Julia Nolan placed second and sixth, respectively.
Project DNA, meanwhile, brought together estranged half-siblings Nakomis and Cowboy Ellis, who were unaware of each other’s existence before the show. Their connection was revealed during week two.
Summer of Secrets
During 2005’s season 6, each contestant had a secret partner in the game whom they knew prior to entering the house. The twist featured friends, couples, former coworkers, ex-roommates, neighborhoods and sorority sisters.
Initially, each secret pair thought they were the only duo with an outside connection. If both members of a twosome reached the final two, they received double the original prize money. The houseguests quickly figured out the twist and host Julie Chen Moonves confirmed it after the third live eviction.
America’s Player
The America’s Player twist was introduced during season 8 in 2007, with much of Eric’s game being controlled by viewers. At times, fan votes even influenced how Eric voted and who he targeted for eviction. While the twist was in many ways a disadvantage for Stein, he managed to finish in 5th place.
America’s Player returned during season 10 in 2008, with Dan Gheesling earning the title. However, unlike Eric, Dan was only America’s Player for one week, and he earned $20,000 for successfully passing all three of his missions, which included targeting Jessie Godderz and voting to evict him.
Coaches
Big Brother alums Dan, Mike “Boogie” Malin, Janelle Pierzina and Brittany Haynes all returned for season 14 in 2012 for the Coaches twist. Each of the four coached a group of new players and were told they’d win $100,000 if one of their players won the game. However, during week 3, the coaches were given an opportunity to play as individuals. Every coach except Mike took the offer, and all four coaches then entered the game.
During the season, Dan — who made it to the final two with season winner Ian Terry — executed one of the most iconic strategic moves in Big Brother history, known as Dan’s Funeral. After pretending to accept his own demise and making the house think he was on the outs with his No. 1 ally, Danielle Murphree, Dan convinced his former rival Frank Eudy to keep him in the game.
Battle of the Block
The Battle of the Block was originally played during season 16 in 2014, and for the first few weeks of the game, two Head of Households were chosen each week. Each HoH chose two house guests to be nominated for eviction, and the nominated pairs then competed against one another to stay in the house and unseat the HoH who nominated them. After learning that he had broken their alliance, Frankie Grande’s companion, Caleb Reynolds, declined to compete, and Frankie Grande went on to win the BotB competition alone.
Big Brother fans were divided over BotB when it resurfaced during season 17, with some believing that the twist allowed powerful alliances to maintain control from week to week, leading to predictable and dull gameplay.
Split House
During season 24 in 2022, the cast was divided into a split house for the double eviction. The two groups played an entire week of the game completely cut off from each other, with five players inside the house at “BroChella” and five players in the backyard at “Dyre Fest.”
The twist led to Joseph Abdin’s demise as he was separated from several of his Leftovers alliance members. Leftovers member Kyle Capener used the Split House twist to out the alliance to his showmance partner, Alyssa Snider, and the Dyre Fest HoH, Terrance Higgins. The Dyre Fest group then targeted Joseph and he was evicted, which came as a shock to the other side of the house when the twist ended.
The Power of Invincibility
Season 25 of Big Brother introduced the Power of Invincibility twist, which allowed fans to select four houseguests to compete for the Power of Invincibility. The winner of the challenge could then use the ability to save another contestant from elimination.
In an August 2023 episode, Matt Klotz, Cirie Fields, Cory Wurtenberger and Jag Bains battled in a secret competition to take home the power. At the time, Jag was on the block against his ally Blue Kim. Matt ended up taking home the victory and anonymously used the power to save Jag. Given that no contestant went home, Klotz’s move essentially reset the entire week and all the houseguests could compete in the next Head of Household competition.
Big Brother Zombies
Jared Fields and Cameron Harding both got the opportunity to “resurrect” themselves by being put back into the game as zombies after being eliminated during the season 25 Double Eviction. A week without a Head of Household contest, nominations, vetoes, or live eviction votes followed.
Instead, a three-part competition that took place over the course of a week pitted Cameron and Jared against one another. Cameron was given the opportunity to execute a task live during an episode in September 2023 after he won. He just had three minutes to use a pulley to correctly guide a ball up and through a tiny hole.
Cameron then returned to the game while Jared’s game officially died.