Big Brother Brasil[a] is the Brazilian version of the Big Brother reality franchised television show based on the original Dutch television series of the same name, that was created in 1997 by John de Mol Jr..[1] It is the second one with more finished seasons (only after the American version) and the only one with more than 20 years of uninterrupted annual transmission in the same channel.

The show is based on a group of strangers, known as housemates, living together twenty-four hours a day in the Big Brother house, isolated from the outside world (primarily from mass media, such as newspapers, telephones, television and the internet) while having all their steps followed by cameras around-the-clock, with no privacy for three months.

The only three winners who enjoyed success after the show are Jean Wyllys, who had been following a political career as a federal deputy since winning the fifth season until leaving Brazil in 2019.

Except in the first week, after each eviction (Portuguese: paredão, a term which literally means "big wall"), housemates compete to become the "Head of Household" (líder), by winning a weekly physical endurance challenge, based on a specific skill, a general knowledge quiz or, even sometimes through a luck event.

Since the eighth season, Power of Immunity winner was also given a bad side (called monstro, a term which literally means "monster"), where that housemate, besides protecting someone from elimination, must "punish" one or more contestants, obliging them to do an unpleasing task or forbidding them to go to the party.

During each edition, Multishow broadcasts A Eliminação, an aftershow featuring a recap of the previous week, and an interview with the latest housemate to be evicted.

[3] Gshow Multishow, and Globoplay air Mesacast BBB (formerly Fora de Casa), a daily show hosted by former contestant Ana Clara Lima[4][5] During the 22nd season, Globo introduced the spin-off programming block Cinema do Lider (lit.

Leader's Cinema, now Cine BBB) following Big Brother Brasil on Wednesday nights beginning 26 January 2022.

Juliana Alves, Sabrina Sato, Grazi Massafera, Íris Stefanelli and Juliette Freire are probably the biggest celebrities coming out of the reality show.

After her participation in the fifth season, where she was billed as extremely charismatic and nice, Grazielli Massafera also became a huge celebrity appearing in over 130 magazine covers, posing naked for Playboy magazine, starring in over 13 commercials and winning an important role on TV Globo's 9 o'clock soap opera Páginas da Vida, where she received bad critics.

Íris Stefanelli attracted huge attention during her time in the house and achieved extreme popularity, thanks to her charisma.

She became a personality in the country after appearing in the seventh season, She received a big paycheck to pose naked for Playboy.

Another contestant Jean Wyllys started his career in politics after participating in the program and was elected federal deputy in 2010, 2014 and 2018.

In Big Brother Brasil 10, Marcelo Dourado, a returning contestant from BBB4, was accused of being homophobic but that was ignored and he eventually won his second season.

In Big Brother Brasil 19, only a few days after the beginning of the show, contestant Vanderson Brito faced rape accusations published online by his former girlfriend.

[18] In Big Brother Brasil 21, the contestant Karol Conká behavior and actions towards other housemates garnered a very negative reception from the viewers and public personalities.

This included Karol's encouragement of outcasting certain housemates, aggressive comments that sparked discussions regarding psychological abuse and prejudiced comments that ranged from gaslighting, xenophobia, religious intolerance and sexual harassment, resulting in her cancellation with loss of followers on social networks and being evicted with the highest rejection of all the seasons, with 99.17% of the votes.

[19][20] In 2011, Brazilian sociologist Silvia Viana Rodrigues wrote a thesis at University of São Paulo analyzing reality shows as spectacles that proliferate rituals of suffering.

[21] She analyzes such rituals in various cultural products from Hollywood and Brazilian television, with special attention to Big Brother Brasil.

When investigating the openly eliminatory and cruel face of the game,[22] Silvia Viana points out that such characteristics are liable to be entertainment with great and crucial public engagement because such processes of elimination, competition, exclusion, the affirmation of the war of all against all, of self-management and personal self-control through socio-emotional skills, entrepreneurship, the banality of evil, the naturalization of torture, the "battle for survival" logic and the incorporation of Nazi language and elements are already part of contemporary social life, especially in the context of work under neoliberalism.