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Big Brother Canada: Host Announced FINALLY!!

Kingston

Kingston

Canadian Royalty
So this is actually pretty cool... Big Brother Canada has finally announced their Julie Chen: Her name is Arisa Cox and she's no stranger to Reality TV, having been one eighth of the cast of U8TV: The Lofters... The Lofters was one of Canada's first reality shows and some might consider it a BB rip-off, in that it followed the personal lives of the contestants as well as their lives working and hosting shows in an internet TV station...

Former reality show contender Arisa Cox to host ‘Big Brother Canada’

Arisa Cox says her experience on the 2001 series “The Lofters” makes her especially suited to the job.

In that Toronto-set show, eight people lived together in a camera-rigged loft for a year.

Slice’s 10-week-long “Big Brother Canada” will feature 14 people living together in a camera-rigged house. The winner gets $100,000.

More recently, Cox was an entertainment reporter for CBC News Network and a host on the entertainment channel E!

But the 34-year-old says it’s experience as a former reality show contender that makes her a good fit for Canada’s first “Big Brother” spinoff, which kicks off Feb. 27.

“I feel like I’m bringing something else to the table. It’s not just, ‘Oh wow, I’m not like you. I would never go on a show like this’,” says Cox.

“I’ve been on a show like that, I’ve been those people trying to survive a really surreal place. So, I feel like I’m one of them, even though I’m not.”

While Cox notes that “Big Brother” host Julie Chen takes “a very serious, journalistic angle” to the U.S. version of the show, she expects to get a bit more personally involved in the game.

“I also come from a journalism background but I’ve also done a lot of entertainment. So I’m really interested in getting in there with them, finding out details. There’s not much I’ll shy away from,” she says.

“I might be a lot more emotional when it comes to the show.”

Cox was a 22-year-old journalism student at Carleton University when she joined “The Lofters.”

“I did it really for the experience and to see what I could learn from this,” she says. “I don’t regret any of it. I don’t think I could do it again for a year, that’s a long time. Those reality shows are three months or less because people crack up.”

Cox says she already knows who the houseguests will be and expects some great drama.

“It’s a great group. I think once people start watching the first couple episodes I think it’s going to be really hard to look away.”

“Big Brother Canada” will air three times a week on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

“Big Brother Canada After Dark” — comprised of three hours of raw, uncut material from the house — will run nightly starting Feb. 27.

And for those who crave even more, Bigbrothercanada.ca will offer a 24-hour live feed following the series premiere.

___

Online: Bigbrothercanada.ca
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Here's a clip of her hosting... I'm a little sad I can't find any of her U8TV stuff on YouTube...

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She seems a pretty decent choice - only judging her on that clip but she seems quite individual and full of personality, not just another autocue reader.
 
Brekkie said:
She seems a pretty decent choice - only judging her on that clip but she seems quite individual and full of personality, not just another autocue reader.
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Actually the ones from the show that have moved on to pursuing a career in the industry have done quiet well for themselves... Arisa hasn't really "hit it big" really until now... Her job at E! was only temporary as the network shut down 2 years after it was re-branded... And aside from hosting bumpers, and a weekend entertainment recap show her job was pretty limited... Going back to her work with U8TV, the show really pushed them to pump their personality into hosting... As I was saying previously the ones that have pursued work in media have found success I think based on their ability to infuse personality into to their work...

I'm extremely happy with the choice they've made, although I'm slightly off put by how she said she'd like to host the show in the article I posted... I'm hoping when she says that she'd like to have more of a personal stake in the game, that she'd take on more of a Davina-like stance rather than the role of an interrogator... I'd also like to point out that while Julie still maintains some of her serious journalist qualities, she's shown a lot more personality in the latter seasons... You can clearly tell who she like's and who she doesn't, which is a mistake I hope Arisa doesn't make...

Going back to talking a bit about U8TV... It's one of my favorite shows from my youth... Sadly it was a bit ahead of the curve in 2001 and the second season sort of lost its way in terms of casting and the execution of the "twist"...

In the first season the 8 "Lofters" were selected for the entire year, although two later dropped out due to various reasons... In the second season the Lofters were pushed to "share" all aspects of their lives with the public and provide "great" TV... Every 10 weeks they would all undergo a performance review with the producers nominating two people to be fired... The public voted for who they wanted to stay in the loft and eventually someone new from a pool of hopefuls would be brought in...

Sadly the "twist" simply became the producers way of calling the shots and it the Lofters were basically graded on their ability to cause drama rather than actual hosting skill... The "twist" essentially became a way for the producers to shake their finger at people if they objected to something... It also took the producers 10 weeks to select a replacement and it was nearly 20 weeks before any of the Lofters were to face another performance review... I'm also thinking that the 10 week time period moved said twist and the impending drama along too slowly...

IMO the show was pretty groundbreaking in so many ways... Its use of technology available at the time was amazing and truly interactive... You could log in to the site at any time and view a live feed... They hosted daily chat formal sessions as well as informal with The Lofters... During the live stream of the shows you could call in and be a part of the show, you could apply to be a part of a segment on the show, or simply be a part of the interactive chat room or forum discussions... You could even tune in to the live feed every day and see their production meetings...

I really think if this were reformatted slightly in the right market could be even more of a success than it was back then... Or at least an interesting experiment... I was certainly very sad when the network pulled the plug...
 
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A fuller interview with the host. I think she'll be pretty good - just seems a genuine host who loves the show with a personality that shines through. The person interviewing her highlights everything that would be wrong in a host - a fairly insincere airhead with no natural presence at all. A bit like Brian Dowling actually.
 
Brekkie said:
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A fuller interview with the host. I think she'll be pretty good - just seems a genuine host who loves the show with a personality that shines through. The person interviewing her highlights everything that would be wrong in a host - a fairly insincere airhead with no natural presence at all. A bit like Brian Dowling actually.
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I'm still in awe in their choice of host... It truly is a role that is often overlooked especially here in Canada and is perhaps not viewed as that important to the success of a show... Insight really don't have a great track record when it comes to casting either... If you look at some of their other imports like Canadian Idol and Canada's Got Talent or although, not an Insight production even So You Think You Can Dance Canada the hosts have been poorly chosen and the production really falls apart from that point down...

I'm hoping this is going to be a pretty good indication of what's to come... I think Insight did a pretty good job with Top Chef Canada and with the clear overlap in production with the US version I'm looking forward to this 100%...

Here's another clip:

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BBCA announced yesterday that they are releasing tickets to the first 4 live eviction shows and it appears that the first eviction will take place the day after the premier on February 28th... However this could simply be a live reveal of a twist or something similar and they are simply using the word "eviction" for lack of a better word...

IMO an eviction so soon in the game cannot be a good way to start off the inaugural series... I'd much rather a simple format and any twists being an innovation the Canadian producers wish to carry over in to other series rather than just a one off twist...
 
An ad aired during the Grammy's... Interesting to see them break out of the typical BBUS style they've been using so far... It's all down hill from here... HG's should start heading in to sequester next Sunday or Monday, based on the typical timings BBUS uses... I've also found it interesting that they used a picture of the BBUK outdoor set to promote tickets to the live shows... They've also included some pictures of BB Houses from around the world... BBUS usually tries to downplay any references to the international series...

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SnideAsides said:
Interesting. My first thought is that it's a deliberate attempt to try and court the people who think BB US is awful.
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Wrong... These producers aren't that calculating... This is just an attempt to pull in fans of the US version and nothing more than a creative way to advertise...

As for BBUS being "awful" that isn't really a common feeling over here... In fact I've tried to get a few friends interested in other BB's and it just wouldn't take... They generally prefer the US format... I'm also certain that those who dislike the US format would also dislike any other format thrown at them... Also most North American's really aware of how different the format is outside of the US...

Trying to compare the US format to the format used elsewhere is like comparing apples to oranges... The two shows share a common name, history, and underlying concept however, they are enjoyed on completely different levels... You really have to come in looking at the US format as a completely different show and I'm sure it will be a lot more enjoyable... I have my own feelings towards the show but labeling it "awful" without really giving it a chance is extremely close minded...

Also if you are going in to the launch of BB Canada thinking it's going to be anything more than a carbon copy of BBUS (aside from a few subtle changes) you might as well give up now...
 
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Arisa tweeted this yesterday...

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So I'm assuming based on the timeline the US usually follows the HG's are probably going in to sequester sometime either today, or within the next few days... I believe the interviews ect are usually conducted after HG's are in sequester and HG are usually only in the house for 4 to 5 days before the premier so the earliest I believe we could see a cast reveal is Wednesday or Thursday... That is unless they've taken a completely different route from the US... When Arisa was revealed as host an article did say that the cast had been selected and she knew who they all were... There also hasn't been talk of a media day either which is leaving me leaning towards the producers taking a different approach leading in to the launch...

The official Facebook account also posted "10 DAYS" this morning although I'm really not sure how far to read in to that... However it seems odd that they would be posting on a Sunday...

This is another kind of cryptic tweet from a few hours ago...

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OK I guess I spoke too soon she also tweeted on Friday that "media types" were being locked in the house... And that the BBCAN house is "one of the best in the world"... I'm really hating all this cryptic crap...
 
They had some kind of media day last week and originally said HGs wouldn't be revealed until the premiere but a house tour would be released beforehand (sometime this week I guess, on ET Canada I believe). Although holding back the identity of the HGs would mean they're doing their own thing I didn't really see the benefit of it so not surprised that they'll now release them earlier.

I wish though all the BBUSA houseguests would just sod off - would like a series without them, so hopefully they have no part to play on air at least. I just don't understand why Canadian producers would want to use them - any fan of Big Brother is going to be intrigued enough anyway without sending Boogie or Dan in to host a comp or something.

P.S. A good move to that the premiere will be simulcast on Global to give it a bit of a jump start. With it being on Slice I guess rating expectation aren't huge - and considering the investment that goes in to setting up the house and everything that goes with Big Brother unless it totally bombs I'd imagine they need a second series just to make it pay.
 
Brekkie said:
They had some kind of media day last week and originally said HGs wouldn't be revealed until the premiere but a house tour would be released beforehand (sometime this week I guess, on ET Canada I believe). Although holding back the identity of the HGs would mean they're doing their own thing I didn't really see the benefit of it so not surprised that they'll now release them earlier.

I wish though all the BBUSA houseguests would just sod off - would like a series without them, so hopefully they have no part to play on air at least. I just don't understand why Canadian producers would want to use them - any fan of Big Brother is going to be intrigued enough anyway without sending Boogie or Dan in to host a comp or something.

P.S. A good move to that the premiere will be simulcast on Global to give it a bit of a jump start. With it being on Slice I guess rating expectation aren't huge - and considering the investment that goes in to setting up the house and everything that goes with Big Brother unless it totally bombs I'd imagine they need a second series just to make it pay.
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I actually think that including the BBUS HG's in the promotion of the first series is actually pretty clever... Now moving forward should the series be picked up again for a second series I could care less if I see them again...

I agree with you though about the premier being simulcast on Global... I think Shaw is being realistic with the ratings which is why the series is being broadcast on Slice. Canadian imports really don't have a great track record and they are probably hoping with BB being such a high profile show even 500 thousand viewers could make it one of the highest rated "cable" shows on TV... On one of the regular networks you'd need at least 1 million to be considered successful... I can't be bothered looking around but even shows like SYTYCD Canada and Canadian Idol which many Canadian's consider to have extremely poor production values and therefore many lost interest, at their worst were pulling in 600 - 800 thousand viewers an episode. Real Housewives of Vancouver premiered to 1.2 million and the appeal for that show seems rather limited...

Another major factor has to do with the way the regular broadcast networks operate... I believe if BB Canada were to air regularly on Global it would have to air in-between American Prime-time programing and Global's news coverage... Slice also has license commitments that say a significant portion of it's prime-time programing has to be Canadian.
 
I guess tomorrow is the cast reveal and ET Canada is doing something Thursday which I'm assuming will be the house tour...

Based on the update on the FB page today it looks like there will be 15 HG's which leads me to believe that the special on the 28th will in fact be an eviction...
 
It's only 10 weeks long isn't it, so they'll have to be an extra 2-3 evictions along the way. Hopefully they'll put their own ideas in on how to do some double evictions - I like the idea of some kind of reverse nomination, where the HoH must nominate two people for immunity - but only the HoH would know the nominees are immune and the nominees and the rest of the house must believe they are genuinely nominated for eviction.
 
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