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BBAU 2025: Casting open, return to Dreamworld Confirmed

matts bb

matts bb

Always Watching 👀
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matts bb said:
Return to dreamworld confirmed.
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Big Brother is officially returning to its spiritual home, with a brand-new house set to rise from the ashes at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.
In an exclusive reveal producers confirmed the 2025 reboot of the iconic reality juggernaut will be filmed at the very site that made the franchise a cultural phenomenon more than two decades ago.

After months of speculation and calls from diehard fans for a nostalgic full-circle moment, production company Endemol Shine has locked in Dreamworld as the official location for the show's revival — complete with a purpose-built house.
"The demand for a reboot of the original format has been deafening, and we have listened," SVP of Content at Paramount Australia Daniel Monaghan said, promising the reboot will honour the raw, unscripted spirit of the original series.

"With a brand-new house built on familiar ground, this season will be centred on real people with real stories, talking in real-time."
Fronting the revival is The Cheap Seats star and Nova radio host Mel Tracina, who described the hosting gig as a "pinch-me moment"
"I'd love to be able to recall the exact moment I got the call but my brain stopped braining from excitement," she said.
"I was simultaneously trying not to squeal into the phone and pass out at the same time."

Tracina, who watched the show's very first season as a teenager, said: "The Big Brother house is synonymous with Dreamworld, so bringing the OG format to its OG location feels right. We're excited to be home (and in a new house that hopefully comes with an air fryer)."
"I was excited when Queensland was confirmed as the location because I knew fans of the show would be wrapped. Personally, I'm also happy because I'm a Melburnian who has Jon Snow'd through winter so I cannot wait to swap my MacPac for Havaianas."
Dreamworld CEO Greg Yong said: "We're beyond thrilled to welcome Big Brother back home to Dreamworld. This iconic show holds a special place in our story and in the hearts of millions of Australians."

Supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland's Production
Attraction Strategy, the production will employ 95 local crew members and offer four paid attachment positions.
Casting is now open at bigbrothercasting.com.au. The new season will air later this year on 10.
 
So a week ago this was the line from Channel 10.
“With Big Brother, when casting gets underway, I would say take your time with your application,” (Sarah Thornton, head of unscripted for Channel 10) said.
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And now casting is open they say this:
The closing date for applications is 9am on Monday the 1st of September 2025 (Sydney/Eastern Standard Time).

Please note - the sooner you complete your application the better!
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Brekkie said:
So a week ago this was the line from Channel 10.


And now casting is open they say this:
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I guess Endemol have other ideas haha..

I do think this is a good move and they are very clear on what this series will be.
November to me seems very interesting though. Though it does give them a clear run for eyeballs when other networks will be in wind down
 
matts bb said:
I guess Endemol have other ideas haha..

I do think this is a good move and they are very clear on what this series will be.
November to me seems very interesting though. Though it does give them a clear run for eyeballs when other networks will be in wind down
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Looking back at early series the turnaround time for both casting and building the house 3-4 months.

The likely 4 week runtime is the biggest issue so far - even if they could get on air a week early and add a week at the end that would make a huge difference.
 
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Brekkie said:
Looking back at early series the turnaround time for both casting and building the house was often turned around in 3-4 months.

The likely 4 week runtime is the biggest issue so far - even if they could get on air a weeks early and add a week at the end that would make a huge difference.
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It depends on what the location of the house will be. The original house was built in 7 weeks.
So it will be interesting to see where they are going to build it. The old location, the land is no longer in Dreamworld ownership and is fenced off as part of the development.
So I do wonder if they will build it on the gravel lot just across which is within the fenced Dreamworld boundary. You can see the outline of the old houses’ pool to the far right.
IMG_0526.jpeg
Alternatively the only other feesable areas they would work would be far bottom right with these warehouses to be converted?
Seems there is construction happening to the left of these?
IMG_0528.jpeg
 
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matts bb said:
Alternatively the only other feesable areas they would work would be far bottom right with these warehouses to be converted?
Seems there is construction happening to the left of these?
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Looking at historical satellite imagery on Google Earth, the area next to WhiteWater World seems to have been a construction zone since at least 2022. Previously a car park.

Time to summon @Tim to dust off the ol' BehindBB drone? 😉😉😉

EDIT: As for whether this latest reboot will ignore the seasons from Channels 9 and 7... maybe, maybe not? The casting document simply mentions "Series 2025" (rather than season 9, 12 or 16).
 
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Brekkie said:
Looking at Google Maps could they build the house on the site of the old auditorium?

View attachment 65368
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That’s slated to have a new ride built on it from what I understand

Outside of the 2 locations I’ve previously said, the only other option I see would be top right what looks like farming areas, that appear to be within their land but not used? Thats your only real isolated option ie 2001 vibes
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Hmmmm. There's no way they'd be building a purpose-built house with only a guarantee of Ten airing a single season of the show. There has to be a guaranteed multi-year deal to make it worth the effort.
 
How good! I trusted my little hunch from the start 😅😂

BB12 said:
marquisite said:
About Dreamworld, the original house location these days appears to be a pond with icky brown water, according to the below image. There is also a new road right up to the northern boundary (constructed in 2022). View attachment 64239
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I just have a feeling it's going to be there, not sure why. Time will tell!
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I can't believe it, I'm actually shocked. This is all 7 or 9 had to actually do. At least channel 10 are hopefully being nice and letting whoever is producing this to actually let it work. If they stick to their roots and actually have similar seasons to the ones on 10 I'm sure itll work great.

Now as long as they don't create weird fake drama and storylines like channel 7 or whatever did it should be good.

I don't expect it to be exactly the same as original seasons because I think time has changed, but I think if they make it interesting enough people will return
 
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matts bb said:
Return to Dreamworld has been confirmed in an early release article:
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/big-brother-returns-to-dreamworld-on-the-gold-coast/news-story/385a067b4ef357c443176eae58a1980c
(Full article in next post below)

Casting is also open now: https://eu.castitreach.com/ag/esgau/bigbrother/welcome.html
Note: Says filming at this stage will be commencing early November...
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Ugh I really wanna apply but I have a trip for overseas booked at that time :(that sucks. Maybe another year haha
 
This gives me confidence channel 10 actually know what they’re doing with this revival. House located at dreamworld is exactly what the show needed to capture that nostalgic feeling. I think the fact the show was based in a theme park and purpose built added an element of magic to the show in its original days.

Channel 10 knew what the return to dreamworld would invoke in old fans and have nailed it.

Honestly everything put out about this reboot has been extremely encouraging. The only issue and unfortunately a major one is the short series. I’m hoping the 7 holdback threw a spanner in the works and from 2026 they will run a longer season.

Really excited either way to see the new house and the housemates.
 
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