Big Brother Over the Top recap: A look back at the online season

Big Brother: Over the Top was an experiment of sorts to sell the CBS All Access application. The entire season took place online, rather than having episodes broadcast on CBS for the television audience.

For fall 2016, CBS decided to try something new. In order to bridge the gap between the recently completed Big Brother 18 and the upcoming Big Brother 19, a new type of show was created. With Over the Top, fans would be given more interactions with the cast, have more control over how the season progressed, and get to see more of the behind-the-scenes action of the show.

Big Brother: Over the Top Season 1

There were 13 houseguests that participated in the online season, including returner Jason Roy, who had been a member of the BB17 cast. One of the early twists was that there were sisters in the house who didn’t know they would both be playing the game. Morgan Willett and Alex Willett had to figure out how to navigate that minefield and if they should openly work together.

Over the Top differences

With this version of the show, fans were finally able to watch the houseguests enter the game live. Typically, that is a taped portion of the CBS show, recorded days before the season premiere. During the online season, though, every cast member was allowed to enter the game individually, making it an exciting event to watch online.

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Online viewers were also able to watch all the competitions take place. With the normal live feeds, production typically turns off the coverage in order to take that portion of the show for CBS broadcast. Almost nothing was hidden from view during the online season.

Big Brother: Over the Top twists

Some of the most noteworthy twists (in addition to the Willett sisters) were the ability to get or be assigned safety during the week, that there was no jury at the end of the season, and that there was a final three (instead of a final two). Online subscribers got to vote on many facets of the game, including who would go home with the cash prize in the end. It was a big shift from the summer version of the show, but it didn’t catch on enough to be brought back for a second season.

Big Brother: Over the Top was a show that was most exciting for the die-hard fans who love getting involved with the live feeds. It was certainly a lot of fun for people that stuck with it, but with things happening on the feeds almost every night, it was difficult for the average fan to keep up with it. They did offer updates and recap episodes, though. In the end, it was Morgan Willett who ended up winning the show. Recently, she made a music video with Jessie Godderz (Mr. PEC-Tacular).