I became a Big Brother Naija fan in 2017, avidly following the show and live tweeting my hot takes on all the drama. It was even more interesting to me because a lover and I were watching it as a sort of shared activity, something we could always discuss and watch “together” even when we were not in the same city. 

Last year, it formed an anchor in my life where all else seemed pretty shaky. This year, however, the show has failed to grab me even though I had been impatiently waiting for it to begin since last year. 

Here are my hot takes as to why this is:

1. Who do 2019 housemates remind you of from previous seasons?

The housemates this year seem to have been painstakingly selected to fit certain roles created by previous housemates of the last two seasons of the show. For instance, Omashola this year fills the slot of “real and down to earth” Season 2 winner, Efe.

We even have our token married man, Mike, representing Thin Tall Tony in 2017 and Dee One in 2018. Tacha seems to be the 2019 equivalent of the controversial CeCe from last year’s edition. 

I feel like if the right type of pressure is applied to these characters, the ensuing drama would generate even more publicity since the previous season was such a huge success. These similarities in personality are actually interesting resources that could work to the advantage of the viewer ratings, but alas

2. Fake evictions, surprise housemates…

An all too familiar script: The script seems too familiar, with Tacha and Seyi held in a separate room just like Bisola and Bally were fake evicted in 2017, and Khloe and Anto in 2018. “Surprise” additional housemates were brought in – Debie Rise and Bassey, Ese and Jon in 2017, and now Venita, Elozonam, Joe, Cindy and Enkay this season. What’s with the formula, guys? 

3. I don’t have a problem with recycling but…

The Friday night games seem to be poorly recycled versions of themselves. In the 2nd season of the show, the Friday night games used to be exciting, competitive and engaging to watch. In the 3rd season, the games didn’t seem as interesting, but if you generally enjoyed watching the show, you would find the challenges fairly interesting to watch. This season, the games seem to carry on for very long because they lack that extra edge of an adrenaline rush.

4. It’s a small world, but that doesn’t mean the house has to be.

The house is TINY (I may be exaggerating here, but bear with me) compared to the one in South Africa that was used in the last two seasons. Let’s just say that the beds are pretty much all touching, the arena door is BESIDE THE REFRIGERATOR, and the kitchen is a colourful narrow hallway with a sink at the end. 

5. I WANT MORE BROMANCE AND SOME HATERS

There do not seem to be as many organic relationship dynamics as there should be. 2017 gave us an instant gang formed by Efe, Bisola, Bally, Marvis and Thin Tall Tony as well as an interesting attraction between Miyonse and T-Boss. Last year, we were blessed with the incredibly sweet bromance between Miracle and Tobi, and the Alex-Cece rivalry. This year, none of the Khafi-Gedoni, Seyi-Nelson, Mercy-Ike connections are as remarkable as those of the past years.

6. All these Ads

The ad breaks are super long. Some of the ads also do not look like they belong on the show – more like a simple promotion on Instagram for two weeks would have sufficed. 

7. One last one…

The housemates are not being pushed as much. Where are the psychology and sociology experts? The creative writers who have studied reality TV shows from all over the world? They should be watching the show and coming up with scenarios that would stimulate the behaviours of these people trapped in the same house together.

These housemates seem to be relaxed with nothing new and different challenging them. 

Does that mean I’m gon’ stop watching it? Never

All that slander out of the way though, I love big brother; and I am still watching the show especially with Don Jazzy tweeting about it like an obsessed person. I find the idea of the show extremely interesting from a behavioural psychology angle.

Guest post by Joy Mamudu