What Even Is the Point of Big Brother in 2025?
Twenty-four years ago, voyeurism alone was a unique and compelling reason to watch. But can the return of Big Brother truly succeed today?
Last night, a familiar voice asked, “Are you ready to come home?” It was Mike Goldman, the narrator from Big Brother Australia’s original run on Channel 10 and the later Channel 9 revival. This simple line signaled the new season’s goal: to revive the show as it was during its early 2000s cultural peak.
Back then, Big Brother introduced viewers to unforgettable moments and personalities like Chrissie Swan, Sara-Marie’s bunny dance, the dancing doona, and the notorious turkey slap. For a time, the show held a major place in popular culture, offering audiences a chance to watch everyday people in a rare state of unguarded behavior—oblivious to the cameras that broadcast them live.
Big Brother Australia first aired in 2001, soon after the format originated in the Netherlands. The show’s name references the oppressive and all-seeing figure in George Orwell’s classic novel 1984.
“Are you ready to come home?”
Big Brother was “a chance for everyday TV viewers to tune in for a nightly dose of permitted voyeurism.”
But after two decades, the question remains: can this nostalgia-driven return capture the same cultural relevance in a media landscape that has dramatically changed?
Summary: Big Brother’s 2025 revival seeks to recapture its early 2000s cultural impact by delivering familiar voyeuristic entertainment, though its relevance today is uncertain despite a strong nostalgic appeal.