'Big Brother: Over the Top' is a Glorious Experimental Mess

The long-lasting reality show "Big Brother" used to be an annual event. Every summer for the last 17 years (and one winter!), host Julie Chen greeted "BB" fans three nights a week. Telling them to expect the unexpected year after year, super fans geared up to devote three sweltering months (sometimes more) to not only tuning into the CBS reality show on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays but also stay glued the show's 24/7 live feeds, which allows viewers to watch the houseguests' every move.

"BB" can be an all-consuming, but fleeting, obsession for some fans. It's hard to imagine how "BB" could get any more interactive than its current form. But we are in Peak TV and CBS producers found a way.

As "Big Brother 18" started to wind down in September, CBS announced a "BB" spin-off called "Big Brother: Over the Top" while simultaneously renewing the "BB" proper for two more seasons. In addition, it was revealed "BBOTT" would start just one week after "Big Brother 18" crowned a winner, meaning that fans who spent the last 99 days following "Big Brother 18" would now have the chance to commit to another three-month season of the reality show.

Except "BBOTT" isn't just another season of "BB." The major difference is "BBOTT" exists solely online via CBS's All Access and its app, which costs either $6 or $10 a month. There are no televised episodes of "BBOTT."

"BBOTT" is geared for the "BB" super fan; those who are plugged into the live feeds, which are also viewed via CBS All Access during the summer. And when they're not watching the feeds, they're scouring social media for constant updates.

In the week between the end of "Big Brother 18" and start of "BBOTT," it was unclear how the show would actually work. Its setup is similar to "BB" proper: A group of houseguests battle it out for a $250,000 grand prize (half of "BB" proper's prize, which is $500,000). Chen said "BBOTT" would be more interactive, and she wasn't kidding.

Some "BB" fans tune into the reality show for strategy and game play, but at the end of the day, "BB" is a game show. In the past, to some fans' chagrin, there has been audience interference. Twists were introduced allowing viewers to vote on different aspects of the game, like rewarding a houseguest with a prize or an advantage. For "BBOTT," viewers vote in almost every part of the game, including evicting houseguests. The biggest twist in "BBOTT" is that, unlike in every season of "BB" proper (except the first), there is no jury. The winner will be decided by America, by a vote, making "BBOTT" a hybrid of U.S. "BB" and the U.K.'s version of the reality show.

"Big Brother" is probably not going to be canceled anytime soon. It might be the cheapest show to make that is currently on TV and it has built a strong fan base over its 17 year run. Airing three nights a week during the summer, and pulling in solid ratings over the last nearly two decades, "BB" is essentially a house that prints money. (Also factor in that Chen is married to Leslie Moonves, the CEO of CBS.) In this time of Peak TV, it only makes sense that a franchise as profitable and inexpensive to produce as "BB" is squeezed by The Eye for every penny its worth.

"BBOTT" is probably even cheaper to put together than proper "BB" - with America voting a winner, and no jury (a group of about nine evicted houseguests who decide a winner on finale night), CBS does not have to pay rent for a sequester house, a beautiful mansion where the jury members resided in solitude until the game ends. This is probably one of the biggest expenses for the show. Another glaring price tag is the completions, which are often elaborate contraptions built on-set. For "BBOTT," however, the competition budget appears to have been slashed - the first Head of Household battle, which determines who is in power for the week, was essentially a drawn out version of hot potato, albeit a compelling one that was conducive to the new show's fluid format.

It's that fluid format that truly separates "BBOTT" from "BB" proper. Like any other show, "BB" is on a schedule; you tune in three nights a week to watch edited hour-long episodes. "BBOTT" more or less takes place in real time, making the 24/7 live feeds a much more vital part of the experience. For the super fan, this is a major plus. They get to see all the unedited moments a regular season of "BB" would censor by turning off the feeds.

But for those who do not have the time to be plugged into "BBOTT" as much as they'd like, it's hard to keep up with the ongoing, ever-changing narrative of the game. It's also difficult to know who the houseguests are as people, never mind keeping track of alliances, which constantly shift.

For those who don't watch the feeds, there are daily recaps that give the broad strokes of the major events that took place that day. In addition to that, there are live feed highlights that break down things even further. It's not easy to navigate your way through the highlights and clips, however, making it hard to figure out what you're supposed to be watching and when you're supposed to watch them.

On Wednesdays, CBS uploads one "real" episode of "BBOTT" that clocks in about 90 minutes and shows what happened throughout the week and ends in an eviction. (One big plus is that these episodes are un-censored, full of cursing and nudity you'd never see on a network show.) But if you've watched the daily recaps and live feed highlights, the weekly episode becomes a retread of already viewed content. "BBOTT" would probably work better if CBS were able to produce episodes every other day. There's no need to worry about length, since the show exists in a digital space; the episodes could be as long as they need to be.

"BBOTT" does get some things right, especially if you're a super fan. The competitions are live ("BB" proper shuts off the feeds during comps) and scheduled, so feeders know exactly when to tune in. There are also live diary room sessions where houseguests answer questions and directly talk to feeders. There is one problem, though. Since the "BB" house is located in California, most of the important events take place in Pacific time, which means those on the east coast have to stay up pretty late to watch live.

"BBOTT" is still finding its groove and is still enjoyable, even if you're putting in the bare minimum amount of time into watching the show. The cast is solid and there are some parts of "BBOTT" that "BB" proper adopts (the live diary room sessions, for one). It will be interesting to see how the experimental spin-off pans out over the next few months and whether it's ultimately a success - since "BBOTT" is online, CBS probably isn't looking at "ratings" but is hopeful to boost its All Access subscription, especially with its "Star Trek: Discovery" season on the horizon (the show will air solely on the service). For now, let's be glad there is more "Big Brother" in our lives.