Big Brother 10 (U.S.)

Big Brother 10 was the tenth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The series premiered on CBS on July 13, 2008 and lasted ten weeks until the live finale on September 16, 2008. The tenth season saw a slight increase in ratings compared to the past seasons of the series, which had the lowest ratings. The season premiered to a total of 6.29 million viewers, the lowest premiere numbers for any season. The season finale had a total of 7.63 million viewers, the third lowest rated finale. The series averaged 6.72 million viewers, making it the second lowest rated season of the series. Big Brother 10 featured a total of 13 HouseGuests, the first time there had been a decrease in the number of HouseGuests. The series ended after 71 days, in which HouseGuest Dan Gheesling was crowned the Winner, and Memphis Garrett the Runner-Up.

Speculation on the show not returning for the Summer 2008 Television Season developed as the previous series had been accelerated to the second half of the 2007-08 television season as part of replacement programming following the writers' strike. However, CBS announced on March 17, 2008 following speculation that it would not be returning that the Series Ten would be a summer 2008 broadcast. Casting for Big Brother 10 began on February 25, 2008. Applications were due on April 25, 2008 and video tape submissions were due on April 4, 2008. During May 2008 interviews for the 40 semi-finalists were held with the finalists being chosen on May 21, 2008. Casting calls were held in various cities across the country including Los Angeles, California, Charleston, South Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Phoenix, Arizona. Series producer Allison Grodner stated "We’re going to have our wildest group yet. We’ve found some very extreme personalities with very extreme points of view."Big Brother 8 winner Dick Donato later announced on House Calls that Big Brother 10 would feature a wider range of HouseGuests. Grodner later confirmed that the cast of Big Brother 10 would feature no pre-existing relationships, making it the first season since Big Brother 3 to do so. Grodner later stated "Big Brother 9 involved couples, singles, and soul mates who were young, single, impulsive, and ready to party. We do a 180 with Big Brother 10. This summer you’re going to find a 22-year-old body builder and a 75-year-old great grandpa in the house, and everyone else in between. We’ve had diversity of age in past, but he’s clearly the oldest contestant we’ve ever had." The cast was officially revealed on July 8.

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