Big Brother 15 (U.S.)

Big Brother 15 was the fifteenth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. The season premiered on CBS on June 26, 2013, and concluded on September 18, 2013. It was the longest season to date, running 90 days. This season featured sixteen HouseGuests, tying it with seasons 9, 14, 16, and 18 for the second most HouseGuests to compete in a single season. Season 17 had seventeen HouseGuests due to the twin twist.

The premise of the series remained largely unchanged from previous editions of the series, in which a group of contestants, known as "HouseGuests," compete to win the series by voting each other off and being the last HouseGuest remaining. Each week, one HouseGuest, known as the Head of Household, must nominate two of their fellow HouseGuests for eviction. The winner of the Power of Veto can remove one of the nominees from the block, forcing the HoH to nominate another HouseGuest. The HouseGuests then vote to evict one of the nominees, and the HouseGuest with the most votes is evicted. When only two HouseGuests remained, the last nine evicted HouseGuests would decide which of them would win the $500,000 prize. A HouseGuest can be expelled from the show for breaking rules.

The September 5, 2013, broadcast marked the show's 500th episode. On September 18, 2013, Andy Herren won the season by a 7-2 vote over runner-up GinaMarie Zimmerman.

Big Brother 15 was officially announced on September 19, 2012 shortly before the finale of the previous season. It was confirmed that Executive Producer Allison Grodner would return to the series, as would Rich Meehan for Fly on the Wall Entertainment. It was later announced that Big Brother 15 would last for a total of 100 days, making it the longest edition of the series to date. Casting for the season began shortly afterwards, with open casting calls being held in states such as Florida, California, West Virginia, and Maine, among others. Online applications were also available, with the online deadline being May 11, 2013. Semi-finalists for the casting process were informed in May and June 2013. Robyn Kass of Kassting Inc. was responsible for casting as with various previous seasons. This season was the first to feature a completely new cast since the twelfth season in 2010. Despite statements made earlier by host Julie Chen stating that there would be more HouseGuests than ever before, it was later confirmed that the season would feature a total of sixteen HouseGuests. The sixteen HouseGuests were revealed on June 20, 2013. It was later revealed that HouseGuest Elissa Slater is the sister of Big Brother 13 winner Rachel Reilly.

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