Big Brother 2 (U.S.)

Big Brother 2 was the second 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 5, 2001 and lasted for a total of 82 days. The season concluded on September 20, 2001 with Dr. Will Kirby being crowned the winner, and Nicole Nilson Schaffrich the runner-up.

The premise of the series drastically differed from the previous installment of the series. The series revolved around twelve strangers living in a house together with no communication with the outside world. They were constantly filmed during their time in the house, and were not permitted to communicate with those filming them. One HouseGuest, known as the Head of Household, had the task of nominating two of their fellow HouseGuests for eviction. The HouseGuests then voted to evict one of the nominees, with the HouseGuest who received the most votes being evicted from the house. When only two HouseGuests remained, the previously evicted HouseGuests would decide which of them would win the $500,000 grand prize.

"From an economic standpoint, [Big Brother] was an economic success. Creatively, we saw the potential. It was worth bringing back, but obviously there are things that needed to be changed. Arnold came in with such wonderful ideas. He had a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the series."

Despite the negative critical response to the first season, rumors began circulating in September 2000 that the series would be renewed and would give CBS more creative control over the project.Les Moonves later stated that the possibility of a second season was "very possible", adding "If we can fix the product... we feel there’s great potential there." In February 2001, it was confirmed that there would be a second season, and that casting would begin soon. Paul Romer, who was heavily involved in the first season, stated that the show had poor ratings as the critics "didn't get it." It was reported that CBS blamed the casting for the failure of the initial season. With the confirmation of a second season, it was revealed that the series would undergo serious changes before the premiere. Before work on the season began, numerous changes were made in terms of the production team. CBS later stated they hoped to get Arnold Shapiro to produce the series, and were eventually successful in doing so.Allison Grodner was yet another addition to the series this year, who was hired as the co-executive producer.

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