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‘Big Brother’ Superlatives: Best Season, Winner, Alliance and More

Writer's picture: Reality Lately StaffReality Lately Staff

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For the last 23 years, Big Brother has blessed our televisions each summer with with lying, scheming, backstabbing, romance, and of course, endless drama.


Now, the hit reality competition show is preparing to kick off its landmark 25th season, which CBS says will feature "throwbacks" from years past.


So in honor of the milestone season, we at Reality Lately have compiled a list of 25 Big Brother-related superlatives — and offered our honest opinions about each and every one of them.


Will you agree with our takes? Check 'em out:


(NOTE: These are just our opinions, which are subject to change.)


Best Season

Abigail = Season 10

This season was the epitome of what a Big Brother season should look like. Fights between colorful characters, ever-changing allegiances, bold moves, and even a little bit of romance. It was an incredible concoction of pure reality TV awesomeness.


Sarah = Season 8

This season had it all! Drama, more drama, incredible comp performances, epic twists, EVERYTHING! Watching Dick and Danielle Donato win their way out every week was the ultimate nail bitter!


Worst Season

Abigail = Season 15

There are a handful of seasons worthy of this title. (BB19 and BB21 certainly get honorable mentions.) But ultimately, there’s almost nothing redeemable about Season 15. Bigotry and bullying ruled the house that summer, and it just wasn’t a good time.

Sarah = Season 19

The most twist flops, the worst houseguests, and the worst competitions. Season 19 seemingly resembled a sitcom revolving around Paul Abrahamian. The only houseguests with a mind of their own were voted off quickly. Every eviction was set in stone, predicable and never changed. The ONLY highlights I can think of are the Mark Jansen and Josh Martinez fight while Mark rocked a tutu, Raven Walton's wildly made up life stories, and the perfect example ending of a season to show us what NOT to do for jury management.


Best Winner

Abigail = Dan Gheesling (BB10)

Ugh, it’s hard to pick JUST one. But ultimately, it's hard to argue against Dan's brilliant strategic game. Hell, he nearly won a second time because of it.


Sarah = Taylor Hale (BB24)

Taylor won our hearts on day one, then those same hearts broke for her Week 1. Watching her start the game with NOTHING and NO ONE in her corner and slowly win the other houseguests' hearts over to pull herself into a power position, it was an absolutely incredible story. I don't think we’ve ever had a more loved winner. If it's not obvious by her record of Favorite HG AND winner, we were all in tears on finale night.


Best Houseguest to Never Win

Abigail = Janelle Pierzina (BB6, BB7, BB14, BB22)

Making the final 3 in back-to-back seasons. Setting a Veto win record. Setting the record for most competition wins in a season. This woman was nearly unstoppable in her prime.


Sarah = Tiffany Mitchell (BB23)

Tiffany was a BEAST. She took all of the blame and got almost none of the credit for the masterful alliance The Cookout, while her male counterparts discounted her every step of the way. We the live-feeders and viewers, KNOW that Tiffany was the real MVP of Season 23.


Most Underrated Houseguest

Abigail = Amber Borzotra (BB16)

She's one of the best players to never make jury, as evidenced by her success on multiple seasons of The Challenge. One of the biggest obstacles she faced in the game as Caleb Reynolds' seemingly never-ending obsession with her, which unfortunately hindered her social game beyond her control. She killed it in competitions while she could, though, winning three of the nine competitions she participated in.

Sarah = Howard Overby (BB15)

Let’s face it, Howard had SO much potential. He is the perfect example of right HG on the wrong season, because the BB15 cast was hands down the most racist in BB history. Howard was kind, socially smart, brilliant and good at comps. He never stood a chance against the bigotry in the house. But I will always remember him and the solid rock he was for Candice Stewart.


Biggest Flirt

Abigail = Cody Calafiore (BB16)

Easy. There aren't too many houseguests that wind up making headlines with their flirtatious behavior.


Sarah = Cody Calafiore (BB16)

I don't think we have ever seen Cody on a season of BB where he wasn’t a huge flirt. The infamous BB Bro even made TMZ headlines in Season 16 with his infamous flirtmance with married houseguest Christine Kominek (née Brecht).


Cutest Couple

Abigail = Brendon and Rachel (BB12, BB13)

As polarizing as they may be, these two are by far the cutest pair to ever emerge from the Big Brother house. Like them or not, they're not afraid to be their authentic selves.


Sarah = Brendon and Rachel (BB12, BB13)

Alright hear me out! While Rachel and Brendon grated on many viewers' nerves, there is no denying their love for each other! “BREENNNDDOONN!” I can still hear it. And now after being married for over 11 years, they are still such an iconic duo.


Class Clown

Abigail = Chicken George (BB1, BB7)

It was almost always a joy to watch Chicken George compete. He wound up being a pleasant surprise on Big Brother: All Stars (having participated in a completely different competition the first time around on Season 1) and still is one of the most entertaining people to grace the house with their presence.


Sarah = James Huling (BB17, BB18)

James constantly fed the feeds with his shenanigans, and is arguably one of the biggest pranksters to ever live in the Big Brother house.


Biggest Drama Queen

Abigail = Rachel Reilly (BB12, BB13)

No one even comes close, IMO. Floaters, grab a life vest!


Sarah = Amber Siyavus (BB8)

Amber had a special nickname on BB8, Wah-mber! Y'all know I love my statistics so here is one for you: Amber cried in 20 out of the 25 episodes she was on an had a grand total of just nearly 16 minutes of crying on screen!


Biggest Troublemaker

Abigail = Dr. Will (BB2, BB7)

There’s nothing Will enjoyed more than causing chaos in the Big Brother house. Screwing up people’s games and sowing doubt were essentially hobbies of his, yet he somehow nearly won twice.


Sarah = Dick Donato (BB8)

Dick is INFAMOUS for his shit-stirring capabilities. While almost all of his hijinks were apart of his strategy, they caused a constant chaos in the house that created a tension no one could break.


Best Friends

Abigail = Zach Rance and Frankie Grande (BB16)

These two were OBSESSED with each other all summer. It was one of the most surprising friendships to form in the Big Brother house to date, and there was rarely a dull moment between them.


Sarah = Kaysar Ridha and Janelle Pierzina (BB6, BB22)

No bestie duo is more iconic than Kaysar and Janelle — 15 years and still going strong! This bond forged in the BB house is now forever unbreakable.


Best Duo

Abigail = Mike “Boogie” Malin and Dr. Will Kirby (a.k.a Chill Town) (BB2, BB7)

You can’t beat the epic twosome that was Chill Town. Mike and Will once shared one of the strongest bonds ever forged on Big Brother, and their never-ending antics made every episode a must-watch. It's too bad one half of the pair had to ruin a good thing.


(RIP: 2001-2019)


Sarah = Mike “Boogie” Malin and Dr. Will Kirby (a.k.a Chill Town) (BB2, BB7)

What other duo has actual criminal stalking charges as of today?!?! Mike and Will were an iconic alliance duo in Big Brother 2 and 7. So much so, Mike just couldnt let it go. After stooping to the lowest of low strategies to get Dr. Will to join forces with him again, Dr. Will slapped him with a restraining order, and Mike was later charged with FELONY STALKING.


Best Alliance

Abigail = The Cookout (BB23)

The Cookout's gameplay was downright masterful, and it was amazing to see the incredible payoff. Their goal was to assure the first Black player would take home the grand prize, and they dominated the game along the way, winning a combined 10 of 14 HOHs (71.4%) and seven of 13 Power of Vetos (53.9%) as well as successfully evicting every single non-alliance member.


Sarah = The Cookout (BB23)

In all my years of watching the feeds, I have never seen more masterful gameplay by an alliance. Never meeting all together, sticking to the plan no matter WHAT, keeping their relationships authentic even when they fought, is what kept them off of everyone's radar. Tiffany’s late night chess sessions were a strategic thing of beauty.


#1 Villain

Abigail = Dick Donato (BB8)

There wasn't anything Dick wasn't willing to do to make his fellow houseguests as miserable as possible, especially if he saw any sort of personal gain.


Sarah = Dr. Will (BB2, BB7)

HE FAKED CANCER FOR SYMPATHY. He was a notorious villain throughout the game, but the lows he went to… Wow, somethin' else.


#1 Hero

Abigail = Ian Terry (BB14, BB22)

It takes a true master of the game to successfully beating both Mike "Boogie" Malin and Dan Gheesling at their own game, let alone as a 21-year-old rookie.


Sarah = Britney Haynes (BB12, BB14)

YUP, I SAID IT. Britney's Diary Room sessions breathed LIFE into Seasons 12 and 14. Not to mention became the hero of the season when she took out Rachel and Brendon for bullying her alliance and friends.


Biggest Comp Beat

Abigail = Michael Bruner (BB24)

I mean, just look at the stats. He set a new record for most Veto competitions won in a single season (6) and tied Janelle for most competitions won in a single season, even though he only placed sixth on his season. Perhaps he showed his cards a bit too much, but he certainly proved he’s tough to beat under almost any circumstance.


Sarah = Michael Bruner (BB24)

The newest record holder, Michael, DOMINATED the comps for BB24! Breaking Janelle's previous records, we were all thrilled for this super fan to nail such a title!


Best Competition

Abigail = Pressure Cooker

It's the ultimate endurance competition, and requires equal amounts of mental and physical fortitude to win. It's also given us the longest competition in Big Brother history, which lasted nearly 14 hours.


Sarah = Bowlerina

I will NEVER get enough of watching jocks in tutu’s get dizzy AF and stumble around like they are white girl wasted. It will always be my favorite.


Best Twist

Abigail = Pandora’s Box

This was quality entertainment, right here. Big Brother tries to do too much with their twists now. This one was the perfect combo of offering a complex decision without having to unnecessarily complicate the game.


Sarah = Pandora’s Box

Come on, this twist is so vague and could literally be ANYTHING. I love that there is reward AND consequences, i love the unknown in it and i love even more that it could affect the game in so many ways. BRING THIS BACK!


Best Comeback

Abigail = Taylor Hale (BB24)

When the season started, it seemed like it was only a matter of time until the majority alliance knocked Taylor out of the game. So each week she survived seemed like a miracle. It takes some true tenacity to pull through that level of adversity, and win almost unanimously, to boot.


Sarah = Victor Arroyo (BB18)

When I hear “comeback," I think of Victor. He was evicted from the house THREE TIMES! He was like a cockroach!


Best Blindside

Abigail = Jessie Godderz (BB10 and BB11)

There was nothing sweeter than watching America blindside Jessie, not once, but twice on back-to-back seasons. Both evictions led to insane fallout inside the house, too, including one of the biggest fights in BB history and the expulsion of a houseguest.


Sarah = Shane Meaney's eviction (BB14)

One of Dan’s best moves was convincing Danielle Murphree to use the veto on HIM instead of her showmance Shane Meaney, which immediately led to Shane's eviction. Danielle never saw it coming! ICONIC.


Most Shocking Moment

Abigail = Dan's Funeral (BB14)

How Dan managed to pull this off is still absolutely beyond me. He needed a miracle to escape eviction in Week 7, and managed to do so by concocting one of the most devious and well-thought out plans in Big Brother history. By the end, he somehow turned his biggest enemy into an ally while simultaneously putting the target on an ally's back in a desperate (and successful) effort to save his game.


Sarah = Josh and Mark's fight (BB19)

For me personally, I'll never forget watching the feeds as that happened live. From the ketchup splash, to the backlash with Mark in a tutu. Hearing production yell through the speakers to separate. It's like they forgot to cut the feeds. It seemed to go on forever.


Most Dramatic Exit

Abigail = Chima Simone’s expulsion (BB11)

The fallout from Jeff Schroeder's Coup d’Etat was nothing short of dramatic, and Chima was just one of the casualties. Watching her spiral out of control was nothing short of stunning. There didn't seem to be a rule that she wasn't willing to break. It even took executive producer Allison Grodner to coax her into the Diary Room for the last time. So much yikes.


Sarah = Paloma Aguilar (BB24)

Covering this show is a lot of work, but none more exhausting that the spiral of Paloma. That entire week felt like a month, never knowing what she was going to say or do next.


Best Big Brother Quote

Abigail = “I am Vegas.” (Rachel Reilly, BB12)

Rachel gave us several iconic quotes this season, but this one resonates deep within the fandom.


Sarah = "But first..." (Julie Chen Moonves)

No BB quote is more recognized or more iconic. Period.


Best Fight

Abigail = Keesha’s Birthday (BB10)

You just can't script this kind of shit. Birthdays can certainly be eventful in the Big Brother house, but Keesha Smith's 30th birthday blowup takes the cake.


Sarah = Rockstar vs. Brett (BB20)

"ON MY DAUGHTERS BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Dumbest Move

Abigail = Marcellas doesn’t use the Veto on himself, gets evicted (BB3)

How. Just how.


Sarah = Marcellas doesn’t use the Veto on himself, gets evicted (BB3)

No move, I think, even comes close. It has been used as an example for years and years. Marcellas using the veto on someone else while he sits on the block will forever be the face palm of moves.


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