Season 12

Big Brother 12 is the twelfth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. The season premiered on Thursday, July 8, 2010 and will be broadcast on CBS and Showtime 2 for 75 days, concluding on September 16, 2010 where the winner will be determined. The format of the program will remain largely unchanged from previous seasons; a group of contestants, referred to as HouseGuests, are enclosed in the Big Brother House under the surveillance of cameras and microphones. Each week the HouseGuests will vote to evict one of their own until two HouseGuests remain on finale night. The highlight programs are announced by Clayton A.S. Halsey. Julie Chen fronted the season premiere, evictions and the season finale.

The program includes thirteen participants while their fate in the House is decided by their peers. Originally fourteen participants were due to enter but one voluntary left during the pre-season sequester period and wasn’t replaced. The HouseGuests are competing to win a $500,000 prize with a $50,000 prize offered to the runner up. One of the HouseGuests was known as the Big Brother Saboteur whose goal is to disrupt life in the House and cause as much havoc as possible. The Big Brother Saboteur did not compete for the grand prize but must complete five weeks of sabotage without being evicted and could have won $50,000 if not evicted. However, the Big Brother Saboteur was evicted in the first week and lost the prize.