Julie Chen.Photo:Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty
Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty
It’s hard to remember thatBig Brotherwasn’t always a smashing success.
As the reality show’s 25th season quickly approaches, hostJulie Chen Moonvesis opening up about the challenges she faced duringBig Brother’s infamous first season, which first launched back in 2000.
In a recentinterview withEntertainment Weekly,Chen Moonvesrevealed that she actually didn’t want to host the series initially, but was “forced” to take on the gig. At the time, she was the CBSEarly Shownews reader and had only been in the position for five months.
Julie Chen Moonves hosting Big Brother 2022.CBS
CBS
“I originally turned down the job,” the host said. “I was forced to take it, so I took it. I didn’t know what I was in for. I assumed it was going to be bigger thanSurvivor— just in a house with air conditioning.”
Not only was the first season critically panned, butChen Moonvesherself was also the subject of harsh criticism — to the point where she worried she was going to be fired from CBS altogether.
“Externally, people hated me. Critics internally — people at CBS News — wanted me fired from the news division,” she shared. “I thought I was going to lose my job doing morning news becauseAndy Rooneyspoke out publicly against me when I hostedBig Brother… I was like, ‘Oh my God, Andy Rooney’s going to have me fired!’ ”
“I thought, number one, we’re not going to finish season 1. Number two, I’m probably going to get fired completely from the network,” she added. “That’s it for my career. I’m going back [to] Dayton and begging for my job back there as a local news reporter.”
Doug Benc/Getty
Fortunately, she couldn’t have been more wrong about the future of bothBig Brotherand her career. The series was renewed for season 2 and she was asked to host again, this time under new producers, Arnold Shapiro and Allison Grodner.
Ultimately,Chen Moonvescredits Shapiro and Grodner for turning the series around and making it successful for so many years. Season 2 saw major changes to the show — it focused more heavily on competition and gameplay and no longer had viewers vote contestants out.
“Arnold and Allison [Grodner] turned the show upside down and made it what it is today,” she said. “If it wasn’t for Arnold and Allison, I honestly don’t think we would be here talking about the 25th season.”
“Big Brother”: Taylor Hale, Monte Taylor and Matthew Turner.CBS
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Season 25 ofBig Brotherpremieres Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
source: people.com
