CBS Reality Show Goes Blue

July 8th, 2008 12:00 AM

CBS's “Big Brother” is counting on sex to attract an audience this season.


On CBS's The Early Show this morning, co-anchor Julie Chen introduced the cast of characters for Big Brother's 10th season, which premieres Sunday.  Just a few of the 13 contestants include a gay bull rider, a Hooters waitress, a professional bodybuilder, and a preacher's kid who has no regrets about recently losing his virginity.


While many of the contestants sought on their own to audition for the show, casting associates recruited the gay cowboy, the Hooters waitress, and the professional bodybuilder to apply for the show.  According to the Associated Press, Steven Daigle from Dallas became a contestant after “casting associates called his gay rodeo organization looking for competitors to audition.”  Hooters waitress, Keesha Smith joined the cast after “casting associates called her restaurant looking for a blonde waitress to audition.”


Big Brothers executive producer Allison Grodner promises that the casting represents just a slice of life.  She told AP, “There's somebody for everyone in this cast.”  She continued, “It's going to be interesting to see people that come from such opposite worlds living together, which has always been a part of this show, but this season, we really do have our most diverse group ever.”  She told Chen on The Early Show, “Well, we have an amazing mix of houseguests.”


Chen spent most of her interview with Grodner getting the scoop on who would be this season's “eye candy” for both the men and women. 


For the men, Grodner says, “Oh, let's see.  We've some feisty beautiful women in the house.  Um, we have Keesha, who is a Hooters girl.  Then we've got April, smart and also a little quirky.  She's got a bit of OCD.”


For the women, Grodner responds that the one to look for is Jessie the bodybuilder, as Jessie flexes shirtless on the screen.


Julia Seward is an intern at the Culture and Media Institute, a division of the MediaResearchCenter.