2.4 /10 1 Votes2.4
Genre Reality show Directed by Sergio Colabona Original language(s) Italian First episode date 14 September 2000 Program creator John de Mol Jr. | 2.4/10 IMDb Created by John de Mol No. of series 14 Language Italian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Grande Fratello, the Italian version of the reality television franchise Big Brother, begun in September 2000, and which has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon in Italy. There have been fourteen completed seasons as of 2015.
Contents
Based on the original Dutch version created by Endemol, the show sees a number of "housemates", divided by gender, social backgrounds and geographical locations, locked up together in a house, where the viewing public can watch them twenty-four hours a day, and vote them out of the house as they choose.
The housemates can visit the "confessional" at any time during the day, either to talk to psychologists if they need to, talk to "Big Brother", or to nominate.
The title is inspired by the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The novel tells of a Big Brother, head of the totalitarian state of Oceania that constantly monitors its inhabitants by camera in an attempt to suppress their free will. The tag line of the novel is "Big Brother is watching you", which inspired the show, as it is Big Brother who now has total control over the situation in the house.
The housemates live in a house 24 hours a day, bugged by numerous cameras and microphones which capture their every move. Every week the housemates participate in tasks that determine their food budget for that week, or could even affect that week's nominations. The overall goal is to be the final surviving housemate and claim the prize fund. A PlayStation game based on this version was released in 2003.
Winners
Regular series
Season One, won by Cristina Plevani from Iseo, Italy
Season Two, won by Flavio Montrucchio from Torino, Italy
Season Three, won by Floriana Secondi from Rome, Italy
Season Four, won by Serena Garitta from Genova, Italy
Season Five, won by Jonathan Kashanian from Ramat-Gan, Israel, (of Iranian parents)
Season Six, won by Augusto De Megni from Foligno, Italy
Season Seven, won by Milo Coretti from Rome, Italy
Season Eight, won by Mario Ferretti from Montecchio, Italy
Season Nine, won by Ferdi Berisa from Podgorica, Montenegro
Season Ten, won by Mauro Marin from Treviso, Italy
Season Eleven, won by Andrea Cocco from Hong Kong, China
Season Twelve, won by Sabrina Mbarek from Udine, Italy
Season Thirteen, won by Mirco Petrilli from Lariano, Italy
Season Fourteen, won by Federica Lepanto from Salerno, Italy
Celebrity series
Season One, won by the television personality Alessia Macari, from Dublin, Ireland
Presenters
Daria Bignardi (editions: 1-2),
Barbara D'Urso (editions: 3-5),
Alessia Marcuzzi (editions: 6-14),
Ilary Blasi (edition: VIP)
Popularity
The program has broken several records, including exceeding a 50% share of the ratings (with peaks of 60% during season one). The fifth season recorded a decline in ratings which was put down to both the competition from rival reality television shows and the season's poor and hasty production. By the ninth edition, the show recorded increasing ratings which took the program back to its original popularity.
Despite a decline in viewing figures over the years (especially in the twelfth series), Grande Fratello is still one of the most successful reality shows in Italy.