'Big Brother Canada' Season 12: Arisa Cox on return of Digital Dailies, no Quebec houseguests
"These people want to be iconic," Cox said about this seasons' houseguests
Big Brother Canada is back for Season 12, with host Arisa Cox welcoming 12 new houseguests, and two mystery all-stars, in a Hollywood North themed season.
"This is going to be one for the ages," Cox told Yahoo Canada. "I have such a good feeling about this season."
Big Brother Canada Season 12 premiere date: March 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT on Global TV
Big Brother Canada Season 12 schedule: New episodes air weekly on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT and Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT
How to stream Big Brother Canada: Stream Season 12 live and on demand by adding the STACKTV channel to Prime Video
Where to watch Big Brother Canada Digital Dailies: Keep up with the houseguests with Digital Dailies on the Big Brother Canada website
Watch Big Brother Canada Season 12 live and on demand by adding the STACKTV channel to a Prime Video subscription, 14 days free then $12.99/month
'These people want to be iconic'
Teasing what we can expect from the Season 12 Canadian houseguests, Cox revealed that the cast includes several people who have extensive knowledge of the show.
"I'm very excited by what I've heard so far about people's gameplay, or what they think they're coming into," Cox said. "I really liked that they have strategies and some that I haven't heard before."
With the Hollywood North theme, the Big Brother host said there will be "a lot of luxury" in the house, with more rooms than we've seen in the past, which lends itself to more gossiping and secret conversations.
"We're very literally reflecting that desire for fame that houseguests have," Cox said. "Sometimes it becomes unfashionable to say you want to be famous, ... I don't think they're afraid of saying that."
"They just want to be famous for being themselves, which is amazing, and for their incredible gameplay. These people want to be iconic."
While fans will be waiting to see who the mystery all-stars are for the season, Cox has made us believe that these are some top-tier players.
"If I were to ask you right now, give me your your top five, top 10, they're in everybody's [list]," Cox teased. "I know that they have what it takes to actually do the damn thing, to maybe stay much longer than they should."
'We're not here to hide things'
With Big Brother Canada being an evolving and changing series, that is very dependent on Canadians applying for the show, that sometimes leads to choices not everyone is entirely on board with.
This year, some Canadians have already pointed out that there aren't any houseguests from Quebec on the cast.
"If I had my way, the cast would be 30 people, and every year the cast would get bigger," Cox said in response to be asked about the lack of Quebec players. "I think everybody wants a show where they get to go, 'Oh my God they're from my small town,' or, 'that's my background,' or 'I hear my other language,' ... we also aren't creating people in a writers room. We've got to work with what we got."
"We want the best people for that season out of what is offered to us. So ultimately, the show has to be incredible and if one year there's no one from Alberta, but then the following year there might be less people from the East Coast. ... Much respect to people who cast ... it's very, very difficult. But again, because we're not cooking our houseguests up in a lab, we're going with real people who are ready to play that year. And so sometimes that means someone great is going to be in the following year, or someone great can't do it last minute because something happens. All of those things happen in real life. So we just got to get ready."
Last season, Big Brother Canada fans were a bit skeptical of a change that saw live feeds replaced with Digital Dailies. That change will remain for Season 12 of the show, despite some criticism, but Cox promises even more robust content.
"What I'm really excited about this year is that they are going to be bigger and better," Cox said. "I think we want to get to the point where if anything interesting happens, we want our audience to see it, we want them to see it in the next Digital Daily that drops. We're not here to hide things."
"It's not a show, it's a lifestyle. ... We're going to make sure that you have what you want, in terms of the entertainment value and also just the the ability to analyze properly what you're seeing on the show."
Watch Big Brother Canada Season 12 live and on demand by adding the STACKTV channel to a Prime Video subscription, 14 days free then $12.99/month
But ultimately, in order for a show like Big Brother Canada to stay relevant, giving it the lasting power to sustain 12 seasons, and likely even more, the show needs to evolve. Cox identified that's the "magic" of Big Brother Canada.
"We kind of came in as the new kids on the block, we were a very young franchise compared to its 40 plus franchises around the world," Cox explained. "We're beside a big country and Big Brother had been there for much longer than ours, ... so we knew it was on us to constantly keep pushing the envelope."
"Certain things that we introduce, like the triple eviction, for example, chain of safety, things that we've done that you can see have an impact because they show up in ... other Big Brothers around the world. But I think the second you take your foot off the gas, the second you start phoning it in, people can tell."
Meet the 'Big Brother Canada' Season 12 houseguests
Avery Martin
Age: 26
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Selkirk, Man.
Occupation: Videographer
Avery is the "ultimate hype girl" and endurance is her "secret weapon," but she has already indicated she will throw comps to keep the target off her back.
Bayleigh Pelham
Age: 34
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Halifax
Occupation: Bartender
Bayleigh is described as "a firecracker that’s waiting to explode," with an "unfiltered" personality.
Dinis Freitas
Age: 48
Pronouns: He/Him
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Textile designer
Dinis is a Big Brother superfan described as "loud, proud and outgoing," with a strategy to fly under-the-radar as a "master manipulator."
Donna Marshall
Age: 26
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Hubbards, N.S.
Occupation: Artist
Donna wants to "shake up the house," planning to use her athleticism to win comps, and a few showmances too.
Elijah Kazlauskas
Age: 31
Pronouns: He/Him
Hometown: North Bay, Ont.
Occupation: ESL teacher
Another Big Brother superfan, Elijah plans to be Head of Household (HOH), with strong alliances to make it to the end.
Janine Holmes
Age: 44
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Hairstylist and make-up artist
Janine, a married mom of two, is happy to share her hairstyling services with her fellow houseguests to get them to spill secrets.
Kayla Clennon
Age: 26
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Stouffville, Ont.
Occupation: Volleyball coach
Kayla has a "goofy side," but is set to be a "comp beast," promising some tricks up her sleeve.
Lexus Jackson
Age: 24
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Dental hygienist
Lexus is focusing her strategy on a strong social game, but she "doesn't mind being the villain" to win.
Matthew Wong
Age: 27
Pronouns: He/Him
Hometown: Surrey, B.C.
Occupation: Kinesiologist
Matthew is determined to be the champion of Big Brother Canada this season, using his athleticism to his advantage.
Todd Clements
Age: 31
Pronouns: He/Him
Hometown: Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L.
Occupation: General contractor
The first person from Labrador on Big Brother Canada, Todd wants to be the "leader" of the house, but also wouldn't mind having a showmance.
Tola Eam
Age: 40
Pronouns: He/Him
Hometown: Ottawa
Occupation: Fiber optic technician
Tola is a dad who's eager to bring his energetic personality to the show, and adapt to situations efficiently, to make it to the end of the season.
Vivek Sabbarwal
Age: 25
Pronouns: He/Him
Hometown: Saint John, N.B.
Occupation: Software developer
Vivek wants to get a "ride or die" to take him through the season, until it's time for him to be crowned the winner.
