Big Brother is bigger than it's been in years, but don't believe everything you see.

Big Brother is watching, and so are a hell of a lot of young Australians.

After a few years of dwindling ratings, Ten has finally struck gold with the return of one of its biggest reality TV phenomenons.

Big Brother's launch reached two million Australians, averaging over one million total national viewers, which made it the network's biggest total national audience of 2025.

Hosted by Mel Tracina, the show is resonating with young people in a big way. The eviction show on Sunday reached over one million total national viewers, and was the most-watched show in its timeslot in the 16 to 39 and 25 to 54s demographics.

Whether you watch the show religiously (like me) or just happen to be a person with a phone or computer, you've probably been met with some Big Brother content in the last week.

In particular, two viral clips have been circulated widely online: one on whether women should be expected to be stay-at-home mothers, and a debate about 'pretty privilege'.

@blondejeff

The conversation between Holly and Abiola is such a perfect example of how privilege gets misunderstood in real time. Abiola was talking about pretty privilege as a systemic advantage how being conventionally attractive shapes the way the world treats you. Better opportunities, more kindness, more acceptance, fewer barriers. Meanwhile Holly immediately centred the conversation on how being pretty is hard too , she gets jealousy, attention, objectification. Yes, those things are real but they’re not equivalent to being treated as “less than” your whole life because you don’t fit beauty standards. One is an inconvenience. The other is a stigma.Pretty privilege doesn’t mean your life is perfect.It means society gives you benefits before you even open your mouth. #prettyprivilege #bigbrotherau

♬ original sound - Jeff kissubi

These clips have blown up with all sorts of TikTok users and Instagram influencers stitching clips of these convos together or people adding their own commentary in their podcasts.

It's the kind of publicity that the producers of Big Brother couldn't buy — it's exactly what the show wanted.

Then there's the addition of the Big Brother Live 24/7 feed, which is already the biggest exclusive channel ever launched on 10 streaming.

This is another element made for a younger audience. In an era of Instagram Lives, the demand for constant content has never been greater, and the live feed quenches that thirst better than any other reality show on air.

But this element has presented a new range of minefields, such as truly bigoted and offensive conversations being aired which conveniently don't make Big Brother's daily show.

Sadly for Ten, screen recordings live forever and a slew of these conversations have made their way onto Reddit, X and TikTok.

This has extended the Big Brother universe into a new realm, as unseen clips are given a second life on social media.

@bigbrotheraulive

#bigbrotherau #bigbrother2025 #bb2025 #bigbeotherlivestream #bigbrotheraustralia

♬ original sound - user25412119028

In one disturbing conversation between controversial housemate Michael and Trump supporter, Jane, they made a series of racial stereotypes, including sharing bigoted sentiments about Jewish, Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

During this livestream, the footage cut out when the two housemates kept saying racial slurs.

In another clip, Bruce and Abiola complain about how 'woke' Mia comes across. But most of the conversations are largely banal, but it doesn't mean viewers won't gobble up the chance to get more access to these people.

As the series progresses, the show could find itself in hot water if it continues to censor the feed, or doesn't accurately reflect the housemates.

But already, the rebooted show has made a promising start.

Ten has cast a diverse range of contestants, which includes a single mum-of-three, a Blak lesbian singer, a disability advocate living with Tourette's, an international model, a Sri Lankan-Australian Bunnings assistant, and a 21-year-old barber.

The range of opinions and perspectives have already been showcased on Big Brother, with conservative and progressive housemates clashing over their opposing views on parenting.

It reminds me of the glory days of Big Brother, which was the ultimate social experiment that plopped all sorts of people and personalities under the same roof to fight about their differences and bond over their common ground.

Watch Dave Graham come out as gay on Big Brother. Post continues after video.

It's also quite encouraging that dominating presence Michael has already been evicted — aka one of the most offensive personalities in the house who recently said most single women over 30 are 'undateable' — so hopefully, some other voices will soon be heard and viewers can hear a range of viewpoints rather than just the loudest people in the room.

For me, as the ultimate Big Brother superfan, I'm just chuffed the show has taken on the feedback from fans and stayed far away from the Channel Seven format. This version was based on the US franchise which was super competitive, sacrificing showcasing the personalities of the housemates for strategy chats and gruelling physical challenges.

It was basically Survivor but in a house. No thanks.

The 2025 reboot of Big Brother has taken the best parts of what Ten did so well — the stripped-back episodes narrated by Mike Goldman focus solely on the social side of the house, along with the silly challenges or tasks, like making the week's nominees dress as sad clowns.

At the same time, the reboot is streamlining the eviction and nomination process to keep viewers' attention, which unlike the '00s is now divided between our TVs, phones, and computers.

And look, I say this tentatively but… I'm a fan. Each night, I look forward to immersing myself in the Big Brother house, catching up on the drama, and actually finding out more about these people — every episode adds a new layer.

It reminds me of when Big Brother was event TV in '00s and I lived vicariously through the eyes of the housemates (but with less chat of white privilege and tradwives).

The political climate might have shifted since BB first debuted in 2001, but the heart of the show has remained in tact, and if it continues to build on the first week of debates and drama, yes, I will be watching.

Feature image: Ten.