Big Brother’s favorite live feed updater Taran Armstrong is stressing the importance of having the 24-hour footage for the show.
“Big Brother was born in controversy that has only ever continued to evolve with the show over time. From racist remarks and behaviors to threats of violence, expulsions, attempts at censorship and more,” Armstrong wrote in his new book, Behind the Mirror, which hit bookstands on Tuesday, November 25. “The live feeds have at least functioned as a safeguard against the worst the genre has to offer.”
Over the years, Armstrong has become a popular figure in the Big Brother fanbase as he provides daily updates about what’s going on in the house as a member of the “Rob Has a Podcast” (RHAP) team. (“RHAP” was created by Survivor alum Rob Cesternino and is a popular reality TV podcast that covers countless shows including Survivor, Big Brother, The Traitors and more.)
Armstrong added that while the Big Brother live feeds are a protective agent for the players and viewers, “there’s still plenty of room for improvement” as the show has continued to run for nearly three decades.
While Lance Bass considers himself to be a Big Brother superfan, he doesn’t see himself ever competing on the reality show. “I don’t think I would ever do Big Brother, just [because of] the 24/7 live element,” Bass, 44, said during the Monday, August 28, episode of his “Frosted Tips” podcast. “Because especially these days, […]
Fans of Big Brother know all too well that there have been countless controversies surrounding the show over the years. In Behind the Mirror, Armstrong recalls the history of Big Brother, starting with the show’s early beginnings as an adaptation of the original Netherlands program before becoming the Americanized version fans know today. Armstrong also revisits the show’s countless controversial moments, from ones that fans will recognize from certain episodes to others that never made the final cut.
“There’s so much learning that you can do through the show. And one of the things that you can learn is the ways that other reality shows might be lying to you that you don’t even realize,” Armstrong exclusively told Us Weekly about why the live feeds make Big Brother special while discussing his book. “Because if you at least know the events of the feeds, you don’t need to watch them yourself. This is the main thing that a lot of people feel like, ‘Well, I’m not interested in the live feeds at all, because that’s way too much, or it might be boring.’ Most people are not watching the feeds. 24/7, most people are consuming the live feeds through social media or podcasts like mine, where they’re getting an update, sort of day to day, almost like you would a sports league.”
Armstrong also talked about how the game has evolved thanks to iconic players like Dr. Will Kirby, Dan Gheesling, Taylor Hale and more.
While Armstrong is aware that not all reality TV lovers will be intrigued by his coverage of the history of Big Brother, he hopes that “people will find something valuable” in what he wrote.
“[I’m] trying to find a place of acceptance that it will not be for everyone. Some people will come to it, looking for something that’s not there, especially because it’s about reality TV,” Armstrong said of what he hopes Big Brother fans will take away from his debut book. “If you come to this book looking for juicy secrets and details or whatever, or gossip, you know that’s not really what the book was intended to be. So I hope that the people that are able to get something out of it.”
Controversies are nothing new for Big Brother. The show has been criticized for racism and discrimination over the years, making major waves with an incident that occurred in season 15. During the 2013 season, Aaryn Gries referred to Asian people as “squinty-eyed,” called her Black roommate Candice Stewart “Aunt Jemima” and asked her Korean housemate Helen […]
Armstrong started writing Behind the Mirror after season 24 ended in September 2022. The podcaster spent a lot of time researching the history behind the show while also speaking to other players about their experiences in the game, including Tiffany Mitchell, winner Steve Moses and more. While Armstrong is used to covering Big Brother in real-time, going back to the archives was an interesting experience.
“When a season is live, it’s very up and down, you know? And the way that I cover a season live, as I mentioned, I’m live every day, and so every day, I’m telling a story of what happened the previous day, while also telling the story,” he told Us. “Up until this point, I’m every day sort of reevaluating what is the story of the season and when you’re when you’re looking back, especially when you’re looking back at a huge swath of history, it’s a lot easier to see the through line for the stories that can be told about it, or at least the ones that that I that I cared about and really loved.”
Behind the Mirror is available now and the audiobook is narrated by Armstrong.
