<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Big Brother is a television reality game show based on an originally Dutch TV series of the same name created by producer John de Mol in 1997 . The series follows a diverse group of contestants, known as HouseGuests, who are living together in a custom - built home under constant surveillance . The HouseGuests are completely isolated from the outside world and can have no communication with those not in the house . The contestants are competing for a $500,000 grand prize, with weekly competitions and evictions determining who will win the show . The series takes its name from the character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty - Four . The series launched on July 5, 2000 to a successful start, though ratings and critical reaction continued to grow increasingly negative . This led to the second season being a revamp of the show, featuring a more competition - based challenge . The series has since continued to be a hit for CBS, and is the second longest - running adaptation of the series to date, after the Spanish adaptation . </P> <P> The series currently has two spin - offs: Big Brother: Over The Top, which was the first reality game show to air exclusively on a streaming platform airing in Fall 2016 on CBS's streaming service, CBS All Access; and Celebrity Big Brother, which aired on CBS in February 2018 . </P>

When did the show big brother first air