Danielle Reyes

Big Brother 3 is the third season of the American reality television series Big Brother.

It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000.

Talk of a new installment to the series shortly following the conclusion of Big Brother 2 (2001), when CBS chief Les Moonves was quoted as stating he was "happy" with the success of Big Brother and similar reality shows on the network.

The series premiered on CBS on July 10, 2002 and lasted for a total of 82 days.

The series concluded on September 25, 2002 when Lisa Donahue was crowned the winner, and Danielle Reyes the runner-up.

The premise of the series remained similar to the previous season.

The series revolved around twelve strangers living in a house together with no communication with the outside world.

They were constantly filmed during their time in the house, and were not permitted to communicate with those filming them.

One HouseGuest, known as the Head of Household, had the task of nominating two of their fellow HouseGuests for eviction.

The Power of Veto could be used to save a nominee.

The HouseGuests then voted to evict one of the nominees, with the HouseGuest who received the most votes being evicted from the house.

When only two HouseGuests remained, the previously evicted HouseGuests would decide which of them would win the $500,000 grand prize.

The third season was officially announced in early 2002, along with plans for a celebrity edition of the series.

Arnold Shapiro returned to produce the series, and claimed that production would be much more strict on the HouseGuests; among these new rules, Shapiro stated that HouseGuests who read banners flown above the house could face expulsion.

Shapiro later called the series "socially intriguing", commenting "I could say: ‘I’m going to be me. I’m going to be my ethical, honest, low-key self.’ But who knows, after six and seven weeks of having been betrayed by somebody and [having] plots hatched against me and being deprived of food except for peanut butter and jelly? I might become a villain."

Allison Grodner also returned as the executive producer to the series.

It was revealed before the premiere that numerous changes to the series would occur before its premiere, though these changes were not specified.

Allison Grodner later stated "[We] have thrown in just a few twists and turns, just a few new roadblocks in terms of our rules and format so that the people coming into the house who have worked out a perfect strategy—and believe me, all of them think they have—are in for a few surprises."

It was confirmed in May that the series would premiere on July 10.

The season aired on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on CBS, with the live eviction episodes occurring on Thursdays.

When asked about the authenticity of the story-lines used in the episodes, Shaprio claimed "We're sticklers for maintaining the purity we do have in terms of how little we interfere with the lives of the 12 people in our house. Once they go in, we don't touch 'em. How they behave is entirely up to them."

This was the second season that required viewers to pay for the live feeds, which were $9.95 per month following a free two-week trial; the feeds were yet again available through RealPlayer.

The feeds launched following the premiere episode, with the first few days in the house not being aired.

Along with the television series, CBS announced a fantasy game in which players would make a team of HouseGuests and earn points when a member of their time did certain things in the game.

On April 25, Julie Chen confirmed that she would return as host for the series.

Casting for the season began in April 2002.

Due to controversies surrounding the second season, this round of applications involved more in depth questions about previous arrests or legal troubles.

Following the incident that resulted in the expulsion of Justin Sebik the prior year, Arnold Shapiro stated "We're as certain as humanly possible, certain as we can be, that we've got 12 people who understand that the threat of violence, or violence itself, zero tolerance."

Thom Bierdz, a cast member of the soap opera The Young and the Restless and Rob Cesternino, who would later appear on Survivor: The Amazon were among the over 5,000 applicants for Big Brother 3.

The twelve competing HouseGuests were set to be revealed on July 5, five days before the series premiered.

Despite this, Entertainment Weekly leaked the cast the day prior.

The HouseGuests entered the house on July 6.

On the new cast, Shapiro stated "I don’t want to insult last year’s [cast], but this group is gonna make bathing-suit time worth watching [...] we have some hot single moms [and a gay man who is] not hairy like Bunky."

He later elaborated, stating "I would say, speaking of eye candy, I would say everybody's sweet tooth in America will be more than satiated."

This season featured a total of six men and six women.

Gerry Lancaster was the oldest housemate this season, and was a middle school teacher.

Marcellas Reynolds was openly gay, while four HouseGuests this season had children.

The house used for the third season was a one story house with four bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, and one bathroom.

It was the same house used for the prior season, which was an estimated 2,400 feet.

The lot used for the house was located at the CBS Studio Center in Hollywood.