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The BBC has the BB launch as one of its top stories currently and has compiled a useful summary of media reviews of the launch.

In a four-star review, the Telegraph's James Hall wrote: "Do we really need Big Brother back? Of course not. Raw and real? Obviously not.

"But this was fun and is at least striving for a degree of authenticity while also knowing it has to entertain."

Metro's critic Adam Miller welcomed it back, also awarding four stars and writing that the show's return "was more impactful than I could have imagined".

"Big Brother shines on deception, tactical game play and sheer ludicrousness - the launch night alone had all three in abundance," he wrote.

The line-up is "the most interesting cast Big Brother has seen in years, possibly ever", he said, but added that it was "strange" that the opening episode was pre-recorded "knowing how electric those live launches could be".

Fans were also enthusiastic on social media.

The Independent's Katie Rosseinsky agreed that having a launch show that wasn't live "feels like a misfire".

"Big Brother has always been a franchise that has thrived on chaos, and this opener doesn't give us that," she wrote.

"Can this new cohort of housemates rise to the challenge of keeping us gripped six nights a week? In our era of shortened attention spans, they'll have to work pretty hard to do so."

In the Radio Times, Emma Bullimore praised the mix of personalities in the house. "Crucially, it's not just a set of 16 TikTokers," she wrote.

"Instead, it genuinely feels like real effort has been made to bring interesting people together for an extraordinary experience. From a bingo caller, to Miss Universe, to an 'ecstatic dancer' who shimmies under the moon on the Isle of Man."

The jury's out on whether the show can compete with more recent reality TV hits like Love is Blind and The Traitors, she added.

"While ITV's reset looks like it may be elevating the brand from the gutter, it's unclear whether it will be enough to dominate the public conversation as the show once did."

The Times' Carol Midgley said the format was "showing its age", however, and "feels pretty vanilla, pretty basic stuff" when compared with modern formats.

"I can see that ITV wants to replicate the success it has had with Love Island because this is one of the few shows which young people watch in the old-fashioned, nightly way. But this feels tired," she wrote.

"It's early days and it might get better but on the strength of what we saw tonight, Big Brother has nothing new to tell us."

Full article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67052057

Generally quite positive I think given that there's always been a bit of snobbery towards BB in a lot of the media. Definitely looks like they've got it right with the cast