Which contestant was crowned the winner of Big Brother 19? Big Brother is one of the first series, alongside Survivor and American Idol, to make reality television popular. The basic concept of Big Brother finds a group of strangers put together in a house under constant surveillance, with the title itself borrowed from George Orwell’s 1984. The contestants have no contact with the outside world once they’re inside the house and they must take part in various tasks designed to make the game more interesting or tense. HouseGuests are voted off week by week until only a winner is declared.
Part of the appeal of Big Brother is watching the various relationships that build up between HouseGuests as the weeks roll by in the house. Big Brother season 19 debuted in 2017 but while it was certainly eventful, it’s commonly regarded by fans and critics as the worst series to date. From mostly unlikeable contestants to constant bullying, harassment, and bickering, it was considered a mean-spirited and ugly year for the long-running reality show.
The show was also criticized for bringing back Big Brother season 18 runner-up Paul Abrahamian, who often manipulated other housemates into doing his bidding. Abrahamian did break a record in Big Brother season 19 by playing the most days out of any other contestant on the show, tallying up 191 days in total. While his strategies appeared to be paying off right up till the very end, it was actually fellow HouseGuest Josh Martinez who won season 19 in a 5-4 vote. Contestant Cody Nickson also won America’s Favorite HouseGuest, winning $25,000 in the process.
In addition to winning the $500,000 cash prize, Martinez also became the first Hispanic-American winner of Big Brother. He was a haircare salesman when he entered the house and after winning the game he stayed in touch with a few of his fellow contestants, including Abrahamian, Jason Dent, Kevin Schlehuber, and Christmas Abbott. After winning the prize Martinez did some traveling, in addition to taking part in MTV’s reality show The Challenge: War Of The Worlds, though he walked away empty handed.
While Big Brother 19 received its fair share of criticism over the conduct of contestants, season 20 wasn’t received much better. The ratings were also down on the previous season, but despite doubts about the show’s continued future on CBS, it was renewed for season 21. The series has been running since 2000 and in spite of the reception recent seasons have received, Big Brother is still a consistently strong performer in the ratings.
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