Big Brother is back. Almost certainly ‘VIP’, even if it was not specified by Mediaset. The restart will take place in mid-March, with Ilary Blasi in charge. “It will be an edition with a renewed format – we read in the press release – with more intense rhythms and a six-week broadcast”. A return and, at the same time, the third change at the helm in less than a year, after the handover between Alfonso Signorini and Simona Ventura, who in the autumn led a disastrous (through no fault of her own) traditional version.

The story of a title that has been in crisis for some time, boiled, crushed, moldy and the victim of wear and tear caused by an exhausting duration, which has ended up increasingly reducing the number of fans. The lemon has been squeezed to the last drop. Thinking that with well-known (or pseudo-known) characters the soup could be less poor is just yet another illusion.

The pot is full and Cologno should have understood this at the end of last season, with “L’Isola” placed after the flop of “The Couple”, which in turn started after six months of “Big Brother”. On the contrary, in September the “Gf” reappeared with ordinary people, using the excuse of the celebration of twenty-five years since the debut of the format.

A “Gf VIP” in the spring of 2026 was mentioned during the presentation of the schedules last July. However, the historic low reached by the edition with Ventura had forced serious reflections and the not-so-concealed intention of letting the broadcast breathe.

A response to Fabrizio Corona

Before Christmas, however, Fabrizio Corona exploded the bomb, with the serious accusation against Signorini of having abused his power to obtain sexual services from some aspiring competitors. And at that point any rational evaluation collapsed.

It is in fact legitimate to think that, without the ‘Corona case’, the “GF” would not have reappeared. This exhumation is therefore read as a clear response to the earthquake triggered by “Falsissimo”.

A stop would have been perceived as a surrender, like a white flag raised in the face of attacks and vulgar gossip passed off as investigative journalism. In short, it would have meant conceding a point to the enemy, under everyone’s gaze. A scenario that would have done nothing but increase the community’s perception of Corona’s influence and Mediaset’s embarrassment.

So on the extra-television front, the revival of “Big Brother” is more of a question of principle, a very important signal from a company that does not give in. But if we get out of all this, all that remains is a cold and ruthless analysis of the product. The “GF” is a defunct program that deserves only a long hibernation. A perfect metaphor of a TV flattened on itself.