A field guide to the fandom.

You don’t have to be a fan to apply. Probst has said, flatly, that they don’t care how long you’ve watched. But if you’re going to spend a year or ten trying to get on one of these shows, you’ll want to know where the conversation is, and what the words mean when you get there.

The institutions

Rob Has a Podcast (RHAP). Started February 12, 2010, by Rob Cesternino with a recap of Heroes vs. Villains. Now a network covering Survivor, Big Brother, The Amazing Race, The Traitors and more, with 2,500-plus episodes, an exit interview with every eliminated player, and five Podcast Awards — including a 2014 People’s Choice win over Serial. If casting has a favourite podcast, it’s never said. If the fandom has one, it’s this.

Inside Survivor. Founded 2015 by Martin Holmes, an English writer, as a one-stop shop for Survivor news. Known for accurate pre-season cast and twist spoilers, edit analysis, stats, and a glossary. It also transcribes Probst’s On Fire podcast, which is where most of his casting quotes in these guides come from.

Reality Blurred. Andy Dehnart has been reviewing reality television since July 2000, which makes him the genre’s longest-standing critic. He breaks casting and production news across all three shows and reads the fine print so you don’t have to.

Survivor Sucks. The oldest surviving Survivor message board, now hosted on Tapatalk: about 66,000 members and 15 million posts, with sections for spoilers, Big Brother and the Race. Quieter than it was a decade ago. Still where the deepest spoiler detective work happens.

Joker’s Updates. Big Brother’s live-feed hub since the early seasons: timestamped updates from volunteer updaters around the clock, forums, houseguest ratings, and a flashback archive. If something happened in the house at 4am, it’s here by 4:15.

Hamsterwatch. One person — Dingo — has kept a running diary of the Big Brother feeds since 2003, with archives back to season 5. Self-description: “I don’t care who wins, I’m just here for the cheap entertainment.. the cheaper, the better.” Tracks nominations, alliances and production errors with equal affection.

The feeds

Big Brother’s fandom is split in two. Episode viewers watch three nights a week. Feedsters watch the 24/7 live cameras on Paramount+ and regard the broadcast as a highlights package with an agenda. Dingo’s line: the real show is the feeds.

When production cuts the feeds you see fish — historically an aquarium loop — or a WBRB card, for We’ll Be Right Back. Seconds for singing (copyright) or a Diary Room call; hours for competitions and ceremonies. Feedsters have made a vocabulary out of being denied, and they are, as a group, the most allergic people in America to being marketed at.

How each fandom talks

Survivor fans are forensic. They slow trailers to quarter speed, analyse edits frame by frame, and keep spreadsheets of confessional counts. They call production “CBS” or “Jeff” and hold it to account. They love the game; many of them are tired of it, and they say so at length.

Big Brother fans are faster, funnier and meaner, and they never sleep. The feeds register is timestamped and present-tense. The great contribution to the language is the -mance suffix: showmance, fauxmance, bromance, and — for a one-sided pursuit that has stopped being funny — stalkmance.

Race fans are warmer. Fewer podcasts, less spoiler warfare, more “we love this team.” They remember pairs by first names and by how they treated each other under stress. Production gets teased, not prosecuted.

Glossary: Survivor

• Merge — the tribes combine into one and the game turns individual.
• Blindside — a vote-out the target didn’t see coming.
• Idol — a hidden immunity idol, found in the jungle and played at Tribal Council to cancel votes.
• Tribal Council — where the vote happens; Probst snuffs the eliminated player’s torch.
• Buff — the tribe-coloured bandana.
• Jury — voted-out players who return to watch and choose the winner.
• Purple edit — a player edited almost out of their own season. Named after Kelly Shinn of Nicaragua.
• Goat — a finalist dragged to the end because nobody would vote for them.
• Fire-making — the final-four tiebreak: two players race to burn through a rope.
• New Era / Open Era — season 41 onward (26 days); season 51 onward (every past twist in play).

Glossary: Big Brother

• HOH — Head of Household: wins the weekly competition, gets a room, names two nominees.
• On the block — nominated.
• POV / Veto — Power of Veto: the winner can pull one nominee off the block.
• Backdoor — nominate two decoys, hope the real target isn’t drawn for veto, then put them up as the replacement with no way off.
• Pawn — a nominee put up “safely” to guarantee the other leaves. Pawns go home.
• Floater — no fixed alliance; drifts toward power.
• Have-Nots — the week’s punished houseguests: cold showers, slop.
• Showmance — an in-house romance, real or strategic. Pairs are targets.
• Zingbot — a robot who hosts a veto competition and roasts everyone.
• OTEV — a late-season veto competition; a costumed character sings clues and houseguests scramble.
• Double eviction — a full week compressed into one live hour.
• Feeds / feedster / fish / WBRB — see above.

Glossary: The Amazing Race

• Leg — one stage of the race, ending at a Pit Stop.
• Pit Stop — the mat where Phil checks teams in. Last team in is usually out.
• Detour — choose one of two tasks.
• Roadblock — a task only one teammate may do. The clue hints at it before you choose who.
• U-Turn — force another team to do both Detour tasks.
• Express Pass — skip any one task. Every season-39 team started with one.
• Fast Forward — one team per leg may skip straight to the mat.
• Non-elimination leg — the last team survives but gets a Speed Bump, an extra task, next leg.
• Philiminated — the fans’ word for being eliminated by Phil.

A word about the words

Applicants sometimes reach for this vocabulary in their audition videos to prove they’re real fans. Kass’s warning stands: the cliché things you think casting wants to hear are the fastest way to sound like everyone else. Know the words. Then talk like yourself.