# Bigg Boss (Tamil TV series)

Bigg Boss is an Indian Tamil-language version of the reality television program of the same name. The program follows the Big Brother format developed by Endemol in the Netherlands. Since its premiere on June 25, 2017 the show has rolled out eight seasons and one spin-off version. The first seven season was hosted by Kamal Haasan, followed by Vijay Sethupathi from the eighth season onwards. As of now, a total of 159 contestants have participated in Bigg Boss. Bigg Boss has aired a total of 840 episodes.

## Overview
### Concept

Bigg Boss is a reality show based on the original Dutch Big Brother format developed by John de Mol Jr.. Unlike original Big Brother, Bigg Boss features celebrity and commoner contestants. The contestants (known as "housemates") live in a house that is isolated from the world. Following anonymous internal voting by the housemates and external voting by television audiences, one housemate is "evicted" (removed) from the house each week. During the final week, the final four or five housemates vote to determine the show's winner. The eponymous Bigg Boss character serves as an omnipresent authority figure and represents the show's producers. He often interacts with the housemates to assign challenges and ask questions.

### House

For all of the Bigg Boss seasons the house was located at EVP Film City, Chennai. The house is well-furnished and decorated. It has a variety of modern amenities, but just one or multiple bedrooms and four toilet bath rooms. There is a garden, outdoor seating, pool, activity area, smoking zone, gym, jail and lounge room in the house. There is also a Confession Room, where the housemates may be called in by Bigg Boss for any kind of conversation, and for the nomination process. In season seven, the house was split and there was another added confession room.

### Rules

Housemates are bound by various rules. For example, contestants must speak Tamil. Tampering with any electronic equipment or other items in the house is strictly prohibited. They may not leave the premises at any time without permission. Physical violence is completely forbidden. Discussing the nomination process with anyone is also not allowed. Housemates must remain awake until the lights go off, and they can only converse outside of the designated smoking area. Additionally, singing is not permitted within the house, nor can they write anything while inside.
Occasionally, housemates may be nominated for various reasons, including being chosen by individuals with special privileges obtained through tasks, for breaking rules, or for other unspecified reasons. In serious cases, a contestant may face expulsion from the house

### Airing

Daily episodes present the main events of the previous day while weekend episodes focus on discussion of the main problems of the week and interviews with evicted contestants. On the Sunday episode the host announces the evicted contestant.

### Eviction

Contestants are nominated for eviction each week by their housemates. Viewers cast their votes in favour of the contestants they would like to save from eviction. Each viewer is entitled to cast one vote per day (used to be 50 votes for S1 -S4, 10 votes for S5). The contestant with the fewest votes is out. Contestants who break the rules or who leave the house for medical reasons are evicted. During week 14 or 15 (before finale), Contestants get an option to be evicted from the game by their own decision by accepting the cash prize eviction and self evict themselves.

### Broadcast

Bigg Boss is aired on Star Vijay and also available on Disney+ Hotstar. Everyday episodes contain the main happenings of the previous day. Every Sunday episode mainly focuses on an interview of an evicted contestant by the host. The unseen episode will be available as Bigg Boss Unseen on Vijay Music (sister channel to Star Vijay).
From Season 6 onward, "Bigg Boss" introduced a 24/7 Live Channel for Disney+ Hotstar subscribers. This allowed viewers to enjoy direct engagement with the show’s happenings.

## Series details

| Series | Host | Location | House Theme | Tagline | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released | Housemates | Days | Launch TRP Ratings | Finale TRP Ratings | Prize Money | Winner | Runner up |
| Series | Host | Location | House Theme | Tagline | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network | Housemates | Days | Launch TRP Ratings | Finale TRP Ratings | Prize Money | Winner | Runner up |
| 1 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Middle Class House | Odavum Mudiyadhu, Oliyavum Mudiyadhu! | 98 | 98 | 25 June 2017 (2017-06-25) | 30 September 2017 (2017-09-30) | Star Vijay | 19 | 98 | 7.1 TVR | 14.25 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Arav Nafeez | Snehan |
| 2 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Steampunk Gear | Nallavar Yaar? Kettavar Yaar? | 106 | 106 | 17 June 2018 (2018-06-17) | 30 September 2018 (2018-09-30) | Star Vijay | 17 | 105 | 9.7 TVR | 13.25 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Riythvika | Aishwarya Dutta |
| 3 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Chettinad Museum | Idhu Verum Show valla, Namma Life! | 106 | 106 | 23 June 2019 (2019-06-23) | 6 October 2019 (2019-10-06) | Star Vijay | 17 | 106 | 9.80 TVR | 15.05 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Mugen Rao | Sandy |
| 4 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Indian Flora & Fauna | Thappunna Thatti Ketpen, Nalladhuna Thatti Kodupen! | 106 | 106 | 4 October 2020 (2020-10-04) | 17 January 2021 (2021-01-17) | Star Vijay | 18 | 106 | 11.61 TVR | 16.60 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Aari Arujunan | Balaji Murugadoss |
| 5 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Nature & Five Elements of Earth | Inga Veedum Perusu, Galattavum Perusu! | 106 | 106 | 3 October 2021 (2021-10-03) | 16 January 2022 (2022-01-16) | Star Vijay | 20 | 106 | 8.60 TVR | 10.50 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Raju Jeyamohan | Priyanka Deshpande |
| 6 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Luxury Mansion | Veedu Ready. Vettaiku Neenga Ready ah? | 106 | 106 | 9 October 2022 | 22 January 2023 | Star Vijay | 21 | 106 | 5.54 TVR | 5.47 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Mohammed Azeem | Vikraman Radhakrishnan |
| 7 | Kamal Haasan | Chennai | Spiltted Complex Fantasy Worlds | Rendula Onnu Paathuralam! | 106 | 106 | 1 October 2023 | 14 January 2024 | Star Vijay | 23 | 106 | 9.90 TVR | 8.71 TVR | ₹50 lakh (US$57,000) | Archana Ravichandran | Manichandra |
| 8 | Vijay Sethupathi | Chennai | Enchanted Forest | Aalum Puthusu! Aatamum Puthusu! | 106 | 106 | 6 October 2024 (2024-10-06) | 19 January 2025 (2025-01-19) | Star Vijay | 24 | 106 | 9.00 TVR | 10.50 TVR | ₹40.5 lakh (US$46,000) | Muthukumaran Jegatheesan | Soundariya Nanjundan |
Male Winners  Female Winners

## Reception
### Season 1

The Bigg Boss Tamil program is regarded as the most expensive Tamil television show. The show continued to scale new heights, with exceptional ratings averaging 8.4 TVR over the first 6 weeks. It received a 14.25 TVR on the grand finale day.

### Season 2

The launch of season 2 opened with 9.72 TVR.

### Season 3

The launch of Season 3 achieved an impressive opening with a 9.8 TVR, maintaining strong viewership throughout with weekly TRPs ranging between 7.8 TVR and 8.8 TVR.

### Season 4

The launch of season 4 opened with the highest ever 11.61 TVR, benefited from the impact of season 3 and lockdown, and also broke the records for viewership for Bigg Boss Tamil grand finale episode.

### Season 5

Season 5 received a generally mixed response from the audience for the way they conducted Ticket to Finale week without any proper tasks, and it was one of the few seasons with a low viewership. The TRP ratings for this season went down in the first three weeks.

### Season 6

The launch of season 6 received a TRP rating of 5.54 TVR, which is considered below average for a season premiere. Season 6 recorded the lowest viewership for a season finale in Bigg Boss Tamil franchise.

### Season 7

The launch of season 7 received a TRP rating of 9.9 TVR, which was seen as a comeback for the franchise. The season finale had a TRP rating of 8.71 TVR. In its season finale, it was reported that this had been the biggest season in the Bigg Boss Tamil franchise in terms of viewership and number of votes. Throughout the season, the show consistently registered high ratings reaching a peak in the later weeks with a TVR of 7.0 across Tamil Nadu

### Season 8

The launch of season 8 received a TRP rating of 9.0 TVR, which is seen as a continuous success of the Bigg Boss franchise. In its first week, the show attracted over 32 million viewers on TV, while total watch time soared to 4.4 billion minutes across all platforms, including digital and Hotstar. Finale episode recorded a TRP rating of 10.50 TVR, which was highest since season 5.

## Bigg Boss Ultimate

The series is also set to roll out a digital version of the show called Bigg Boss Ultimate which is also going to be hosted by Kamal Haasan and broadcast by Disney+ Hotstar for 24×6 coverage. The series was eventually hosted by Silambarasan after Haasan had to opt out due to scheduling conflicts with his latest release, Vikram.

## Bigg Boss Fun Unlimited

Bigg Boss Fun Unlimited is an Indian Tamil-Indian language Reality Talk show in which the evicted housemates of that season are interviewed about their journey. This show was introduced for Bigg Boss 2 and later discontinued from Bigg Boss 3. The show once again continued from Bigg Boss 8. The show aired on Vijay Super and Disney+ Hotstar.
| Year | Season | Show | Host |
| 2018 | 2 | Bigg Boss Fun Unlimited | Rio Raj |
| 2024 | 8 | Bigg Boss 8 Fun Unlimited | R Sabarinathan |

## Bigg Boss Kondattam

Bigg Boss Kondattam is an Indian Tamil-Indian language show that is aired after the Finale of every season, where the contestants reunite for a special event. This grand celebration will feature energetic performances, fun interactions, and memorable moments
| Year | Season | Show | Host(s) |
| 2017 | 1 | Bigg Boss S1 Kondattam | Erode Mahesh, Priyanka Deshpande, Rio Raj, Andrews, Ramya Subramanian, Gopinath Chandran, Ma Ka Pa Anand |
| 2018 | 2 | Bigg Boss S2 Kondattam | Rio Raj |
| 2018 | 2 | A Happening Celebration | Rio Raj |
| 2019 | 3 | Bigg Boss S3 Kondattam | Gopinath Chandran |
| 2021 | 4 | Bigg Boss S4 Kondattam | Dhivyadharshini |
| 2022 | 5 | Bigg Boss S5 Kondattam | Archana Chandhoke |
| 2023 | 6 | Bigg Boss S6 Kondattam | Priyanka Deshpande |
| 2024 | 7 | Bigg Boss S7 Kondattam | Priyanka Deshpande |
| 2025 | 8 | Bigg Boss S8 Kondattam | Priyanka Deshpande |
| 2025 | 8 | Bigg Boss S8 Kondattam II | Priyanka Deshpande |

## Housemates pattern

| Occupation | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7 | Season 8 |
| Film actor/actress | Anuya Bhagvath | Aishwarya Dutta | Fathima Babu | Aari Arjunan | Abhinay Vaddi | Maheshwari Chanakyan | Akshaya Udayakumar | Sachana Namidass |
| Film actor/actress | Bharani | Daniel Annie Pope | Kasthuri | Gabriella Charlton | Ciby Bhuvana Chandran | Sheriina | Cool Suresh | Ranjith |
| Film actor/actress | Bindu Madhavi | Janani Iyer | Reshma Pasupuleti | Jithan Ramesh | Sanjeev Venkat | Vikraman Radhakrishnan | Maya S. Krishnan | Soundariya Nanjundan |
| Film actor/actress | Ganesh Venkatraman | Mahat Raghavendra | Sakshi Agarwal | Ramya Pandian | Varun Kamal | — | Pradeep Antony | Shiva Kumar |
| Film actor/actress | Harish Kalyan | Mumtaz | Saravanan | Rekha | — | — | Vichithra | — |
| Film actor/actress | Kaajal Pasupathi | Ponnambalam | Sherin Shringar | — | — | — | — | — |
| Film actor/actress | Namitha | Riythvika | Vanitha Vijayakumar | — | — | — | — | — |
| Film actor/actress | Oviya | Shariq Hassan | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Film actor/actress | Shakthi Vasudevan | Vijayalakshmi Feroz | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Film actor/actress | Sri | Yashika Aannand | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Film actor/actress | Suja Varunee | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Comedian | Aarthi | Dhaadi Balaji | Jangiri Madhumitha | Aranthangi Nisha | Imman Annachi | Amudhavanan | Annabharathi | — |
| Comedian | Ganja Karuppu | Sendrayan | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Comedian | Vaiyapuri | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Choreographer | Gayathri Raghuram | — | Sandy | — | Amir | Robert Raj | Manichandra | — |
| Choreographer | — | — | — | — | — | Shanthi Arvind | — | — |
| Model | Arav | — | Meera Mitun | Balaji Murugadoss | Akshara Reddy | — | — | Riya Thiyagarajan |
| Model | Raiza Wilson | — | Tharshan Thiyagarajah | Samyuktha Shanmuganathan | Nadia Chang | — | — | — |
| Model | — | — | — | Sanam Shetty | Niroop Nandakumar | — | — | — |
| Model | — | — | — | — | Suruthi Periyasamy | — | — | — |
| Radio/video jockey | — | Vaishnavi Prasad | — | — | — | Ram Ramasamy | RJ Bravo | RJ Ananthi |
| Radio/video jockey | — | — | — | — | — | Kathirravan | — | — |
| Vocal coach | — | Ananth Vaidyanathan | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Singer/Rapper/Song Writer | Snehan | Ramya NSK | Mohan Vaidya | Aajeedh Khalique | Chinnaponnu | Dinesh Kanagaratnam | Nixen | Jeffry |
| Singer/Rapper/Song Writer | — | — | Mugen Rao | Suchitra Ramadurai | Isaivani | Asal Kolaar | Yugendran | — |
| Singer/Rapper/Song Writer | — | — | — | Velmurugan | Iykki Berry | — | Gana Bala | — |
| Dancer | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ayshu ADS | — |
| Dancer | — | — | — | — | — | — | Vijay Varma | — |
| TV personality | — | Mamathi Chari | Abhirami Venkatachalam | Anitha Sampath | Pavni Reddy | Mohammed Azeem | Archana Ravichandran | Dharsha Gupta |
| TV personality | — | — | Kavin Raj | Archana Chandhoke | Priyanka Deshpande | Rachitha Mahalakshmi | Raveena Daha | Deepak Dinkar |
| TV personality | — | — | Losliya Mariyanesan | Rio Raj | Raju Jeyamohan | Myna Nandhini | Saravana Vickram | Sathya SK |
| TV personality | — | — | — | Shivani Narayanan | — | Ayesha Zeenath | Vinusha Devi | Sunita Gogoi |
| TV personality | — | — | — | Suresh Chakravarthi | — | Janany Kunaseelan | Vishnu Vijay | Pavithra Janani |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | Manikandan Rajesh | Dinesh Gopalsamy | Arun Prasath |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | Nivaashiyni Saravanan | — | Tharshika |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | Queency Stanly | — | VJ Vishal |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Anshitha Akbarsha |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Arnav Amjath |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jacquline Lydia |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Raanav V C |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Varshini Venkat |
| TV personality | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rayan |
| Director | — | — | Cheran | — | — | — | — | — |
| Producer | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ravindar Chandrasekaran |
| Martial artist | — | — | — | Som Shekar | — | — | — | — |
| Fashion Designer | — | — | — | — | Madhumitha Raghunathan | — | — | — |
| YouTuber / Instagram fame | — | — | — | — | Abishek Raaja | GP Muthu | Ananya Rao | Muthukumaran Jegatheesan |
| YouTuber / Instagram fame | — | — | — | — | — | — | Poornima Ravi | — |
| Writer | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bava Chelladurai | — |
| Orator | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Manjari Narayanan |
| Transpeople | — | — | — | — | Namitha Marimuthu | Shivin Ganesan | — | — |
| Non-Celebrity | Maria Juliana | Nithya Balaji | — | — | Thamarai Selvi | Dhanalakshmi | Jovika Vijayakumar | — |
| Winner First runner-up Finalist Ticket to finale Cash walkout |||||||||
| Winner | Arav | Riythvika | Mugen Rao | Aari Arjunan | Raju Jeyamohan | Mohammed Azeem | Archana Ravichandran | Muthukumaran Jegatheesan |
| Runner-up | Snehan | Aishwarya Dutta | Sandy | Balaji Murugadoss | Priyanka Deshpande | Vikraman Radhakrishnan | Manichandra | Soundariya Nanjundan |