'Big Brother' Contestants Totally Unaware Of Coronavirus Pandemic

It seems that all anyone across the globe can talk about right now is coronavirus, but there is a group of people living together that is not only not discussing COVID-19, they actually don't know anything about it. It's the cast of Big Brother Germany. The 14 men and women are currently filming the series' 13th season in a house in Cologne and are under a communication blackout, which means they don't get any news from the outside world. They've been in the home since February 6th, when coronavirus was just an illness affecting some residents in Wuhan, China. Obviously, things have since changed.

Producers originally said they would only lift the blackout if a contestant's family member fell ill, but they assured viewers that they were taking "special hygiene measures" to protect everyone from the virus. However, after backlash on social media, they changed course and revealed that on Tuesday night they will be revealing the news of the outbreak to the cast members. The guests will then have a chance to ask questions about what's going on, as well as see video messages from their relatives.

Big Brother is notoriously resistant to lifting the communication ban. The American version did it after 9/11, but the decision was only made after one of the housemates had a relative who was missing following the attacks.

Meanwhile, there are Big Brothers filming in Brazil and Canada which are also made up of people clueless about COVID-19. In fact, the cast of the Canadian version even discussed that it sounded like there was no longer a live audience.

If this seems like it could be the start of a horror movie or show, it actually was. Charlie Brooker, the man behind Black Mirror, created a series in 2008 called Dead Set about the cast and crew of Big Brother U.K. being the last to know about a zombie apocalypse and getting stranded in the house during it.

Photo: YouTube