Veliki Brat 2011 (commonly known as Veliki Brat 4 or VB4 for short) was the fourth season of the Serbian production of the Big Brother reality television series Veliki Brat. This season was notable for being the first to feature houseguests from Croatia, and in doing so it holds the record for largest number of unique nations represented with five. Along with Serbia and Croatia, the other three nations represented were Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. The program is known as Big Brother in Croatia due to a former Croatian Big Brother series that aired for five seasons which was not affiliated with Veliki Brat.
The season began airing on 13 March 2011, marking the first time that the regular season was broadcast on Pink TV.
Production
Trailer and subtitles
For the first time, a trailer was produced for the show. It features housemates from previous seasons, dressed in uniforms, attending VB - Škola za poznate (Big Brother's school of fame). Hosts of the show are also featured as teachers, and Boki 13, from season 4 of the celebrity version, appears at the end of the video. The trailer premiered on YouTube.
Despite most of the press dubbing the season "School of fame", the official slogan was "Ljubi bližnjeg svog" (Love thy neighbor). A second teaser trailer was released a few weeks before the show; this one featuring falling flowers, spelling out "Ljubi bližnjeg svog" (similar to the one used in British Big Brother 11).
Auditions
Auditions took place from December 2010 to January 2011. Applications were submitted via SMS, telephone or online formhosted by Emotion. In Croatia, auditions were open for everyone, with no previous application needed.
The first casting was held in Podgorica on 24 December 2010. The day after, auditions were held simultaneously in Sarajevo and Skopje. The first round of auditions concluded in Banja Luka.
The second round of auditions were held in Croatia, with over 5,500 people applying. They lasted six days in three cities: Zagreb, Rijeka and Split. The final round of casting was held in Serbia, with auditions in Čačak, Užice, Niš, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Belgrade, between 14 January 2011 and 23 January 2011.
Censorship
Previously, each of the regular seasons were broadcast on B92 (a Serbian television broadcaster), while some of the celebrity editions were shown on Pink TV. This was the first time that Pink aired a regular season.
There was much speculation about who would host the show; many celebrities were tipped, including Nataša Bekvalac and Severina Vučković. Eventually, the producers announced Antonija Blaće as the host of the show, as well as Marijana Mićić who was confirmed only a few days before the launch.
At the end of February 2011, Pink was criticized for having too many reality programs, with participants becoming more inappropriate than the previous ones. The Serbian Broadcasting Agency warned both the broadcasters and the producers that there would be zero tolerance on violence, racism and hate speech, stating that they would be kept under supervision.
The production company Emotion said that they would minimize content that could be considered harmful and that live streaming would be delayed by a few minutes. For the first time, the show was marked as unsuitable for viewers under 18, but the age limit was later lowered to 15.
Big Brother's relationship with the housemates
Big Brother could talk to the housemates in two ways:
Through the speakers
Big Brother could talk to the housemates through the speakers to: announce the start or end of tasks, inform about punishments, or call a housemate to the diary room.
In the Diary room
Big Brother's relationship with the housemates while in the Diary room was more intimate. He would ask different questions and be more emotive.
Big Brother's voice
Although more than one voice actor played Big Brother, their voices were filtered to sound robotic and inhuman. Due to the robotic voice, housemates had the impression that Big Brother was one person watching them constantly.
Broadcasting
Companion shows
Big Brother's Colosseum
For the first time, Big Brother's Big Brain was not broadcast. In previous years, various companion shows were broadcast with Big Brain remaining a constant fixture.
That year a new show was produced: Big Brother's Colosseum, a game show in which the winning housemate got to be the House Captain. The House Captain was immune to nominations, and the nominations that housemates place were worth double. The show was hosted by Marijana Mićić and Maca.