Big Brother 6 is the sixth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Dutch series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The series premiered on CBS on July 7, 2005, and lasted eleven weeks until the live finale on September 20, 2005. This season was the second to be accompanied by the House Calls: The Big Brother Talk Show spin-off series, which was viewable online and discussed the events of the game. The sixth season saw a moderate decline in ratings. The season premiered to a total of 8.47 million viewers, the lowest premiere numbers since 2001. Though the finale had a total of ten million viewers, the series averaged 7.24 million viewers, a series low at the time. Big Brother 6 featured a total of 14 HouseGuests, the same number that was featured in the previous season. This was the highest number of initial HouseGuests to enter the house, due to the twin twist the previous season. The series ended after 80 days, in which HouseGuest Maggie Ausburn was crowned the Winner, and Ivette Corredero the Runner-Up. Production Development In September 2003, following the ratings success of Big Brother 4, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that CBS had renewed the series leading up until 2006, ensuring three more seasons to air during the Summer time period. This meant that Big Brother 6 was the second of these three seasons. Despite rumors of an All Star season, it was later confirmed this was not the case. Casting for the season began in late March, with producer Arnold Shapiro stating "Our goal this summer is to assemble the most colorful, competitive, and charismatic HouseGuests we’ve ever had. Right now, we’re seeking the most memorable and exciting competitors we can find." The fourteen HouseGuests for this season were revealed on June 30, 2005. That same day, the "Summer of Secrets" twist was revealed to the public. This season was the first to allow the Head of Household to blog while inside the house, a feature that would be carried out for all subsequent seasons. The HouseGuests officially entered the house on Sunday, July 3. Prizes The 14 HouseGuests this season were competing for the main prize of $500,000. The winner of the series, determined by the previously evicted HouseGuests sequestered in the Jury House, would win the $500,000 prize, while the Runner-Up