Big Brother producers address rapidly disappearing Have-Nots twist (exclusive)

Remember Have-Nots? Those unfortunate souls on Big Brother that would be relegated to eating slop, taking cold showers, and sleeping in a super-uncomfortable bed in some sort of room from hell? If you are a longtime Big Brother fan, a Have-Not may seem like a relic from yesteryear back when folks getting put on slop for the week was a big point of emphasis on the show.

Introduced in season 11, the Have-Nots twist even included a special Have/Have-Nots competition that aired every week through season 15 that would determine who was unable to eat normal food and take hot showers. Then, starting on season 16, the Head of Household would pick people to be Have-Nots. Sometimes in recent seasons it would also be announced during a Head of Household competition that the first few people out would become Have-Nots for the week.

Angela Murray on 'Big Brother' season 26.

While a mention of Have-Nots occasionally pops up on the weekly CBS broadcast, the entire thing has basically become something of an afterthought and no longer plays a significant part on the reality competition program. Why did Have-Nots stop being a point of emphasis on the show? We asked executive producers Rich Meehan and Allison Grodner exactly that.

“We talk about it every season,” Meehan tells Entertainment Weekly. “The reason why we don't really service the story is that there's just so much now in this modern era of Big Brother. There's so much going on game-wise and strategy-wise, and in the early days it just wasn't as active as it is today, so there was time to service that story.”

While there may not be much airtime devoted to the separation of Haves and Have-Nots, it can still provide some classic moments, such as this past season when Angela Murray became a Have Not and was despondent over Brooklyn Rivera eating the charcuterie board she won while Head of Household. “We always say, ‘Oh, do we need it?’” notes Grodner of keeping the Have-Nots element of the game. “And then something like that happens.”

'Big Brother' 26 Have Not room.

Monty Brinton/CBS

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Producers say they are open to all ideas when it comes to the Have-Nots, and will continue to discuss possible new wrinkles or changes to the format. “We do it when appropriate,” Meehan says. “There is something to the Have and Have-Not nature of the house and how it makes people feel and how it impacts the psychology of the game. So we've kept it for that reason, even though we don't necessarily service it on the show. But we have talked about: Is there a new take? I just don't know.”

In the end, it always comes down to choices and having to pick one thing over the other. “Will there be time to service stories about food currently in the way that they play the game?” Meehan wonders out loud. “It's just so active. It's hard to find the time. I mean, we already have a hard time being able to tell the story that exists with so much going on for the broadcast. So that's the challenge really with it, but we do like that it still creates things in the house that are interesting.”

'Big Brother' season 26 cast photo.

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Even if producers do find a way to tweak the formula and bring Have-Nots back in a more prominent way, one thing you should not expect (even while expecting the unexpected) is a return to the food competitions of yesteryear, which never held the same edge-of-your-seat appeal as the Head of Household or Veto contents. “The stakes weren't really that high,” Meehan concedes. “And our goal is: We don't want challenges that you just want to fast forward through. We want you to be watching the challenge and we want it to be fun, entertaining, or funny, or whatever it might be. That’s the goal.”

With that in mind, maybe it’s time to change the twist to Charcuterie/Not-Charcuterie.