The Spy

The Spy, colloquially known as Big Brother 0, was a show aired by Channel 7 that serves as the spiritual predecessor to the Datria version of Big Brother. The show premiered on June 9, 2001, and lasted for 70 days, concluding after 10 weeks on August 17, 2001. The Spy differs dramatically from the subsequent Big Brother format in that the housemates nominate each other for banishment every week, with the public voting to banish one of the nominees, instead of the Head of Household nominating two housemates and the rest of the house voting to evict. The only similarities between The Spy and Big Brother are that both were hosted by Damian Rockman and involved the housemates being watched 24/7. In the end, Jasmine Euling was crowned the winner of the $500,000 prize over Rosemary Star and Matthew Friedkin.

The Spy received mixed reception upon airing. The show was seen as being very similar to Channel 4's Condominium, a point that served as a point of criticism, but lacked the same kind of popularity and viewership as Condominium. Despite not being a huge success in ratings overall, the show was seen as a massive boon for Channel 7 and the network decided to renew the show for a second season in the fall of 2001. However, executives announced that significant changes would be made to the format to help make the program more interesting, leading to the show's later rebranding as Big Brother the following year. The Spy, despite this change, is not considered part of the Big Brother franchise officially.