Casa dos Artistas (lit. "House of Artists") is a Brazilian reality show that was broadcast by SBT. Similar to Big Brother and hosted by Silvio Santos, the series followed a group Brazilian celebrities living together in a specialised house, isolated from the outside world.
The series was developed by SBT after it declined an offer to license Big Brother; competing network Rede Globo (which acquired the rights to the format, and would go on to premiere Big Brother Brasil to capitalize on the success of Casa) and Big Brother rightsholder Endemol would successfully sue SBT over the series.
In 2000, Endemol offered SBT owner Grupo Silvio Santos the rights to produce a local version of the Dutch reality series Big Brother, but the network declined due to its cost. The rights would later be acquired by Rede Globo: the network originally intended to hold the rights as a defensive measure only, and did not actually plan to produce a Brazilian version of Big Brother.
Upon declining the offer, SBT signed an agreement with Endemol agreeing not to use proprietary information surrounding the Big Brother format that had been provided to them during the negotiation process. Nevertheless, SBT began to develop its own, similar series, which would focus primarily on celebrities. The series was developed in secret, with only network owner and president Silvio Santos and several other SBT executives aware of its existence, and the cast of celebrity contestants required to sign non-disclosure agreements during filming.[1] [2] In October 2001, SBT teased that a new series would premiere on 28 October 2001, but refused to elaborate on its identity until the day itself—when it was revealed to be Casa dos Artistas. The series premiere was scheduled against Globo's long-running Sunday-evening newsmagazine Fantástico, notably beating it 35 to 25 in average ratings points.
Globo obtained an injunction halting the broadcast of the first season for two days, accusing it of having plagiarized Big Brother. The program was allowed to continue airing afterward.[3] The success of Casa dos Artistas motivated Globo to go on with a Brazilian version of Big Brother, with the first season of Big Brother Brasil airing over the summer in January 2002; Globo would contrast the program's premise over Casa by emphasizing its largely-civilian cast rather than celebrities.[4] In 2015, the Superior Court of Justice ruled in favour of Rede Globo and Endemol, ordering SBT to pay R$18 million.[5]
The first season of Casa dos Artistas was broadcast from 28 October 2001 to 16 December 2001—the shortest season of the series. The new series proved to be competitive in the ratings against Globo's telenovela O Clone.[6] The season finale set a ratings record for SBT, with an average 47 points and peaking at 55—its largest audience since the 1995 Copa do Brasil final. Globo attempted to counterprogram the finale by scheduling major segments on Fantástico (including a feature on Roberto Carlos' new acoustic album) and an episode of its own reality series No Limite, but only managed 18 ratings points.
| Name | Age | Occupation | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bárbara Paz | 27 | Actress | ||
| Supla | 35 | Singer | ||
| Mari Alexandre | 27 | Model | Third place | |
| Patrícia Coelho | 29 | Singer | ||
| Alexandre Frota | 38 | Actor | ||
| Mateus Carrieri | 34 | Actor | ||
| Taiguara Nazareth | 25 | Actor | ||
| Nana Gouvêa | 26 | Actress | ||
| Núbia Oliver | 27 | Actor | ||
| Marco Mastronelli | 33 | Actor | ||
| Leandro Lehart | 29 | Singer | Withdrew | |
| 26 | Production assistant |
The third season ran from 2 June 2002 to 28 July 2002. This season featured a theme of the six celebrity contestants inviting a fan of themselves to round out the cast; the season was won by Sérgio Paiva, a fan of Solange Frazão.[7]
The fourth and final season ran from 15 August 2004 to 17 October 2004; the format of the series was changed to a talent search, with the house becoming a drama school, and contestants being aspiring actors. The winner would receive a role in an SBT telenovela.[8]
With ratings continuing to decline, SBT cancelled the series in favour of Ídolos.