Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition is a special edition of Pinoy Big Brother which feature adolescents aged 16 to 19 years old (although celebrities who fall on the said ages compete in the Celebrity Edition). It is one of only two teen-oriented Big Brother versions and the only one with multiple seasons. The other teen show, the United Kingdom's Teen Big Brother, was a short, pre-recorded, one-shot edition, unlike this Teen Edition's real-time, episodic nature.
The adolescents chosen for the Teen Edition, as already mentioned, are aged 16 to 19 (18 in the first Teen Edition and 14-17 for the third one, although this rule was slightly breached; see below) and are from different cities in the Philippines, sometimes even from certain overseas countries with sizable Filipino communities. Other factors are disregarded; in-school and out-of-school youths, natural-born Filipinos and adolescents with a mixture of Filipino and foreign blood, those with intact and broken families, and even teenage single parents may be eligible as long one passes the age requirement and has a background worth exploring during the edition's run.
This edition is usually done in the Philippine "summer" months of late March to early June. During this time, temperatures in the country are at their highest and most students are out of school; a regular school year in the Philippines runs from June of one year to March of the next.
The House used in this edition is the same one used in both regular and Celebrity editions. However, it is modified with colors, designs, and furniture to generally suit the tastes of its teenage housemates. These changes are noticeable as soon as at least one housemate enters the House.
This edition has its own theme song called Kabataang Pinoy ("Filipino Youth"), which describes the Filipino youth and encourages them to face challenges ahead of them. This song is originally performed by the Pinoy rock band Itchyworms.
A third season was announced, with auditions already being taken place. It was announced that it would start airing during summer 2010.
The first edition was held from April 23 to June 3, 2006, running for 42 days. Twelve adolescents were advertised to compete, but two unexpected exits occurred with each exiting housemate replaced by a new one. Hence, there were fourteen housemates. These housemates included several half-Filipinos, teenagers raised by single parents, a Citizens' Army Training commandant, a commercial model and taekwondo-jin, and even a single mother, to name a few.
Also included was 15-year-old Aldred Gatchalian, who competed two months short of his 16th birthday. His stay, however, was short because of difficulty of socializing with his fellow housemates.
The edition was eventually won by Kim Chiu in a "fairy tale" finale. She and Gerald Anderson eventually entered showbiz and were made a love team.
Other housemates (notably Gatchalian and Matt Evans) have either launched showbiz careers themselves or merely appeared in several programs on ABS-CBN and its sister network Studio 23. Even Jamilla Obispo, who appeared in the local FHM under an assumed name prior to her participation in this edition, later reprised her appearance in the said magazine, this time using her actual identity.
Also notable was the change of roles of the hosts. Mariel Rodriguez would host the primetime edition in place of regular host Toni Gonzaga, who had engagements in the United States during that time. This stint actually started on the dying weeks of the first Celebrity Edition. Bianca Gonzalez, who was a housemate of the first Celebrity Edition, took over Rodriguez's roles as the host of Pinoy Big Brother UpLate and the Update skits. Gonzaga resumed her hosting chores in the first Teen Edition's finale. She and Rodriguez would eventually retake their hosting helms on the primetime edition and UpLate respectively in the second regular season (Gonzales retained her spot as Update host).
Auditions for the second Teen Edition, later to be called Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus were held as early as September 2007 and during the run of the second Celebrity Edition (alongside those of the season season of Pinoy Dream Academy and the third regular season of Pinoy Big Brother). It was announced during the finale of the said Celebrity Edition on January 5, 2008 that this new Teen Edition would start sometime in March of the same year.
It was announced in advertisements that thirty of the teens, who did their auditions in several cities in the Philippines, as well as in Dubai, Milan, and Madrid, were each given Dream Keys, but those who would receive them were told not to divulge them to others. The Dream Keys were used as a mark to show proof to the crew that they had passed their auditions and had answered their casting call. From the thirty Dream Key holders, fourteen were chosen to be official housemates.
The season started on March 23, 2008 with a summer vacation theme. The reason for addition of the word Plus to the title were gradually revealed: Luis Manzano's return as host, an additional two housemates to the announced twelve, a secret second "House," occupied by the Guardians, adults who were each related to a certain housemate in some way (most of them parents), and the House Player (whose decisions were made by the public).
The season was eventually won by Ejay Falcon in an outer space/science fiction-themed finale 76 days after the start of the season.
A third edition, dubbed as Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010, was announced during the finale of the third regular season Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up on February 13, 2010. This time, due to the number of potential number of people turning up or auditions, auditioners would have to register first through SMS so they would be notified about their audition dates. In actuality, this round of auditions, one which revolves this registration method, is actually the second round. The first was held simultaneously with auditions for the third regular season (later the Double Up season) during the months of March to May 2009. Since those auditions were held a year in advance, the age limit was understandably lowered to 14-17 so auditioners chosen from this round would be at the right age limit of 15-18.
The new edition started on April 10, 2010 with fifteen housemates entering two Houses (Apartment and Villa), much like Double Up before it. A sixteenth housemate entered the next day. A further eleven (one Filipino and ten full-blooded foreigners, in a first for Philippine reality television) supplanted the roster for various reasons. This is the first Teen Edition to be held without a Celebrity Edition done beforehand.
This season maintained the two-house division of Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up. The first clash was a division between the Pinoy Housemates, divided according to their social status. On Day 22, after the Pinoy Housemates merged earlier to form one group, ten full-blooded foreigners, dubbed as the Teenternationals, entered the then-vacated second house, as official housemates.
The season was later won by James Reid in a robotic sci-fi-themed finale on June 26, 2010.
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