But What Does It All Mean? BBCan5 Premiere Date OFFICIAL!!!

It's become an annual ritual. Have Arisa tease the fans on social media for a week or two. Build up anticipation. And fan frustration. The problem? The silliest of rumours infest Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and every fan forum out there. But we have now reached stage one in the REAL countdown - the official press release announcing the premiere date and schedule. But a strange thing happened this year. Instead of giving the fans their yearly fix, This PR only raised more questions. Here's what we now know, along with some of my notes:

• Season 5 starts March 15th, but we knew this for over a month already.
• The schedule has changed: Sundays are out, Mondays are in. That means if you don't watch feeds, you will have to wait an extra day to find out who won HoH. And when there is a feeds blackout? Yeah, probably an extra day's wait on that too.
• Side Show is gone. THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF REASONS FOR THIS. You could go with the rumour that Peter and/or Sarah are in the house this year. Or you could go with the one that claims the money goes to additional appearance fees for all the Canadian All-Stars. Or the American ones. Or the International ones. Or you could go with the rumour of a bigger grand prize. Me? I still think Arisa could have carried that show all by her lonesome, without Peter or Sarah. Something had to give budget-wise - they did not get that nice Bell Fund grant this year and Side Show just wasn't getting the viewership to continue.
• Instead of Side Show, we'll get Arisa on "After the Eviction" live on Facebook. Probably the worst platform imaginable. ARGH. It's sponsored by The Brick, so at least we know they are still involved.
• Still no mention of "After Dark" and I don't even want to speculate on that. Okay, screw that. Does it have to do with the damn Feeds???
• The press release specifically mentions more news to come shortly, concerning the Grand Prize and LIVE FEEDS. I find this odd because they always make a point of bragging about the feeds being free in this yearly press release. Hmmn. Speculate away. Can any of it end up as good news?
• The HGs - whether new or returnees, will go into sequester in about 2 weeks, or the beginning of March. The finalists are now shortlisted and being called in for final interviews and tests. Don't expect the cast announcement until all the little ones are safely tucked away inside the house. We know they enter on March 10th, as per ACTRA Toronto. This should also correspond to our first look inside the house.
• IF this is an All-Star or returnees or US/International season, keep an eye on the social media accounts of the suspects. Like someone suddenly unfollowing everyone on Twitter. <cough> Willow <cough> Just kidding. Apparently China is to blame. Then there's Kevin.

That's all for now, but I will keep you updated when additional information becomes available.