Grande Fratello, the Italian version of reality television franchise Big Brother, began in September 2000, and has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon in Italy. There have been twelve completed seasons as of 2013.

Based on the Original Dutch Version created by Endemol, the show sees a number of different Housemates, divided by gender, social backgrounds and geographical locations locked up together in a House, where the viewing Public can watch them twenty-four hours a day, and vote them out of the House as they choose to.

The Housemates can visit the "Confessional" at any time during the day, either to talk to psychologists if they need to, talk to Big Brother, or to Nominate.

The title is inspired by the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The novel tells of a Big Brother, head of the totalitarian state of Oceania that constantly monitors its inhabitants via camera in an attempt to suppress their free will. The tag line of the novel is "Big Brother is watching you", which inspired the show, as it is Big Brother who now has total control over the situation in the House.

The Housemates live in a House 24 hours a day, bugged by numerous cameras and microphones which capture their every move. Every week the Housemates participate in tasks that determine their food budget for that Week, or could even affect that week's Nominations. The overall goal is to survive to be the final surviving Housemate, and claim the prize fund.