I would bet that an equal, if not greater, number of Americans would tune in to see intelligent and crafty players, of any race, ethnicity or demographic group, say and do interesting things. Just look at this season's cast of Survivor, which (arguably) viewers voted in. Although mostly white, the cast covers a much broader range of ages (average age 37.2) and more than half of them fall into the traditionally brainy category (executives, attorneys, a pilot, a chess champion, an accountant, a professor, an IT project manager, a corporate consultant).
It's certainly interesting that most of the Big Brother contestants who made this year more compelling than others in recent history are the ones that have more than air occupying the space between their ears.