CBS has released its fall 2024 schedule, and one show that’s missing from the list is Big Brother 26, which was announced by host Julie Chen Moonves during the Big Brother 25 season finale. Usually a summer staple that premieres in late June or early July, Big Brother25 premiered on August 2, 2023, due to the WGA writers’ strike. CBS needed programming to fill its fall schedule since its scripted shows were on hiatus, so Big Brother 25, which lasted 100 days, had its season finale on November 9, 2023, when the show usually ends in September.
According to TVLine, Big Brother 26 isn’t on CBS’ fall schedule, which seems to indicate that the show will most likely be moving back to its normal summer schedule. Except for Big Brother 22, which was delayed until August 5, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Big Brother 9, which premiered on February 12, 2008, during a previous writers’ strike, every Big Brother season has premiered sometime between June 22 and July 13 and has ended in mid to late September. Therefore, it’s highly likely that Big Brother 26 will follow this same pattern and be primarily a summer show.
TVLine also revealed which reality shows are on CBS’ fall 2024 schedule. Survivor 47 will air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the new reality competition series, The Summit, at 9:30 p.m. ET. Hosted by Manu Bennett, The Summit features 16 strangers on a journey in the New Zealand Alps, who attempt to reach the peak of a mountain. The Amazing Race36 is being held until midseason. CBS has not yet announced the specific premiere dates for the shows.
Big Brother is definitely more of a summer show, especially with the commitment that it takes to watch three episodes a week, so it’s good that it will return to its regular time slots. It’ll be exciting to hear when the show will premiere. Big Brother 25, which culminated with the crowning of the show’s first-ever Sikh winner, Jag Bains, was a big hit that featured many twists and turns, including the surprise addition of Survivor legend Cirie Fields to the cast. Cirie secretly played the game with her son, Jared Fields.
It’ll be thrilling to see what Big Brother 26 has in store for its fans this time around. While they’ve come to expect the classic games such as the OTEV veto competition, it would also be fun to see something new. It’s also always intriguing when there’s speculation about returning players. No official casting announcements have been made yet, but it would be epic to see some Big Brother legends return to the game to play Big Brother 26. Hopefully, CBS will announce the premiere date for Big Brother 26 very soon, and more details about it will follow.