CBS announced its summer schedule early last month, including its signature summer reality TV show—and overall Big Brother, which will return just over a week before the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies.
In 2023, because of dual Hollywood strikes, Big Brother didn’t premiere until Aug. 2, and then continued into November, way too late for a show that’s supposed to fade away along with summer humidity and be the kind of thing you can forget happened, like killing a fisherman.
Anyway, this year Big Brother returns to being more normal: BB26 will premiere July 17 and 18. Still, that’s almost two weeks later than BB24’s July 6 premiere. Does that mean a shorter season, too?
Pre-pandemic—and ever since the wretched BB15—Big Brother followed a pretty regular schedule: premiering in late June, concluding in mid-to-late September, and running more than 90 days. (The weird years of 2020 and 2023 were exceptions.) For example:
- BB20, June 27 to Sept. 26, 2018, 99 days
- BB21, June 25 to Sept. 25, 2019, 99 days
- BB23, July 7 to Sept. 29, 2021, 85 days
- BB24, July 6 to Sept. 25, 2022, 82 days
But before then, the show was shorter: around 75 days, and premiered in mid-July—just like this year. For example:
- BB14, July 12 to Sept. 19, 2012, 75 days
- BB13, July 7 to Sept. 14, 2011, 75 days
- BB10, July 13 to Sept. 16, 2008, 71 days
CBS announced its fall schedule and shows, but not yet their premiere dates. But based on this BB26 start date, it seems quite likely that this season will be closer to the 75-day era rather than the 99-day era.
July is also when a few other big summer shows return: ABC will have Claim to Fame season three and The Bachelorette premiering the week of July 8.
For BB26, CBS is promising “a group of all-new houseguests,” though that doesn’t mean Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan won’t pull returnee shenanigans as one of their ill-conceived twists.
Speaking of twists, the network is calling the premiere “a special two-night premiere,” which probably means some nonsense like an early boot.
The show’s regular schedule:
- Sundays at 9
- Wednesdays at 9
- Thursdays at 9, with live evictions
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