A year after shower aficionado Ashley Hollis claimed the $750,000 prize for the 27th season of Big Brother, CBS is gearing up for yet another summer of unexpected twists and shocking turns. And this time around, television history will be made in the form of the show’s 1,000th episode. While the BB28 theme has already been announced, we have to wait a few more days for the all-important cast reveal.
Host Julie Chen Moonves told Entertainment Tonight in April that she was excited when she first learned about the “Time Trip” theme for Season 28. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah!'” she said to the producers. “You don’t even have to say more — I get it. They were about to explain it and I was like, ‘Say no more.’ This is brilliant. Brilliant! Why has it taken us this long to do it?”
Companion series Big Brother: Unlocked is also back for another cycle, and it will once again be hosted by former winners Taylor Hale and Derrick Levasseur. Plus, celebrity superfan Jerry O’Connell (who filled in for Julie when she was sick) is joining the panel full-time when it debuts on July 10. A new Unlocked wrinkle this year comes in the form of an interactive fan vote that will impact the game.
THE PREMIERE DATE & SCHEDULE
Season 28 is set to premiere July 9 at 8 p.m. PT/ET on CBS with a special 90-minute edition. Episodes stream the next day on Paramount+. The second episode airs July 12 and will also run for an hour and a half.
Beginning with Week 2, Big Brother will air 90-minute Veto episodes on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., live hour-long eviction shows on Thursdays at 8 p.m., and hour-long Head of Household editions on Sundays at 8 p.m.
THE LIVE FEEDS
What sets Big Brother apart from every other reality TV show are the live feeds, and of course they’ll be back for another summer. On June 29, Pluto TV confirmed that the live feeds will begin on Friday, July 10 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. That coincides with the ending of the first episode of Big Brother: Unlocked.
THE 1,000TH EPISODE
This summer, Big Brother is set to become the first entertainment television series in American history to reach 1,000 original episodes in primetime. With 975 episodes under its belt, the popular program just needs 25 more to reach that milestone, and it should do so around August or September. (Big Brother seasons typically run 30 to 40 episodes.) As a reminder, the 500th episode aired on Sept. 5, 2013, near the end of Season 15.
THE HOST
Julie Chen Moonves returns as host of the weekly live episodes. Affectionately called “ChenBot” by hardcore fans, the former news personality has appeared in every main season and spin-off of Big Brother since the very beginning — aside from Reindeer Games, which was hosted by Santa Claus and his elves.
THE CAST
Casting for this season opened in January. CBS will announce the Season 28 cast members closer to the July 9 move-in date. However, there have been many early rumors.
On June 29, former player Janelle Pierzina posted that she was unable to get ahold of Angela Murray, explaining that her messages were “undelivered.” That left Janelle and countless fans to wonder whether the BB26 houseguest was in mandatory sequester in preparation for the new season. Janelle’s tweet was taken at face value because, the year prior, she was the first person to suggest that Rachel Reilly might be on Big Brother 27 because she was unavailable by phone — and we all know how that turned out. Stay tuned.
THE THEME
It wouldn’t be Big Brother without all those wild twists and turns (the show’s motto, after all, is “expect the unexpected”). The official theme for Season 28 is “Time Trip,” where the players will be transported across various moments in time via the rooms, objects, competitions, and more, with early twists poised to shake up the game from the get-go. In addition, there will be new powers and challenges inspired by decades like the ’80s and Y2K.
BIG BROTHER WINNERS
Ashley Hollis became the latest member of the Big Brother winners list on Sept. 28, 2025. Other recent names include Chelsie Baham, Jag Bains, Taylor Hale, Xavier Prather, Cody Calafiore, Jackson Michie, Kaycee Clark, and Derrick Levasseur — see them all.
‘Big Brother’ Season 28 introduces ‘Time Trip’ theme ahead of all-important cast reveal