A new season of Big Brother will arrive this summer on CBS.
While we don’t know the drop date of the new season, it will likely begin in July.
The good news is that the reality competition show continues to sport good ratings in the key demographic of viewers aged 18-49.
Big Brother 26 focused on an Artificial Intelligence theme this past summer, and while there were some missteps, according to some fans, the show continued to do well in its weekly timeslots.
Yes, the overall viewership numbers for recent seasons are lower than 10 years ago, but streaming has caused every television show to suffer.
One facet that enamored Big Brother fans was the AI Arena, where three nominees battled for survival. This made eviction nights more watchable each week.
Big Brother 27 to bring back live episode excitement
Big Brother executive producers Rich Meehan and Allison Grodner want to keep the Thursday night “live” episodes exciting.
Recent seasons have seen the Head of Household Competitions pushed back, with the producers filming them to be shown on Sunday night episodes.
They used to crown a new HOH before the Thursday night episodes ended, but host Julie Chen Moonves often had difficulty corraling the houseguests during live (for the East Coast) content.
With the HOH Competitions now taped later that night, screentime was opened up for an additional challenge. Enter the BB AI Arena, where the final three nominees battled for safety. The winner would be safe for the week, and the two losers would remain on the block.
“Creatively, we really wanted to try to make the live episode more unpredictable and make it more exciting and entertaining,” Rich Meehan told Entertainment Weekly.
“It’s very likely to be carried forward,” Allison Grodner added about the AI Arena twist.
Since Big Brother 27 won’t focus on Artificial Intelligence, they will likely have to rename the AI Arena Challenge to something else. The new name should play into the BB27 theme.
If the BB Arena returns, it also means the show will continue to have three nominees each week. How those nominees get selected could vary from week to week.
What did you think about the Big Brother AI Arena Challenges? Are you excited that it sounds like the Big Brother producers are bringing it back?
Below is a challenge that happened in the AI Arena in 2024.
More news from the world of Big Brother
Two Big Brother alums are on The Traitors this winter. A new season of the hit reality competition show airs on Peacock.
Big Brother alums are also on The Worst Cooks in America. Can one of them emerge as the most improved cook of the season?
Another BB AI Arena Challenge from BB26 is shared below.
Previous seasons of Big Brother are streaming on Paramount+, including the two All-Star seasons (BB7 and BB22).
Big Brother is on hiatus at CBS.
All episodes of Big Brother are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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