Big Brother Season 27 will join others on the 2025 TV schedule starting on July 10th, and as a big surprise, CBS is giving the franchise more primetime hours than ever before. Those who don't already watch the live feeds with Paramount+ subscriptions will hopefully close the gap a bit more with that crowd, as 90-minute episodes will become the new norm on Wednesday nights. But wait, we're even getting a full-on bonus show that'll air every other Friday! With all this change, I can't help but wonder if it's happening to accommodate a shakeup in the competitions.
CBS fiinally confirmed the upcoming premiere date for the new season of BB, and the news about 90-minute episodes, in addition to the usual hour-long episodes on Thursdays and Sundays, was a big surprise.
What's more, the new series Big Brother: Unlocked will begin airing every other Friday starting on July 25th, with former players featured and offering their insights for the ongoing season to that point. As well, fans will get to see previously unshown footage from within the house. It's a lot more BB footage than even live-feed-viewers are used to, and I think it could be necessary due to how this season will play out.
Is Big Brother Supersizing Its Season To Accommodate A New Gameplay Element?
In addition to everything mentioned above, Big Brother is also giving viewers a 90-minute premiere episode as well as the same length for Sunday's episode after the premiere. I'm wondering why we're being blessed with so much time, and I can't help but wonder if it relates to potential gameplay changes that we'll learn about once the season begins.
I was a big fan of the A.I. Arena twist in Season 26 and how it changed the game overall, and I wasn't the only one. Executive producers Rich Meehan and Allison Grodner went on the record saying that something similar would be done going forward, so the idea of multiple nominees could factor into the new season of Big Brother and be the reason behind added runtime.
For those who didn't watch the previous season, three nominees were chosen by the Head of Household, and one would have a chance to save themselves from eviction ahead of the vote in the "A.I. Arena." Having one of three nominees saved on eviction night led to chaos in the house, as players were frequently forced to nominate their allies, and occasionally vote them out if their original target saved themselves.
Season 26 winner Chelsie Baham wasn't a fan of it as someone expecting the usual gameplay format, but viewers, by and large, hailed the season as one of the best in the show's modern history.
The A.I. Arena took place on Thursdays, however, so it wouldn't explain why we're getting 90-minute episodes on Wednesdays. My theory, though, is that the idea was tweaked somewhat, and the additional time granted on Wednesday is meant to allow for an additional competition beyond the Power of Veto, which is usually the only competition in that episode. This is just speculation, of course, but it feels possible.
I Hope This Season's Long Episodes Are Better Than What Happened When Season 26 Did Longer Episodes
Big Brother tried outsome longer episodes in Season 26, and while I was initially excited about that, my enthusiasm faded upon witnessing the actual result. I hoped to see more conversations between Houseguests regarding the game and more context behind the decisions being made. Instead, we received more filler segments, either highlighting some goofy event that happened throughout the week or a humiliating punishment issued by the game.
After watching those episodes, I ultimately ended up wishing for a standard-length episode of Big Brother because what was added felt so superfluous it might as well have been cut from the episode. I hope Big Brother is getting more time and a bonus show because it's justified, and not because CBS needs to fill a lot of slots during summer programming.
Cancel your summer plans if they're happening around July 10th, because Big Brother is back on CBS. I remain cautiously optimistic about the time being added to the season overall, though I wonder how I'm going to feel about it when we get to the end of the first month of the game.
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