Big Brother 26 is almost here!
A new teaser for the upcoming season, which initially aired on CBS and has circulated via social media, features audio clips from past seasons.
“This summer, these walls will talk,” onscreen text reads as legendary Big Brother players including Dan Gheesling, Rachel Reilly Villegas, Xavier Prather and Zach Rance utter some of their most iconic phrases.
“Welcome you guys all to my Big Brother funeral,” says Gheesling, 40, who masterminded his way out of eviction during Big Brother 14 in 2012 by staging his own funeral.
“Well, you fruit loop dingus, I bet you didn’t see this coming,” adds Rance, 33, who made Nicole Franzel cry during Big Brother 16 in 2014 by calling her the unusual insult.
Reilly Villegas, 39, urges floaters to “grab a life vest” and Prather, 30, welcomes his alliance members to The Cookout, the historic all-Black alliance from Big Brother 23.
The teaser, which also shows footage of the empty Big Brother house, seems to suggest that alums will play a role in the upcoming season.
New promo for Big Brother 26 and the new logo! Could the new theme be AI? #BB26 pic.twitter.com/LW3QaiSm8F
— BigBrotherJunkie👁 (@89razorskate20) June 13, 2024
“Returnees are coming mark my words,” one X user wrote, speculating that former players will take another crack at the game.
Another user guessed that the season’s theme could be artificial intelligence, which would make sense after last season’s similarly topical metaverse theme.
CBS also unveiled a logo for the new season, which shows the classic Big Brother block lettering in blue with strands of hot pink and blue shooting out from it that look like data points of some kind.
“Futuristic theme???” one X user guessed, while several others echoed the theory that AI will be implemented somehow.
Big Brother 26 is set to premiere on CBS Wednesday, July 17.
“Wait, did you see that? 👀 #BB26 is coming your way for a TWO NIGHT premiere on Wednesday, July 17, and Thursday, July 18!” the official Big Brother Instagram account announced in May alongside a promotional clip featuring host Julie Chen Moonves. “Mark your calendars for a whole new season of #BigBrother.”
The reality competition show, which premiered in 2000, will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 9 p.m. ET this season.
Big Brother 25, which aired from August to November last year, was the longest season in the show’s history, spanning 100 days. An average season typically lasts between 82 to 85 days. Chen Moonves, 54, exclusively told Us Weekly in May that she doesn’t think Big Brother 26 will be as long as the previous installment.
“Last season we did that because of the two strikes going on,” she said, referring to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “So, we bled into the fall season … I mean think about it, Big Brother takes up three nights of real estate.”
Jag Bains was crowned the winner during the November 2023 Big Brother 25 finale with Matt Klotz and Bowie Jane placing second and third, respectively.
Big Brother 26 premieres on CBS and Paramount+ Wednesday, July 17, at 9 p.m. ET.
