When does Big Brother Season 28 start? Premiere date, host, and Season 27 highlights

Big Brother Season 28 premieres on July 9, 2026, featuring a special 90-minute episode and celebrating the show's 1,000th episode milestone.

CBS has announced the date for Big Brother Season 28, confirming the return of the familiar reality format. The new season promises wisecracking robots, demented animatronics and comes with show’s 1,000th episode milestone.

Big Brother Season 28 premieres on July 9, 2026. (Instagram )

When Season 28 premieres and who’s hosting

CBS announced Season 28 will premiere on Thursday, July 9, 2026, with a special 90‑minute premiere at 8 p.m. ET. It will be followed by another 90‑minute episode on Sunday, July 12. The show will air its usual July–September window and stream episodes on Paramount+ the same day.

Host Julie Chen Moonves will be returning to lead the live eviction nights. Julie Chen Moonves’ property will have a momentous season as the show that began with a contestant called Chicken George in the summer of 2000 becomes what CBS is billing as “the first primetime series to hit 1,000 original episodes.”

Big Brother will also bring along with it Friday night companion series Big Brother: Unlocked as well. Unlocked is pretty much a Big Brother discussion show, with interviews, special guest stars (James Gunn) and unique footage from inside the house. It premieres Friday, July 10.

Asked last autumn about Unlocked's future, executive producer Rich Meehan told Entertainment Weekly, "It will evolve and get better the more we do it. “Taylor and Derrick were great and we had some really fun guests so that's something we'd like to keep doing and evolve so hopefully it will come back.

“Overall, we were really happy with it. It seemed to be well received, and people came to watch,” executive producer Allison Grodner added. It seemed to go down well and people came to witness it. And it seems they’ll be back to watch again in 2026.

Season 27 recap what carried over into Season 28

Season 27 wrapped with drama, shifting alliances and surprise eliminations that left viewers debating strategy for months. Moments were filled with drama including Head of Household shift mid‑season, a surprise coup with the Veto twist, and a narrow final vote that crowned the winner after a tense finale.

The cast of the show is predicted to be released soon before the release date.