Have you noticed a lot of reality television on the broadcast networks this fall? Dancing with the stars is back after a stint on Disney+. Survivor And The great race have both been increased to 90 minutes. And Big Brother – usually a summer product – now runs into November.
Of course, most of that is due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes that brought script production to a standstill. And with the SAG-AFTRA strike still in effect, you have to wonder when original scripted series will return to the airwaves. And if networks like CBS don’t have shows with initials like NCIS, FBI or CSI on the air, what’s their plan B?
With that in mind, we asked host Julie Chen Moonves if we might see another winter edition of it Famous big brother. The shortened edition has aired three times since its debut in 2018 – with two of the seasons serving as counter-programming to the Winter Olympics. When we asked CBS in January if there were plans for future celebrity editions of the franchise, the network told EW there were none — but that was months before Hollywood shut down.
Chen thinks the show could attract all kinds of familiar faces, even if a strike is still in effect. He notes, “Now we can book the celebrities. This is something they can participate in, like at Dancing with the stars. They are available now and people want to work.”
Actors were indeed allowed to appear in the current season Dancing with the stars with the union noting in a statement that “Our members appear at Dancing with the stars work under the Network Code Agreement, which is an unclosed contract. They are required to go to work, they do not violate SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in meeting their contractual obligations…. The program is a non-dramatic production of SAG-AFTRA under a separate agreement not subject to the union’s cease and desist order.”
Even if the union were to change its position or the actors wanted to stay out, the show could still attract athletes, musicians, comedians and other reality stars — who typically make up the bulk of a show. Famous big brother season anyway. But Chen is actually pitching a different kind of abbreviated winter episode. “I don’t think there will be a celebrity run,” says the presenter. “But maybe we will get a monthly value that is special in its own way. Maybe bring back Legends because those are the real ones Big Brother celebrities.”
The concept of a Big Brother The Legends season was first brought to EW by none other than Season 13 Champion Rachel Reilly in June 2022. “I think the Big Brother fanbase would love to see Rachel, Janelle, Danielle Reyes and Vanessa play together,” Reilly told EW at the time. “This would be my DREAM come true!… Maybe we can save that for a ‘best of’ season in the Famous big brother place. I think we can accomplish all of this in a three-week season. Hint…hint, CBS.”
Now it seems Chen is singing the same tune. “They could play a quick version of a month,” says the presenter. “Or maybe we’ll get three months’ worth from January or February. Even if the strike ends now, nothing will go into production until January, so you might need a month’s worth. Big Brother just to fill.”
With the likely lack of scripted programming at the start of the year, there would be a winter season of sorts Big Brother makes almost too much sense not to happen. And when they see people like Rachel, Dan Gheesling, Taylor Hale, Dr. Can’t entice Will and others to return, Chen Moonves thinks that in that case a celebrity edition could indeed work. And if that were to happen, who would like to see them in the house? “In my unrealistic dream season it would be Tom Brady, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart — that whole bunch.”