CBS released its Fall 2024 schedule and Big Brother 26 is not on the schedule. While the hit reality TV competition series is a summer show, it often flows into the fall months and this year that will not happen.
Here is what that means for fans of the popular reality TV show.
Big Brother 26 To End Early In 2024?
In 2023, Big Brother 25 started on August 2, 2023, and its finale came on November 9 of that same year. That means that the show had its games and competition for just over three months. Fans could watch CBS and follow the main storylines and games and tune in on Paramount+ for the live feeds of the house.
However, it looks like things won’t stretch out for that long with Big Brother 26. There are no episodes of Big Brother 26 scheduled in October or November this year. That means that the show could only last for a couple of months at most, and not a full three. However, CBS has not released its Summer 2024 schedule yet, so it could also start earlier in the summer than it did last year.
The last three seasons of Big Brother were all between 80 and 85 days with the previous three at almost 100 days. If there is no Big Brother on in the fall months this year, it likely will have to start in July at the latest. That makes sense because Season 23 started on July 7 and Season 24 on July 6.
This Makes Sense For Big Brother’s 26th Season
With all that said, expect Big Brother to start in July this year instead of August, as it did in 2023. There was a very good reason why last year’s season played out from August through November. The Hollywood writer’s strike caused several shows not to start on time, as they couldn’t film and air during the summer to schedule the normal start of the season.
CBS, which has several of the most popular shows on TV, with Law & Order and the Chicago One shows, had giant holes in their schedule. While they presented several reruns of their popular dramas, they also had to fill in the gaps, and that is where Big Brother 25 came in.
Big Brother had to air during the fall so CBS could have something on the air that was guaranteed to bring in viewers. It replaced the weekly drama shows that normally dominate the schedule. The fall months are always more important than the summer for advertisers, so BB moved to accommodate those needs.
With Big Brother 26, things are back to normal. The strikes have ended and the drama shows will play out as normal when September rolls around. That means it is time for the new season to start when it normally would.
Are you excited to have Big Brother 26 back on the summer schedule instead of the fall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Shawn S. Lealos has been a freelance writer for over 25 years and is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He is also a published author with a book about the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers.
