Big Brother has been tempting Houseguests for 26 seasons now. Each season features a new theme full of game-changing twists — classics include twins infiltrating the game, parents and kids competing, fans voting to determine what happens next in the game and in Big Brother season 26 it's BB AI, which adds an AI Houseguest into the mix. But the show can evolve even further to make it even better, with Love Island a great example of how to do it.
One of the things I love about Big Brother is the live feeds. Formerly available through the CBS All Access platform and now available on Paramount Plus and Pluto TV, the live feeds give fans a chance to see what's happening in real time with the Houseguests, night or day. It's something that's unique to the show and its biggest asset. The next show evolves there needs to be an overhaul to include them more to keep the show relevant.
Here's the issue facing the reality show right now: thanks to the live feeds (and the myriad social media accounts following the feeds 24/7, posting every single conversation and update live as they unfold) the show is much more interesting. However, CBS continues to offer the same three episode format each week, including the live eviction episode on Thursdays. By the time these episodes roll around, so much has happened behind the scenes that the actual episodes aren't relevant anymore. And if we're being truthful, they're actually pretty boring compared to what's happening on the live feeds.
I think the show should evolve to become more like Peacock’s Love Island USA, which features five episodes each week. Yes, it's a lot, but it keeps things fresher than limiting the action to only three episodes. Giving Big Brother five episodes a week allows for more coverage of what's actually happening in the house instead of trying to piece together a narrative that makes sense given how much changes from day to day, and even hour to hour, in the house.
For example, Houseguest Angela's controversial big blowup at Matt after being crowned the first Head of Household played out in its entirety on the live feeds and for a minute it looked like she'd made the biggest mistake of all by being a bully and lashing out so early in the game. Fans watched the fallout as it came, and eventually Matt was voted out. But the taped shows, and even the live eviction, didn't hold a candle to all the action behind the scenes and everything that went into that bold move.
Summer used to be a time for fans to catch up on their shows with reruns, then were replaced by reality shows and game shows. But with summer programming pretty sparse right now, why not go with more Big Brother? For example, CBS's summer lineup is really only consists of games shows like Lingo and Lets Make a Deal Primetime and the network premiere of Paramount Plus staple Tulsa King. Adding more Big Brother would feel organic, as it's only a one-hour time commitment each day but helps fill out the summer weeks with something new.
CBS wants to piece together its own narratives but the Houseguests are providing so much material to mine that CBS needs to churn out more episodes so that what’s happening behind the scenes isn't lost. Moving to a five episode format, or even a seven episode format, would be the innovative solution that gives fans more Big Brother bang for the buck.
Big Brother season 26 airs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT on CBS, with new episodes available to stream the following day on Paramount Plus. The 24/7 live feeds are available to watch on Paramount Plus and Pluto TV.
