Every 'Big Brother' season, ranked

All 24 seasons of Big Brother, ranked

Big Brother Season Ranking — Tony Esparza/CBS; CBS (2); Sonja Flemming/CBS; John P. Filo/CBS

We went back through all the cheers, jeers, and tears to rank the 24 American seasons of Big Brother from first to worst.

1. Big Brother 10

Big Brother Season Rankings — Cliff Lipson/CBS

It's the season that has it all. You can start with the great gameplay as Dan Gheesling (arguably the best player in Big Brother history), became the first contestant to score a perfect game — having no eviction votes cast against him all season and then winning in a unanimous vote. But the greatness does not stop there. There's a great cast (including Jerry, Keesha, Ollie, Michelle, Renny, April, Libra, and Mr. PEC-Tacular). There's great house drama (including a full house screaming match after Jessie's eviction and Jerry dubbing Dan as Judas). And, it takes place in a short all-killer, no-filler 71-day season that leaves you wanting more. While there are several other installments that could legitimately lay a claim to the top spot, season 10 has something the others do not, and it can be summed up in two words: Keesha's birthday.

2. Big Brother 6

What makes season 6 so enjoyable is not just the introduction of two legends in Janelle and Kaysar, in addition to a bevy of other big personalities. And it's not some of the epic blow-ups (like Janelle and Beau's sloppy, drunken confrontation), or the joy of seeing Kaysar connect the dots and figure out that everyone in the game had a secret partner. What makes season 6 a top-tier installment is witnessing two power alliances (the Friendship and the Sovereign 6) going head-to-head and trading blows back-and-forth every single week. In the current era of Big Brother, in which one big alliance mows down the rest of the house with little-to-no resistance, revisiting a season-long duel between two distinct teams is even more refreshing. Yes, the Friendship is one of the worst reality alliance names in history, but give Maggie props for playing a solid and steady game.

3. Big Brother 2

To truly appreciate how game-changing season 2 was, you had to have watched it live. This was coming off a first season that was so unwatchable that even the network president trashed it. The biggest shock and expect-the-unexpected moment in Big Brother history was when CBS decided to actually bring the show back for another try — completely revamping it in the process. The biggest move, of course, was taking the eviction power out of the hands of viewers and giving it to the contestants themselves, leading to all the scheming and scamming and plotting that has gone on ever since. And Will Kirby was a reality TV revelation, somehow becoming the house's biggest pariah and still managing to win the game. He was, quite simply, fabulous television — right down to his final speech to the jury in which the Evil Doctor explained that "If you're not happy with me, it may just be yourself you are not happy with."

4. Big Brother 3

Poor Danielle Reyes. One of the best to ever play to game. Unfortunately for her, the unsequestered jury members (including Roddy, whom she repeatedly referred to as "the Devil") were allowed to watch her Diary Room clips, and therefore she was blown out by Lisa in the final two. However, Lisa was no slouch herself, making the bold move to not vote her showmance partner Eric back in the house when she had the chance, which would have made her more of a target. Danielle's secret and unlikely alliance with the young virgin Jason (with all strategizing taking place during games of cards) was a joy to watch, and this season was also the first one to introduce the power of Veto (first silver, then golden) — which gave us the jaw-dropping shocker when Veto-winner Marcellas declined to use it on himself… and was promptly voted out of the house (with Jason casting the deciding tie-breaking vote, informing him, "You should have used the Veto."). Equally jaw-dropping was watching Sheryl Crow have to suffer the indignity of giving a private backyard concert for a bunch of half-drunk reality show contestants: "I feel like I'm doing a wedding or bar mitzvah."

5. Big Brother: All-Stars (Season 7)

First off, I love that the producers did not trust America to vote in the best players this season so saved a bunch of spots after America's vote to add in their own. And thank God they did, because every single contestant America voted in were from seasons 4 through 6. Let's hear it for short attention spans! Yes, that means America did not even vote Dr. Will, Danielle, or Marcellas onto the show, which is just crazy. And oh, did Will deliver, at one point daring the other Houseguests to vote him out during a Veto meeting ("I can't find an individual to hate because I hate you all… If you refuse to kick me out… I will do my best I can to ensure we are all on slop, unless you get together, have a big group meeting and vote me out.") Naturally, he stayed. Often All-Star reality seasons are much better in theory than actual practice (see: season 22), but this is one installment that truly delivered on almost all counts.

6. Big Brother 14

Season 14 is, of course, best known for giving us the greatest moment in Big Brother history. Dan's funeral was as epic as the show has ever been (hence our 22,000-word oral history on the episode). But there's so much more here. Britney's Diary Room confessionals are as good as it gets, Janelle always delivers, Frank was an absolute beast, and Ian played a crafty, underrated game — stabbing his coach Mike Boogie in the back to make his mark while winning six competitions along the way. Yes, bringing the returning players in as "Coaches" just to turn them into players anyway was dumb… but did we mention Dan's funeral?

7. Big Brother 5

Project DNA: Do Not Assume! Yes, this was the season with the (first) twin twist as sisters Adria and Natalie took turns playing as one person (switching in and out in the Diary Room). It also featured two players (Nakomis and Cowboy) who had no idea they shared the same father. But two things in particular elevate this outing: Nakomis' brilliant implementation of the Six Finger Plan to backdoor Jase out of the house without even giving him a chance to save himself with the Veto, and the fact that poor Marvin was in an alliance called the Santa Monica Van Boys that wasn't really a thing, and the other members were actually excluding him from their real alliance of The Four Horsemen. People being all excited to be in an alliance that doesn't actually exist shouldn't be funny. But it just is.

8. Big Brother 17

Let's face it: There are a lot of clueless or wallflowery type people that enter the Big Brother house, but season 17 had a cast that came to play — from big personalities like James, Meg, Johnny Mac, and Austin down to gone-too-soon pre-jury boots like the electric Da'Vonne and Jason. The equal parts methodical and emotional Vanessa was the star of the season, while Steve won three of the last four Head of Household comps, allowing him to cut Vanessa at the final three and claim victory. This season also dipped into its past, but with mixed success — bringing back season 5's Twin Twist with Liz and Julia (Yay!), along with season 16's Battle of the Block (Boo!). It also introduced a new twist called the BB Takeover that was so pointless it was cut three weeks in, but only after taking up valuable air-time promoting Rob Gronkowski's party cruise business.

9. Big Brother 24

BIG BROTHER Season 24 Cast — The cast of 'Big Brother' season 24. Courtesy of Shawn Laws O’Neil/CBS

Disaster. That's what season 24 felt like when it first kicked off. Taylor Hale was ostracized and insulted for seemingly no reason whatsoever, and it looked like we were going to have sit through yet another season of ugly bullying and majority alliance steamrolling. And then Daniel Durtson viciously went off on Taylor in the BB bathroom. As terrible as it was, the attack was a key moment that helped flip the script as a new alliance called the Leftovers formed — an alliance that propelled Taylor to one of the most unlikely and triumphant victories in reality TV history. And splitting the house into two separate groups for a week was an inspired twist that yielded dramatic dividends. Big Brother 24 may not have been a perfect season, but it had a perfect ending.

10. Big Brother 20

Season 20 has all the makings of what could have been an all-time great season. It featured a fabulous cast (especially with some of the early boots like Swaggy C, Kaitlyn, and Bayleigh), some fabulous gameplay (Tyler controlled the house all the way to the end, losing to Veto challenge dominator Kaycee in the finals), and plenty of fabulous moments (Kaitlyn failing on an absurdly early puzzle to stay in the game and Bayleigh's bloody mouth takedown of Tyler). Unfortunately — like many Big Brother seasons — there was also a lot of problematic behavior (please never let JC near an ice cream scooper ever again) along the way that made the entire installment a bit harder to swallow. It was also mildly maddening seeing just how poorly the FOUTTE alliance played the game, with Faysal's HOH being an absolute mess. The entire season, in general, was kind of messy. But it was also hard to look away.

11. Big Brother 23

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first: Big Brother 23 continued the recent troubling trend of one big alliance mowing down the competition week after week with little-to-no resistance whatsoever. Expect the unexpected has become expect the expected. That said, it helps a lot when that one alliance (in this case, the Cookout) mowing everyone else down is filled with likable players like Xavier, Tiffany, and Azah, who were easy to root for. But the great casting extended outside of the Cookout. Frenchie's flameout was epic and hilarious, Derek X was astute and entertaining, and Claire easily could have been a serious contender on another season. What was also fascinating about season 23 was the way each of the Cookout members had a best friend in the house that was outside of the alliance, and yet they all stayed true to their mission of making sure a person of color won the game. Watching Tiffany explain to her BFF Claire why she had to cut her loose — and Claire understanding and agreeing with that decision — shows that sometimes Big Brother can elevate itself to being more than just a game.

12. Big Brother 4

The cast of 'Big Brother' season 4. Tony Esparza/CBS

The first season with a sequestered jury (sorry, Danielle Reyes), Big Brother 4 was also the first installment in which players with a history outside of the house played together. The X-Factor twist meant that there were five ex-couples in the cast… along with three people who randomly had no connection to anyone. It's not the most dynamic group overall, but did have a solid final two with Jun and Alison. Also, props to Amanda and David on being the first Big Brother couple to be caught on camera having sex in the house. Thankfully, Amanda's ex, Scott, wasn't around to see it, having already been kicked out for throwing chairs and daring producers to "Come in and get me. You can't f---ing handle me. It will take three of you." Now that would have made for some must-see TV!

13. Big Brother 12

What a cast. Love them or loathe them, Brenchel undeniably make great television. But it didn't end there. This is also the season of the Brigade (Hayden, Lane, Enzo, and Matt), and this is the season in which we were introduced to maybe the best Diary Room commenter ever in Britney. Some of the fights (like Rachel vs. Kristen, or Rachel vs. Ragan or, well… Rachel vs. anybody, basically) were epic, and this season gave us one of the franchise's most famous quotes ever with "Floaters, you better grab a life vest!" Season 12 also marks the introduction of the best Big Brother addition ever with the Zingbot, a sassy wisecracking robot who shows up for the sole purpose of roasting the contestants. A simply brilliant concept. What drags the installment down, however, is the sheer predictability and lack of dissent, with seven out of the nine votes being unanimous — a foreshadowing of seasons to come.

14. Big Brother 8

How you feel about this season probably depends on how you feel about the Dick and Dani show, as the previously estranged father and daughter combo dominated both the competitions (11 HOH and Veto wins between them) and the storyline as they worked through their differences outside the house while in it, making it all the way to the final two together. How you feel about this season also probably depends on how you feel about how much influence viewers at home should have on what happens in the game. Eric was a great addition to the cast, but as America's Player, he was doing the bidding of fans at home, which ended up playing a huge part in who stayed and who didn't.

15. Big Brother 11

As far as twists go, the Coup D'Etat was a big ball of bogus, as Jeff got to replace Chima's nominees and send poor Jesse home. Not cool. And there are other issues, to be sure. But holy moly did Russell bring the heat this season, giving us one explosive blow-up after another. And watching Chima battling the producers even more than other players was positively juicy. Not only did she refuse to go the Diary Room, and refuse to wear her mic pack, and threaten to intentionally curse on live TV ("If you doubt me for a second, you are going to have the FCC on your ass real quick and that is a threat"), but she full-on destroyed her mic pack by throwing it into the hot tub — culminating in executive producer Alison Grodner finally intervening to get Chima into the Diary Room and out of the game. Of course, not even that delicious display could match the most fantastic moment of the season, which I believe was supposed to be spelled T-E-C-H-N-O-T-R-O-N-I-C-S.

16. Big Brother 16

Remember in the previous entry when I talked about how bad the Coup D'Etat was? That was NOTHING compared to the terribleness of the Battle of the Block twist introduced in season 16. Two HOHs were crowned each week, and each nominated two people for eviction who then would battle each other for safety. But instead of the Head of Households pitting players against each other, the two HOHs kept working together picking their nominees, and the same people kept getting nominated week after week, and contestants kept throwing competitions — taking any sort of tension out of the proceedings. (The fact producers brought the twist back again in season 17 as a "fan favorite" is laughable.) It's too bad, because there really is a great cast here, including Donny, Zach, Nicole, and two of the best to ever play the game in Derrick and Cody. Speaking of which, season 16 also featured one of the oddest subplots ever — the seemingly non-stop cuddling between single Cody and married Christine, leading to disapproving comments from Christine's spouse, mother, and father, and the most savage Zingbot Zing of all time ("Coooooooody, you are such a nice guy. You have not made any enemies this summer. Except for maybe… Christine's husband.") Just brutal.

17. Big Brother 18

This is the throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks season. The problem is, most of it didn't. There were returning players. There were new players related to former players. There were teams. There were Roadkill competitions. There were those dumb America's Care Packages that bestowed special powers to popular players to give them unfair advantages. I could go on. Somewhere, Big Meech is probably still crying, but we love her for it.

18. Big Brother 13

Pitting pairs of returnees like Jeff & Jordan and Brenchel against pairs of newbies who had never met each other before was clearly designed to give the former players the advantage, and it worked. As a result, the newbies were steamrolled early. Although, maybe that wasn't such a terrible thing, considering this wasn't exactly the most dynamic group of new players we've ever seen in the house. That said, I do have to admit I would cast Lawon in every season ever. I don't even need any other players. Just put Lawon in there by himself, roll the cameras, and let him do his thing. (Just a reminder that this is the player who asked his fellow Houseguests to evict him because he believed "I have a 99 percent chance of coming back into the game with superpowers." Alas, he did not.)

19. Big Brother 1

Okay, I know what you're thinking, but hear me out. Yes, the first season of Big Brother was an abomination. It allowed viewers to vote people out of the house. It forced contestants to do super-stupid activities like stage a fake talk show and debate the issue of flag burning (???). It had regular studio guests like "AOL Online Advisor" Regina Lewis just eating up air-time for no good reason. Actually, there was a good reason, and the reason was that those crazies over at CBS were airing this season up to SIX NIGHTS A WEEK! So how in the name of Chicken George is this not in the bottom spot? Because this surreal fever dream of a season now acts as a fascinating historical document of the summer of 2000, when reality TV first exploded and the networks were still figuring out the medium. You want a season of Big Brother that does not look, feel, or sound anything like any other season of Big Brother? Then this is the season for you. Plus, let us not forget season 1 is the only season to have a husband from outside of the house read a letter on the air after his wife proclaimed on national television that she no longer loved him. No way you put an installment with that in the bottom spot.

20. Big Brother 21

You could make a case that this is the worst pre-jury season of Big Brother, and you'd probably be right. It started with voting out all the people of color (alongside several problematic comments), continued with dumb twists like the — and it is almost embarrassing to even type this — Whacktivity competition, and kept on being smothered in a giant vat of weak sauce thanks to a large and largely unlikable alliance (Gr8ful) picking off the rest of the house all too easily (and physically shutting Nicole out of the HOH room). But the season picked up a bit once Gr8ful started finally turning on each other (#TacoTuesday). And it was absolutely glorious watching the pre-jury get a chance to strike back on the live finale, leading to a supes-awkward scene as the least excited winner in the history of the show walked through a sea of confetti with nary a smile to be seen.

21. Big Brother: All-Stars (Season 22)

First off, props to Cody. You go into a season with all returning players, win eight HOH and Veto comps, never get nominated, and take the jury vote unanimously — that is a huge accomplishment. Of course, from a dramatic perspective, it's also one of the main problems with the season. Cody's win was telegraphed almost from the very start, and there was little-to-no resistance to the Committee alliance, especially after Janelle and Kaysar were booted so early. Some of the disappointment with season 22 surely comes from the fact that expectations were sky high for an All-Stars installment (especially after the success of the first one), but with such a predictable pattern and lack of any sort of spark, this outing fell way short of the hype.

22. Big Brother 9

Let's just start with the fact that the winner of this season used his prize money to fund an oxycodone ring, sending him and another contestant to jail. But hey, that's what you get when you throw a season on the air super quick in the spring to fill programming holes due to the 2008 writer's strike. If you've ever heard someone describe Big Brother as trash TV, this is probably the season they have in mind. It seemed every week someone was giving a strip tease lap dance, or having sex, or making out naked in the pool, and it seemed that way… because they were! That may all sound fantastic, but in reality, it just made you as a viewer feel like you constantly needed to take a shower. (There's a reason we've never seen any of the contestants on the show again.) And the gameplay wrinkles weren't much better with the Soulmates twist meaning people were playing (and being evicted) as pairs for the first few weeks. Luckily the stink of season 9 did not last long, as the regular summer edition that followed it a few months later would become an instant classic (and No. 1 on our list).

23. Big Brother 15

Sooooooo, this season was problematic. Racism? Check. Homophobia? Check. Antisemitism? Check. Misogyny? Check. Watching reality TV should be fun, but it was impossible to have fun watching so much ugly behavior on display. You know it's bad when CBS has to start airing a disclaimer before episodes. And it's really a shame because season 15 was filled with some serious gamers. People weren't just sitting back and letting the game pass them by. They were battling. Unfortunately, those battles often went to some dark and disturbing places. Also, the MVP twist sucked.

24. Big Brother 19

For a season that aired only a few years ago, it's hard to remember many people in this cast, and that's pretty much all you need to know. Paul returned (after a ridiculous exercise that made it seem like it was the contestants' decision to bring back a returning player), and proceeded to absolutely dominate the house. That was due to the fact that the majority of the house never put up an ounce of resistance, leading to a long, boring slog of a season that was only interrupted by bouts of bullying and cringe-worthy comments poking fun at rape, race, and the trans community. What's not to love? Pretty much everything.