Big Brother 22 was...something. And by something we mean incredibly predictable, anti-climactic, a little controversial, and there wasn't enough of Queen Janelle.
But as all BB fans know, no matter how much we gripe about this one-of-a-kind reality show, we almost always come back, which is why we're ready for imminent release of season 23.
A silver lining? After longtime complaints from previous players and fans about the show's issues with diversity and racism, CBS made a pledge that the cast of Big Brother—and all of its network reality shows—will have "casts with at least 50% of the contestants being Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), beginning in the 2021-2022 broadcast season," per a press release. And with season 23's recent cast reveal, they've (thankfully) stayed true to their word.
There were only five BIPOCs in Big Brother 22's 16 member cast, and aside from Celebrity Big Brother 2 winner Tamar Braxton, no Black player has ever won the series after 20 years on air.
"The reality TV genre is an area that’s especially underrepresented, and needs to be more inclusive across development, casting, production and all phases of storytelling," said George Cheeks, president and chief executive officer for the CBS Entertainment Group, per EW. "As we strive to improve all of these creative aspects, the commitments announced today are important first steps in sourcing new voices to create content and further expanding the diversity in our unscripted programming, as well as on our network."
Below, everything we know so far about this summer.
Big Brother season 23 returns this July.
Via a live Clubhouse conversation, longtime host Julie Chen Moonves announced #BB23 would premiere Wednesday, July 7 with a live 90-minute long move-in episode.
There are 16 new houseguests joining the cast.
On July 1, CBS finally revealed the brand new cast. And despite the show not even starting yet, a majority of their bios make it clear that we'll be watching a handful of superfans have their chance at the $500,000 prize. So if they're familiar with the game, this has us cautiously optimistic about the entertainment value of the season. Particularly with a group of houseguests that are all newbies.
Season 23 will have a "team twist."
In an interview with Us Magazine, the show's longtime executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan explained what we can expect from the game —in the most vaguest of terms. Their most revealing bits of information? The theme of season 23 will be "Big Brother beach club."
"It’s got this casino meets beach, Monte Carlo meets beach club meets Vegas, kind of feel to it," Grodner said. "And it’s aspirational. It’s fun. It’s for our houseguests to go on vacation for the summer."
And during the live move-in premiere show, the cast will learn they'll start-off the game playing in teams. "They’re going to be battling to be a team captain, as well as vying for the ability to play Head of Household."
How can I watch the new season?
Beginning July 7, the series will retain its typical three day a week schedule, airing Sundays and Wednesdays at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m ET/PT, with Thursday live eviction shows at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. ET/delayed PT.
And aside from watching live via CBS, you'll also be able to stream and have access to Live Feeds through the CBS app and new Paramount+ platform.
Is Julie Chen returning as host?
She sure is because would it be Big Brother without Julie Chen? The beloved host announced the show's renewal news herself last fall via video while she was getting ready for the BB22 finale.
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McKenzie Jean-Philippe is the editorial assistant at OprahMag.com covering pop culture, TV, movies, celebrity, and lifestyle. She loves a great Oprah viral moment and all things Netflix—but come summertime, Big Brother has her heart. On a day off you'll find her curled up with a new juicy romance novel.
