Big Brother is an American reality competition television show based on the Dutch show of the same name created by producer John de Mol Jr. and Ron Diesel in 1997. The American series launched on July 5, 2000, on CBS and since the ending of the Spanish version in 2022, is the longest-running adaptation in the Big Brother franchise.

The show broadly follows the premise of other versions, in which a group of contestants, known as "HouseGuests", live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world as they compete for a cash prize. The HouseGuests are continuously monitored in the house by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones. While its inaugural season followed the original Dutch format, in which audience voting determined evictees and the eventual winner, the negative critical reception and low viewership resulted in the series being revamped for the second season, which focused on competition and gameplay. Under this revamped format, the HouseGuests compete in challenges to win power and safety before voting to evict each other from the house. The last remaining HouseGuest wins the competition and is awarded a cash prize. The series is named after the fictional totalitarian dictator from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The show's twenty-eighth season, which included the series' 1,000th episode, premiered on July 9, 2026.

On October 1, 2026 during the live finale for Big Brother 28 host Chen Moonves announced that CBS has renewed the show through a 30th season.

Format

Big Brother is a reality game show in which a group of contestants, known as HouseGuests, live in a custom-built residence—the Big Brother House— under constant video surveillance. While the exact duration varies by season, seasons last approximately three months. HouseGuests are isolated from the outside world, with no contact allowed except for medical emergencies or family crises. The show is often regarded as a social experiment, requiring contestants to navigate relationships and conflicts with people from diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and values.

Season 1 The first season mirrored the original Dutch version, focusing on the social experiment aspect with minimal competition. HouseGuests did not compete for power or safety, and the nomination process was not discussed among them. The season received mixed reviews.

Challenges Challenges were divided into "food," "tasks," and "live challenges". For most of the food challenges, each HouseGuest was required to wager a certain percentage of their allowance, up to 50%, to complete a certain objective. One competition was the "luxury challenge", where the winner received a golden ticket to the Primetime Emmy Awards.

Banishment

Every two weeks (later reverting to a weekly process towards the end of the season), HouseGuests secretly nominated two others for eviction in the "Red Room". The two or more HouseGuests with the most nomination votes were then "Marked for Banishment". The public would, through a premium number, vote to banish one of the nominated HouseGuests. On a live results show, the banished HouseGuest would be announced, after which they would immediately leave the house.

Final vote When three HouseGuests remained, the public vote decided the winner, who received $500,000, while the runners-up got $100,000 (2nd place) and $50,000 (3rd place).

Season 2–present

After spending millions on the series, CBS announced a second season with major format changes, shifting the focus to competition and strategy, similar to Survivor.

The key change was that HouseGuests, not the public, decide who to remove (evict) from the game. In the new format, HouseGuests also compete for safety and power. The game continues in this format until its final day, in which a panel of evicted HouseGuests vote for the winner among two finalists. The winner receives $750,000 ($500,000 prior to season 23) while the runner-up receives $75,000 ($50,000 prior to season 23).

Head of Household

The Head of Household (HOH) competition, introduced in season 2, is held at the beginning of each week. The winner of the competition receives immunity from eviction and has the power to nominate two (or three) HouseGuests for eviction. They also receive other special privileges, including their own bedroom. The incumbent HOH is not allowed to compete in the following week's competition. Most competitions are either quiz-based, endurance-based, or skill-based. Some competitions are finished during the live eviction broadcast.

Power of Veto

The Power of Veto (POV) competition, introduced in season 3, takes place after the HOH competition. Six HouseGuests compete in the POV competition: the HOH, the nominees, and other selected HouseGuests. Since season 7, before the start of each POV competition, the HOH and the nominees randomly draw additional HouseGuests for the competition.

The winner of the POV competition has the power to either save one nominee from risk of eviction, or leave the HOH's original nominations intact. The veto meeting is the formal setting in which the winning POV holder announces their decision.

During season 3, the power was known as the Silver Power of Veto and did not allow a nominated HouseGuest to use the veto on themselves. The final Power of Veto that season was the Golden Power of Veto, allowing a nominated HouseGuest to remove themselves from the nomination block. Beginning in season 4, the Golden Power of Veto was made a permanent component of the game.

BB Block Buster The BB Block Buster Competition, introduced in season 26, takes place on eviction night. The three nominated HouseGuests compete in a challenge where the winner is saved from eviction, leaving the remaining two facing the vote as normal. During season 26, the addition was known as the "A.I. Arena". Beginning in season 27, the challenge was renamed the "BB Block Buster" and made a permanent component of the series.

Eviction At the end of the week, all HouseGuests (except the HOH and the nominees) cast a vote for eviction. Broadcast live, HouseGuests enter the diary room one-by-one and privately cast their votes. Prior to season 10, HouseGuests' eviction votes were prerecorded, with the voting switching to a live phase about halfway through the game. The HouseGuest receiving a majority of the votes is evicted from the house. In the event of a tie, the HOH casts the deciding vote.

A notable variant, called "double eviction", has been done in two forms. The first, dubbed Fast Forward Week, had week-long events occur in an accelerated format, with two HouseGuests evicted over the course of a week. The second, "Double Eviction Night", introduced in season 7, had the events of a traditional week occur over the course of a single live eviction episode. This event became a staple of the show. Season 22 introduced the Triple Eviction Night, with three HouseGuests being evicted in a similar manner. Season 27 revealed once an eviction vote is cast, it is official and cannot be rescinded.

Another variant is Hit the Road, as seen in seasons 14, 18, and 27 in which HouseGuests compete in the competition(s) for survival in the house, and the HouseGuest(s) who finished last may face automatic nomination, or outright eviction.

Final three The standard nomination process continues until there are three HouseGuests left. At this point, HouseGuests participate in the season's final HOH competition, which is divided into three rounds: the first is endurance-based, the second is skill-based, and the final is quiz-based. The winner of the first round automatically qualifies for final round, while the remaining HouseGuests compete in round two where the winner advances to round three and the loser becomes a nominee. The winner of round three casts the final eviction vote, choosing who to stand against for the jury's vote.

Other competitions The food and luxury competitions, which have been a staple of the show since the beginning, have also been adjusted to reflect the current game's format. HouseGuests may compete in luxury competitions, with prizes including the opportunity to watch a film or a small cash prize.

Have-nots In the early seasons, the losers of a "have-not competition" would not be permitted to eat any food except peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Beginning in season 7, the losers were instead required to eat "slop", sleep in an uncomfortable have-not room, and take cold showers. Since season 22, later weeks forego have-not competitions. Instead, either the current HOH or the previous have-not recipients decide the week's have-nots. HouseGuests may be penalized for not following have-not rules, usually with a penalty vote for eviction, or in some cases, an additional day of have-not status.

Jury

Seasons 2 and 3 In seasons 2 and 3, all evicted HouseGuests were part of the jury. Before the final vote, each evicted HouseGuest asked one question to the final two contestants, who could hear but not see the jury. The finalists then had the opportunity to make a final statement before the vote. Each evicted HouseGuest voted for the winner by choosing a gold key labeled with the chosen finalist's name. They placed their key into one of twelve slots on the voting box. After reuniting with the final two contestants in the house, the evictees revealed their choices, one by one. The HouseGuest with the most votes was declared the winner of Big Brother.

Season 4–present Beginning in season 4, evicted HouseGuests were known as jurors. Jurors live in the sequestered "jury house", and are shown group events and competitions. Jurors are not shown contestant interviews or any other footage that may include strategy or details regarding nominations.

Prior to the finale, the jury is asked to agree on three questions for each of the final two HouseGuests. At the studio on finale night, the jurors question the finalists. After the questioning is complete, each of the two finalists make a final speech. Then, in order of eviction, each of the jurors secretly selects the key of the HouseGuest that they want to win. The host then pulls out the keys from the box, revealing whom each juror chose. The HouseGuest receiving the majority of votes is then declared the winner of Big Brother.

America's Favorite HouseGuest Beginning in season 7, viewers have voted to determine the recipient of the "America's Favorite HouseGuest". The winner receives a cash prize of $50,000 ($25,000 prior to season 23); the results are announced during the season finale.

History

The series was bought by CBS in early 2000 for an estimated $20 million. It officially premiered on July 5, 2000, with ten HouseGuests entering the house. The series takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Since 2001, as a result of a lawsuit settlement, Big Brother displays the following disclaimer in the end credits: "This program is not associated or affiliated with the Estate of George Orwell and is not based on the novel '1984'."

Since its inception, the show has been hosted by Julie Chen. It is produced by Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan for Fly on the Wall Entertainment and Banijay Americas (formerly Endemol USA and Endemol Shine North America). The series airs once a year, during the summer, except for the ninth season, which aired in the spring of 2008.

Throughout its run, Big Brother has been criticized following reports of "HIB" (Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying), violence in the house, obscene language, breach of integrity, and the physical and mental strain of appearing on the series. Several seasons have also been criticized for racism and discrimination, most notably season 15 and season 21.