'Big Brother' Season 19 Release Date and Spoilers: It's Confirmed, Summer Favorite Coming to CBS Access this Fall
CBS has finally confirmed that the upcoming cycle of its summer staple, reality TV series "Big Brother," will air this fall on CBS All Access, CBS' SVOD and live-streaming service.
This confirms early speculations of a fall season after blog RealityBlurred caught the quiet launch of the casting process for the show.
In the house of Big Brother, 15 houseguests compete for a $500,000 prize as they seclude themselves off from the real world for more than 90 days. The show has proved to be immensely popular for the network, enjoying consistent number one rankings with demographics, especially among adults aged 18-49.
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As earlier reported on Yahoo! TV, the digital Big Brother edition will run for 10 weeks--slightly shorter than a normal season--and will come at the heels of Season 8's finale on Sept. 21. This will be produced by Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan, in association with Endemol Shine North America. The new season will be expressly developed for a digital audience.
"With this new digital edition we will explore ways to reimagine this format for multiplatform audiences," Marc DeBevoise, president and COO at CBS Interactive said.
Meanwhile, longtime Big Brother host Julia Chen will also join the digital edition.
Former "Big Brother" housemates predicted what would happen with the new season in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Jason Roy from Season 18 talked about bringing back the "estranged relationships" twist, where the show would bring in former flames or even archenemies into the house.
Meanwhile, Season 13 Big Winner Rachel Reilly predicts "half-and-half" housemates, with some returning houseguests competing against newbies.
Responding to criticisms that the veteran show lacks diversity, meanwhile, Reilly vouches for casting director Robyn Kass.
"It's unfair because [casting director] Robyn [Kass] casts people off of who's going to do well with every other person in the house. You need people who aren't going to get along, you need people who will go head-to-head, you need people who will have a showmance and be best friends too," she said.
With this announcement, CBS All Access will be the first subscription streaming service to air a reality TV series series, a bold move considering its streaming rivals have yet to air unscripted originals.
Currently, Hulu has "RocketJump: The Show," while Amazon has "The New Yorker Presents" and "All or Nothing: A Season With the Arizona Cardinals," reports Deadline.
