Summer's most durable reality franchise is about to hit a number few primetime series ever reach.
Big Brother: Time Trip premieres tonight, July 9, with a 90-minute kickoff episode on CBS. Season 28 will mark the 1,000th episode of the American series, a primetime television first. That alone would be enough to make this a notable outing. But the cast CBS has assembled suggests the network wants noise, not just nostalgia.
A Cast Built for Crossover Heat
Fourteen houseguests were officially revealed on July 7 during a first-of-its-kind YouTube event CBS dubbed the "Broveal." Host Julie Chen Moonves introduced each player live, walking fans through the new house before unveiling the competitors. The initial 14-player roster includes a rocket scientist, an MMA fighter, a pickleball coach, and a RuPaul's Drag Race veteran.
Among them is Jason De Puy, a drag queen who performs under the stage name Salina EsTitties and competed on the fifteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the eleventh season of Drag Race All Stars. Kamuela "Kamu" Kirk, a 32-year-old MMA fighter from Phoenix, also joins the roster. Kirk's professional record stands at 11 wins and seven losses, with three bouts in the UFC. Lyric Medeiros, daughter of pop singer Glenn Medeiros, rounds out the recognizable names among the initial group.
But CBS was not done. Entertainment Weekly later revealed that Survivor: Edge of Extinction and Survivor 50 castaway Rick Devens would be competing this season. Inside Survivor confirmed the second mystery player as Survivor 45 winner Dee Valladares. Valladares becomes the first person to compete on The Challenge, Survivor, and Big Brother, completing a reality television trifecta no one else has managed.
Former Big Brother 26 contestant Angela Murray was also announced for the season. The Utah real estate agent was evicted in sixth place during her first run, frustrating and delighting fans with chaotic gameplay. She later competed on The Amazing Race Season 38 alongside her daughter Lexi. Murray's return gives the house a familiar wild card.
Time Trip and a Record-Breaking Schedule
CBS revealed the "Time Trip" theme on July 1, promoting it as "turning time into the ultimate twist." Rooms inside the house are themed after specific decades, including the '80s and Y2K. Chen Moonves teased in April 2026 that the theme was "brilliant" enough that she asked producers why they hadn't done it before.
In a promo video for the season, Chen Moonves offered a glimpse of the scope. "From prehistoric times to iconic decades and unforgettable moments from Big Brother history, this house is packed with surprises around every single corner," she said.
After premiere week, new episodes air Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Wednesday installments run 90 minutes, while Sunday and Thursday episodes stay at an hour. The expanded schedule gives BB28 the most original programming hours since the show debuted in 2000.
Where and How to Watch
Episodes air live on CBS and stream simultaneously on Paramount+ with the Premium plan, or on demand the next day with any Paramount+ tier. Live feeds launch Friday, July 10, at 9 p.m. ET and can be watched on Pluto TV or Paramount+. For the first time, feeds will also be available on YouTube in limited post-episode windows.
Jerry O'Connell joins returning panelists and former winners Derrick Levasseur and Taylor Hale on the companion series Big Brother: Unlocked, which also debuts July 10. O'Connell called the gig "kind of amazing," telling CBS, "I'm already watching on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, so the fact that CBS is now paying me to do it is kind of amazing."
With a cast that spans three CBS franchises and a season structured for maximum content, the network is clearly betting that 28 seasons in, there is still plenty of game left to play.
The season is expected to wrap in late September, giving fans a roughly 90-day window of competition, chaos, and live-feed obsession.
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