Global announced on Tuesday that Season 28 of Big Brother will be the last season of the series to air on the network, Jennifer Abrams said as she explained the decision to refresh the network’s summer lineup.
The move lands as the long-running series prepares to hit a landmark: Season 28 premieres Thursday, July 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will include the show’s 1,000th episode during the season, and will send houseguests into the house to compete for a US$750,000 grand prize. Big Brother is hosted by Julie Chen Moonves, and the lineup around the premiere is expanded: Big Brother: Unlocked follows on Friday, July 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and a 90-minute Sunday episode airs July 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global and STACKTV.
After the premiere week, Global said Big Brother will air Wednesdays from 8-9:30 p.m., Thursdays with hour-long live-eviction episodes, and Sundays from 8-9 p.m. on Global and STACKTV. Abrams framed the announcement in historic terms — Global has been the Canadian home of Big Brother since the show launched in 2000 — and stressed the network’s intent to pursue new summer programming.
"We are incredibly proud to have been the Canadian home of Big Brother since its launch in 2000, bringing this series to audiences nationwide," Abrams said. "As we look ahead, we’ve made the decision to move on from the series and refresh Global’s summer lineup." She added: "We are excited about the new programming opportunities this transition creates for Global’s schedule in the coming year and remain committed to delivering high-impact summer content, with a focus on broad, mainstream hits and new formats designed to engage audiences across both linear and streaming."
The weight of the moment is unmistakable: CBS notes Big Brother is the first prime-time series to cross 1,000 episodes, a milestone that will fall inside Season 28. The season’s launch is also being supported by a new companion show — Big Brother: Unlocked — that promises exclusive footage, extended interviews, surprise guest appearances, behind-the-scenes access and, for the first time on that brand, a live studio audience.
That context makes Global’s choice sharper. The network is not ending its association with the franchise mid-season; it will carry Season 28 through its July schedule and the special programming around the premiere. But Abrams’ language leaves no doubt that, after this run, Global intends to reallocate the summer hours that Big Brother has occupied since 2000.
The tension in the announcement is plain: a landmark season and a U.S.$750,000 prize are arriving as Global closes this long chapter. The houseguests who will enter the Big Brother house on July 9 will be revealed later this summer, meaning the cast that will carry the 1,000th episode remains under wraps even as the network signals an end to its multi-decade relationship with the show.
For viewers and advertisers, the immediate calendar is fixed: tune for the July 9 premiere and the new Unlocked episode on July 10, then expect the Wednesday/Thursday/Sunday rhythm through the season on Global and STACKTV. For Global, the practical consequence is clearer than any tease — this is the network’s final season of Big Brother, and the time freed by that departure will be used to try different summer offerings beginning next year.
Global’s statement closes the network’s long run with Big Brother on its own terms: it will broadcast the milestone season in full while preparing a refreshed summer schedule afterward. For now, big brother fans still have a full season to watch; for Global, the summer after Season 28 will be the test of its next move.
