'Big Brother' will have delayed start this summer with all-new cast (2023)

CBS has announced the network's summer premiere dates for its slate of unscripted programming, and true to form for its reality shows, the schedule features a twist.

Big Brother's motto has always been "expect the unexpected," and there are two surprises in the network summer 2023 schedule for the competition series hosted byJulie Chen Moonves.

The first is that unlike the past two seasons of the show, which premiered the first week of July, season 25 will not premiere until almost a full month later, on August 2. (Season 22 premiered August 5 back in 2020, but that was due to delays imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The late start might indicate that the network is planning to air the season well into the fall as protection against the ongoing writers' strike. The delayed season 22 ran all the way until October 28, and the last time we saw a writers' strike, in 2008, CBS threw together a somewhat ill-fated special spring edition ofBig Brotherto help fill schedule gaps.

While CBS notes that the schedule for season 25ofBig Brotherincludes episodes airing Sundays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT), Wednesdays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT), and Thursdays (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT),the Wednesday installments would conflict with the recently announced Wednesday fall block featuring extended90-minute episodesofSurvivorandThe Amazing Race.

The next seasons ofSurvivorandAmazing Racehave already been completed and will presumably launch in mid- or late September, but CBS could always switchBig Brotherto other nights in the fall, thereby filling holes created by the potential absence of scripted programming.

However, this is not the only twist in theBig Brotherannouncement. It also states, "In a special 90-minute episode,Big Brotherpremieres its milestone 25thseason as a group of all-new Houseguests moves into theBig BrotherHouse."

While many had assumed that the landmark 25th season of the show — which looked like a sure bet for cancellation after its disastrous first season back in 2000 —would be filled with all-star returning players, the "all-new Houseguests" line seems to indicate that the next crop ofvictimscontestants will be new players only, perhaps because the series already staged an all-stars season just three summers ago.

SeveralBig Brotherluminaries have lobbied for ashorter "legends" season, and if the writers' strike gets settled sooner rather than later, it's always possible that CBS could pivot and air an abbreviated installment with returning champions likeRachel Reilly,And Gheesling, andWill Kirby, who might not sign on for a longer stay back in the house.

Either way, wewillsee some formerBig Brotherplayers back on CBS this summer, as the network also announced the return ofThe Challenge: USAon August 10. Featuring contestants fromSurvivor, Big Brother,andThe Amazing Race, The Challenge: USAwill air on Thursdays and Sundays for its first three weeks before settling into its regular Thursday slot. It remains to be seen ifSurvivorplayers will once againobliterate the competition.

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