‘Big Brother 17’ confirmed; CBS renews show up to season 18

We expected the news about a “Big Brother” renewal to come out officially be the end of the week, but what we are somewhat surprised about is the news that came along with it: CBS has gone ahead and given the series a full two-year commitment.

This is the first time we can remember the show getting this sort of two-year rule, at least in the Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan era. We also understand why. The show improved in both total viewers and the 18-49 demographic this year, and that was with a final endgame that was deemed boring by many. Imagine what the show could do with another season like season 14, which was the last time we had a great show without either boring gameplay or racism.

In a statement discussing the news, CBS Executive Vice President of Alternative Programming Chris Castallo had the following to say:

“Big Brother continues to be the one of the summer’s most dominant programs, and with each season, Allison and Rich produce the most twisted ways to evolve the series creatively … With its one-of-a-kind format, coupled with its passionate, socially engaged fan base, no other show comes close to duplicating it.”

There’s no word yet on the future of host Julie Chen, but we personally feel like her return to the show is pretty much a go. She doesn’t have to invest that much time in filming live shows, and probably has a team to help her keep up to speed on the latest from the live feeds.

We’re going to have an onslaught of coverage of the finale tonight, and also interviews with the final three tomorrow. Stay tuned for that, and follow this link for all our coverage.

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Photo: CBS