Despite being mere weeks away from its premiere, the Big Brother Season 26 cast remains shrouded in mystery.
The hit reality show - which has been running since July 2000 - sees a lineup of contestants living in a house together monitored 24/7 by TV cameras, completing various challenges, and competing for a grand prize of $750,000.
Season 26 is set to debut on Wednesday, July 17 on CBS, bringing with it a whole new cast of charismatic HouseGuests.
The Big Brother Season 26 Cast Details
Big Brother Season 26 is on the way, with a new cast of contestants to boot.
However, the exact details of the new HouseGuest lineup remain a large question mark, as not many details on the upcoming cast have been revealed ahead of its premiere.
As of writing, only a single cast member has been confirmed to appear in the new 2024 season.
Longtime Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves is the only person announced to be playing a part in the new episodes. Moonves has been a part of the U.S. version of the series since its inception, hosting the first 25 seasons.
Moones confirmed her return to the series on Instagram in June 2024, writing that Season 26 is "unlike any season we’ve had yet:"
"Not everything is as it seems this summer. ['Big Brother 26'] is unlike any season we’ve had yet and we’re just one month away."
The cast of HouseGuests itself has been confirmed to be all-new, meaning there will be no returning cast members from past seasons (per Paramount).
Since Season 14, all seasons of the hit TV series have featured 16 contestants competing (aside from three seasons where there were 17).
This likely means whenever the Season 26 cast is revealed, it will likely feature 16 new personalities for audiences to fall in love with.
What is exciting for the Big Brother 26 cast though is who is putting it together.
Senior Director of Editorial Growth at The Arena Group Sharon Tharp posted online in April (via Monsters and Critics) revealing that Erin Tomasello and Holly Osifat, the Emmy-winning casting directors of the recent reality hit The Traitors, had joined the casting team for this season of Big Brother.
Due to this hiring, fans should rightfully expect a great cast of characters in Season 26, as Tomasello and Osifat have already proven they are experts at putting together a gripping reality cast.
When Will the Big Brother Season 26 Cast Be Announced?
With only a handful of days before Big Brother Season 26 premieres on CBS, the full cast announcement is almost surely imminent.
The beloved reality hit returns to TV sets with a two-part premiere on Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18 at 9-10 p.m. ET. So, the cast should be revealed before then.
For reference, typically any particular Big Brother cast has been announced only a few days before its season debut.
Season 23's cast was revealed six days before its July 7, 2021 premiere, Season 24 was one day before, and Season 25 was two days.
That means a full contestant lineup can be expected to be announced sometime within a week before the first episode on July 17.
It could be as early as six days earlier on Thursday, July 11, or it could come as late as Tuesday, July 16.
This quick turnaround from the announcement to the show's debut makes it so that fans do not have to wait too long to see each of these new players in action, instead of sitting on a list of names for several weeks or months before.
Big Brother Season 26 starts on CBS on Wednesday, July 17 at 9 p.m. ET.
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