Big Brother 28 (2026): Cast, What Time It's On, and How to Watch

Big Brother is back for its 28th season — and this one, “Big Brother: Time Trip,” premiered Thursday, July 9, 2026 on CBS, so the houseguests are already locked in and the game is on. Here’s everything a new or returning viewer needs: what time it airs each week, how to watch it (including free and outside the US), the full cast, and the format and prize on the line. This reflects what’s confirmed as of the July 9 premiere and July 10 — cast and schedule details can shift as the season plays out.

The quick version

• Premiere: Thursday, July 9, 2026, 8:00–9:30pm ET/PT on CBS (already aired).
• Weekly schedule: after premiere week, new episodes air Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central/Mountain) on CBS and next-day on Paramount+.
• Live feeds: 24/7 feeds launch Friday, July 10, 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Paramount+ (any tier) and free on Pluto TV.
• Host: Julie Chen Moonves. Prize: $750,000.
• Cast: 14 new houseguests + reality veterans Angela Murray and Rick Devens (plus a reported third, Dee Valladares).

What is “Big Brother: Time Trip”?

Season 28’s theme, announced by CBS on July 1, is a time-travel and nostalgia twist: the house is built with period rooms and relics spanning the ’80s, ’90s and Y2K era, and competitions are themed around different decades. CBS’s framing is that “time itself” is the twist, with time-bending powers designed to shake up alliances early. The premiere leaned straight into it, sending houseguests “back in time” in the opening competitions — including a time-travel twist that brought reality-TV veterans into the house.

The season carries a milestone, too: CBS is billing it as the point where Big Brother reaches its 1,000th episode, which it says makes it the first US primetime series to hit that mark.

What time is Big Brother 28 on?

The premiere was a 90-minute event. Once the regular season settles in after premiere week, Big Brother airs three nights a week, all at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

A quirk worth knowing: CBS lists the show at “8pm ET/PT,” meaning it airs at 8pm local time in both the Eastern and Pacific zones (the Pacific broadcast is tape-delayed). That means Central and Mountain viewers watch an hour earlier, at 7pm. During premiere week, the Sunday, July 12 episode also ran a full 90 minutes.

How to watch Big Brother 28

You have a lot of options, and the one that matters most is which Paramount+ tier you pick — because only one of them streams episodes live.

The short version: if you want to watch episodes as they air, you need either a CBS broadcast signal (antenna or a live-TV service) or Paramount+ Premium, which carries your live local CBS channel. Paramount+ Essential is cheaper but only lets you stream each episode the day after it airs. Note that Paramount+ is not offering a free trial for this season, so a live-TV service’s short free trial (DirecTV, Fubo or Hulu + Live TV) is the main way to sample the live broadcast at no cost.

How to watch Big Brother 28 for free

• Antenna: a digital antenna picks up your local CBS affiliate free over the air.
• Pluto TV: Paramount’s free, ad-supported service carries the 24/7 live feeds (from July 10) plus Big Brother episode replays — no subscription.
• Free trials: DirecTV (5-day), Fubo (1-day) and Hulu + Live TV (3-day) all carry live CBS and offer short trials.
• The official Big Brother YouTube channel also posts limited free live-feed clips after each Friday “Unlocked” episode — though that’s not the full 24/7 feed.

The 24/7 live feeds

The feeds — Big Brother’s signature “watch the house whenever you want” cameras — launch Friday, July 10, at 9pm ET / 6pm PT and then run around the clock all season. The key money-saver: the feeds are available on any Paramount+ tier, so you do not need the pricier Premium plan just to watch them — the $8.99 Essential plan unlocks them too (Premium is only needed for live episodes). And if you don’t want to pay at all, the same feeds stream free with ads on Pluto TV. The house is wired with dozens of cameras and microphones, so the feeds catch the strategy the edited episodes leave out.

Watching Big Brother 28 outside the US

Big Brother US is geo-locked, so availability abroad varies:

• Canada: airs on Global TV and StackTV, with episodes also streaming free (for a limited time) on Global the day after they air. Note this is the last season Global carries the US show before it moves to CTV.
• UK: there’s no native UK broadcast, and it’s geo-blocked from Paramount+ UK. UK fans generally need a US Paramount+ subscription plus a VPN connected to a US server.
• Australia: the US version isn’t carried locally (Australia has its own Big Brother on Network 10). Watching the US season again means a US Paramount+ account plus a VPN.

The Big Brother 28 cast

The cast was revealed on Tuesday, July 7, in the first-ever “Big Brother: Broveal” — a livestream on the official Big Brother YouTube channel hosted by Julie Chen Moonves. Fourteen new houseguests were introduced there, and the July 9 premiere added reality-TV veterans through the “Time Trip” recruitment twist.

The 14 newcomers:

(Yash Patel joined as a late alternate after original houseguest Levi Banks exited the season just before the premiere; reports differ on the exact reason.)

The returning reality veterans:

Angela Murray (the first Head of Household of Big Brother 26) and Survivor’s Rick Devens entered during the July 9 premiere. A third veteran — Survivor 45 champion Dee Valladares — was teased as a “mystery legend” and widely reported ahead of an official reveal on the July 10 “Unlocked,” which would make two Survivor winners-or-alumni in one Big Brother season for the first time. Until CBS confirms her on air, treat the 17th houseguest as reported rather than official.

The “Big Brother: Unlocked” after-show

New this format is a companion show, “Big Brother: Unlocked,” which debuted Friday, July 10 at 8pm ET/PT on CBS and Paramount+ and airs on Fridays through the season. It’s fronted by a panel of Jerry O’Connell, Taylor Hale (a former Big Brother winner) and Derrick Levasseur (another former winner), recapping the week’s game and dropping extra twists.

Format, prize and finale

The winner takes home a $750,000 grand prize (the runner-up has historically received $75,000). Julie Chen Moonves hosts, as she has every US season since 2000. CBS has not yet announced a finale date; if Season 28 runs the usual roughly three months, expect a finale around late September or early October 2026 — but that’s an estimate, not a confirmed date.

When is Big Brother 28 on TV?

After the July 9 premiere, Big Brother 28 airs three nights a week — Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central/Mountain) — on CBS, with the live eviction on Thursdays.

How can I watch Big Brother 28 for free?

Watch live for free with a digital antenna tuned to your local CBS channel, or stream the 24/7 live feeds free (with ads) on Pluto TV. Live-TV services DirecTV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV also carry CBS and offer short free trials.

Do I need Paramount+ Premium for Big Brother?

Only for live episodes. Paramount+ Premium ($13.99/month) includes your live local CBS channel; Paramount+ Essential ($8.99/month) streams episodes the next day. The 24/7 live feeds work on either tier.

Who is the host of Big Brother 28?

Julie Chen Moonves, who has hosted the US version since Season 1 in 2000.

Who is in the Big Brother 28 cast?

Sixteen confirmed houseguests: 14 newcomers revealed at the July 7 “Broveal,” plus reality veterans Angela Murray (Big Brother 26) and Rick Devens (Survivor). Survivor 45 winner Dee Valladares has been reported as a 17th houseguest pending an official reveal.

How much does the Big Brother 28 winner get?

$750,000. Season 28 is also billed as Big Brother’s 1,000th episode.

For more reality-TV cast guides, see our Love Island USA Season 8 cast and couples rundown, and browse everything in TV.