Big Brother's 1,000th episode is approaching, and Julie Chen Moonves is hoping to get every past Houseguest involved. As fans watch BB online and wait for the big milestone to hit the 2026 TV schedule, the Chenbot pitched CinemaBlend her grand plan for how and when to bring a litany of Houseguests back from every prior season.
I recently had a chance to speak to Julie about the 1,000th episode, and tried to get some details on what we should expect. The host admitted that there are still plans being talked out amongst the Big Brother creatives, but was more than happy to share the suggestion she made:
I can tell you it's gonna happen on a live show. I'm sure they're still putting it together. I know what I would like to see, and they don't always listen to me. Actually, they listen to me rarely, but every now and then I have a good suggestion. If I had my way, I would somehow, some way have every past player make an appearance. I don't know if it's just like, a group cast shot when you bump into commercial bump out. How do you do [something] in a live show and still get to the business of a live show, you know, have a quick update…but how do you do that? I don't know.
Fortunately, it's not Julie's job to come up with the answers. She's just the host, and apparently part-time security, but there are likely plenty of producers and other execs who can figure out how to make a large-scale reunion happen.
Thus far, Big Brother has done a solid job working in legends from the past. Rachel Reilly returned from her elimination the season prior only to "die" in a volcano, and Howie Gordon returned to keep Dr. Will Kirby from taking control of the future. Man, this show is just so weird sometimes. I almost feel bad for the Survivor fans tuning in.
Maybe the solution is to do some competition that involves multiple Houseguests. I'm not sure they can realistically get "every" Houseguest from the past in one segment, but I'd applaud the effort to try. Maybe even get superfan James Gunn to direct a special intro to the episode or something! He might just do it, especially since he didn't get to feature Rick Devens in the Superman sequel.
More to Julie's point, if they can get every Houseguest they can to gather for a group picture on the CBS lot, that would be pretty awesome. Many of these people are scattered all across the nation, so it would be no small feat to pull it off. I'd appreciate the effort, even if it was a small moment in a larger episode.
Whatever the case is, I'm excited to see a reality series like Big Brother still going strong with 1,000 episodes. The level of interest in this season so far has me thinking that this show could easily last another 1,000 episodes, especially if they keep bringing on stars from other reality franchises.
Big Brother continues on CBS on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Episodes are also on Paramount+, and those who have a subscription have commercial-free access to the live feeds! For those who don't have the money, Pluto TV is a pretty good alternative for those who don't mind ads.