CBS is extending the Big Brother franchise into the regular September-May season with plans for its first celebrity edition of the show set to air this winter.
The move marks the first time the housebound reality-competition series has aired outside of the summer months since 2008, when CBS fired up a special edition of the show to help fill the primetime void during the 100-day writers strike.
The cast for the show has yet to be announced. Julie Chen will be back in her regular role as host. The CBS-owned cabler Pop TV will again carry the live companion show “Big Brother After Dark,” offering an unfiltered feed of the goings-on in the house during the late-night hours.
“ Big Brother has been dominating pop culture throughout its 19 seasons, and it is exciting to grow the franchise with the first-ever celebrity edition in the U.S.,” said longtime “Big Brother” executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan.
