Big Brother season 26 is just on the horizon, and with a new teaser being released, speculation has begun overwhat the new theme of the summer-long reality TV competition will be. Throughout its run, the CBS reality show has adopted many themes, typically allowing for new Big Brother twists and turns. As its motto is “expect the unexpected,”Big Brother prides itself on creating waves in the competition, making it more difficult for the houseguests to get to the end of the summer intact. With Big Brother season 26’s premiere coming soon, the next theme could be something shocking.
After a brand-new teaser was released for Big Brother 26 (via @itsbbplus on X), rumors are starting to spread over what the newest theme of the series could be. In the teaser, host Julie Chen says that viewers should expect the unexpected this season before some of the most legendary Big Brother houseguests are heard sharing memorable lines over a hum of classical music. Big Brother legends like Dan Gheesling, announcing his Big Brother funeral, and Rachel Reilly, asking floaters to grab a life vest, are heard as the words “This Summer, These Walls Will Talk” scroll over the screen.
A computerized quality has been filtered over the former houseguests, and at the end of the teaser, the robot-esque voice announces Big Brother 26’s July 17 premiere date. Fans are already speculating on social media that the computerized voice along with the Big Brother legends in the teaser could hint at this season’s potentially futuristic theme. With other competition series utilizing AI in their games, it’s possible Big Brother 26 could be doing the same in an innovative way.
Do Big Brother Themes Impact The Game?
Several Big Brother Themes Have Fallen Flat
While Big Brother has nearly always had themes from season to season, there have been some that suit the game better than others. For Big Brother 26, the potential theme of artificial intelligence (AI) could be an interesting way to impact the game from the inside out, but with uncertainty surrounding what the twists and turns could look like, it’s unclear what will happen. In the past several seasons, Big Brother has featured themes that have fallen flat, like Big Brother season 25’s multiverse theme, Big Brother 24’s festival season theme, and Big Brother 23’s beach house theme.
While there have been some themes that don’t work, others have fit seamlessly into the series. Earlier seasons of the show featured themes surrounding broader concepts, like Big Brother 5’s Project DNA, which reunited two long-lost siblings, and Big Brother 14’s coaches concept, which brought legendary players back into the game to coach new houseguests. Many Big Brother themes become null and void after just a few weeks of competition, which can cause them to be forgettable, but those that are able to weave their way throughout the summer can change the game entirely.
As Big Brother 26 gets closer, speculation will continue to grow about what the big twists of the season will entail. With a promo finally reigniting the conversation surrounding what people expect from the season, it’s possible that the new theme of the gamecould change everything fans know and love about Big Brother itself. Though the theme of artificial intelligence or futurism hasn’t been confirmed, it seems likely that Big Brother 26 will incorporate some element of technology viewers haven’t seen from the show before.