Big Brother Season 26 is getting closer every day, but with the two-night premiere not kicking off until mid-July, we still have weeks of waiting ahead. Fortunately, Pluto TV is stepping up in a big way for those without a Paramount+ subscription who still need the live feeds. Get ready to binge the best reality show on television because we're about to get a whole heap of it for free.
Pluto TV announced that starting July 1st, it will launch a 24/7 channel for Big Brother. This means that while people wait for a new season, they'll be able to watch classic seasons of the series for zero cost and witness some of the houseguests we'd love to see get a second chance. I'm used to expecting the unexpected when the game actually starts, so this announcement certainly caught me by surprise.
As someone who makes it an annual habit to watch at least one prior season of Big Brother, I can't express enough just how great it is to do ahead of a new season. There are so many past examples of what to and not to do when playing BB, it helps make it easier as a viewer to spot the mistakes that contestants in the new season are making early.
Of course, there's a real question of just what seasons Pluto TV will have in rotation at launch. For example, there are a lot of problematic moments that producers would probably rather we forget, and I'd be curious to know if the more controversial seasons of the reality competition will be mixed into the channel. Season 15, for example, had so much racism the show had to run a disclaimer warning viewers about content, and Houseguests lost their jobs after the game for their behavior. While it's still available to stream on Paramount+ for those who want to see it, I wonder if it'll be left out of the mix in an actual broadcasting situation.
Even iconic and beloved seasons of Big Brother have unsavory moments, and there are more than a few seasons that have aged poorly just because times have changed. Granted, I think most people who are longtime fans of the CBS series will know what they're getting into, and will understand the context of being shown these moments.
In any case, it'll be good preparation for the Big Brother season, which already has some interesting quirks going for it. We'll have a two-night premiere this season, which has left some wondering if we'll get access to the live feeds when the Houseguests first move in. I know that I'm hoping that's true, as the past few seasons have had the most entertaining stuff happen in the first few nights of the house. I'm getting antsy just thinking about it. Can it be July 1st so I can binge Big Brother to take my mind off the fact we're still waiting for a new season?
I'll be ready and watching CBS for night one of the Big Brother premiere on Wednesday, July 18th at 8:00 p.m. ET. I'm sure I won't be watching Pluto TV's 24/7 channel quite as much once the season is underway, but it'll be handy to have when the feeds go down for ceremonies and competitions!
