Big Brother Season 25 isn't too far off, and we're even closer to the anniversary special where we'll learn much more about the season than we currently know. Ahead of that special, however, we might've learned that a classic fan-favorite feature is headed back to the game and it's all thanks to Julie Chen Moonves. The host made a post on Twitter that felt like a hint we could see the key wheel make its grand return in this landmark season.
Julie Chen Moonves tweets a lot when it's close to Big Brother season, and her posts are almost always vague and cryptic. One month after her mysterious emoji post, Chenbot decided to reference the key wheel on Twitter, which seemed like an interesting thing to do considering this season will honor the past of the CBS reality series:
do you remember pic.twitter.com/UuTX54c69mJuly 17, 2023
The key wheel was an important part of Big Brother throughout a bulk of its run, but hasn't been seen since Season 15. For those who weren't watching during that time or have forgotten, the key wheel involved the Head of Household putting the keys of every Houseguest but the two nominees into the wheel. The HOH would then pull the first name, and the person drawn would pull another key and this would continue until no keys were left and the two nominees found out they were on the block.
The key wheel delivered a level of tension to the process that I feel is lacking during the modern nomination ceremonies. The anticipation, paired with the prolonged time at the table waiting in suspense, kept Houseguests wondering if they can trust their alliance members or others in the house. It certainly was more tense than what we see currently, which is just the HOH turning two keys and quickly ending the nomination ceremony usually after saying the nominations were "nothing personal."
While Julie Chen Moonves' tweet does nothing to explicitly indicate the key wheel is coming back in Season 25, it is worth noting she's a confirmed fan of it. The Big Brother host confessed in an interview with EW in 2022 that she missed the key wheel and spoke about the things she liked about it:
I loved how each houseguest had to pull one key out to reveal who was the next person given safety. It was like getting an invitation to the ball. The suspense was amazing. I loved that whole ceremony.
Is it possible that Julie Chen Moonves' love of the key wheel reached the ears of Big Brother's producers? I'm hoping so because seeing little changes like this to honor past seasons would be just what I need to really appreciate the long road this series has traveled.
Big Brother Season 25 can't arrive soon enough because the rumor mill is out of control. There are whispers that those with a Paramount+ subscription won't have as much access to live feeds in the future and that the show is looking to do daily content releases instead like Big Brother Canada did in its season. Fortunately, it seems like feeds are safe for this season, and we even received confirmation we'll get a live move-in special! That means the odds are high for Night One feeds, so fingers crossed that will be the case for years to come.
Catch the premiere of Big Brother Season 25 on CBS on Wednesday, August 2nd, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Those who can't possibly wait that long can tune in for the anniversary special on CBS on Wednesday, July 26th at 9:00 p.m. ET.
