CBS is bringing a new original series to its All Access streaming service. Well, sort of. The network’s popular and long-running reality show Big Brother will get an additional season that will be made available strictly through the subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform, reports Deadline.
In Big Brother, a diverse group of individuals from across the U.S. enter a house and live together for three months without any access to the outside world. The entire house is outfitted with motion-detection cameras, and guests must wear mics at all times. As they participate in competitions and form strategic alliances, guests are evicted one-by-one until the half-million-dollar winner is crowned. Naturally, plenty of juicy details are revealed over the 13-14-week course of the show.
And fans have been known to crave every little one of those details. Aside from the three hours of footage, including both filmed and live, that airs over three days each week, CBS also offers access to 24/7 live feeds so you can catch up on the often mundane things the guests are doing at all hours of the day and night.
The 18th season of the show, currently airing on CBS, is set to wrap up on September 21. The 19th bonus CBS All Access season will reportedly commence shortly thereafter. It will be shorter than a typical season at just 10 weeks, and the same team that produces the broadcast version will work on its production.
What’s most interesting about this news is that not only will this be CBS All Access’ second announced original series, following Star Trek: Discovery, which is coming in January 2017, it will also mark the first reality competition series for a subscription streaming service. Netflix has already committed to offering Ultimate Beastmaster, a competition reality show produced by Sylvester Stallone. But it’s still in the filming stages.
A $5.99 per month. subscription to CBS All Access offers full current seasons of prime-time shows, with episodes available the day after they air, live-streaming of local CBS stations, full past seasons of current shows and classics, and special events broadcasts, like The Grammy Awards. And now, it appears, some more content to quench our guilty pleasure thirst for reality television.
