Julie Chen Moonves Breaks Down How ‘Big Brother’s AI Twist Will Change Season 26 (Exclusive)

Julie Chen Moonves is teasing the unexpected twists that AI is bringing to Big Brother!

Ahead of season 26, the iconic host sat down with ET and dished on what she’s deemed “BBAI” and why fans should planned on being shocked by the upcoming antics.

“With AI people are like, ‘Oh gosh is it gonna turn evil?’ Well, who knows in the hands of Big Brother,” Moonves teased to ET’s Nischelle Turner. “We are leaning into the madness but giving it our own special sauce.”

While the angle BBAI is set to bring some thrills, Mooves promises that it’s still going to be fun, in the show’s traditional sense. However, the contestants should be a little afraid. 

“You know, angle to it which means it’s gonna be funny,” she said. “It’s gonna be tongue and cheek. It’s going to be a little bit scary. But not at our expense. At the expense of the houseguests. Look, it’s been on for 26 seasons, these houseguests are experts, they’re like, ‘Oh it’s week number five, that means they’re gonna do the double eviction or the golden, the platinum.’ So we have to crank it up a little bit.”

She added, “So with AI, all bets are off.”

The contestants are going to have to be on the lookout for AI whenever they are in the house. But in particular, the bedroom for the losers.

“In the bedrooms for example, like the Have Not room is always, you know, three or four houseguests who lose some sort of competition have to be really uncomfortable. We’ve had dental chairs that they’ve had to sleep in, and like the bright lights on. I happen to like it,” Moonves shared.

She added, “We have one bedroom where it’s like, ‘Oh no, AI, never BBAI, something went wrong, the bedroom didn’t get completed.’ I think the beds look like coffins. Actually, you know what they look like? They look like, you know, when you see at a concert the set up and like they’re wheeling in the equipment it’s just like a big black box and there’s audio stuff, it looks like they’re sleeping on a big black audio box, but AI made it look pretty ’cause there are green lines on it. Then there’s also BBAI bedrooms that are gorgeous. One looks like, I think we’re calling it like Fairy Tale Fantasy Land. There are unicorns, it looks like a fairytale, a forest. If I were a little girl, I’m like, this is my dream bedroom.”

After 26 seasons, Moonves knows the key to Big Brother‘s staying power — the contestants. 

“I think it’s all about the casting and the houseguests,” she told ET. “Each year you meet a new group of people that you either fall in love with or maybe they get under your skin, but you can’t turn away. It’s the casting and the structure of the game. Sixteen strangers having to live together in a combined space. I mean, we don’t even have to have a competition, that’s gonna be interesting for me to watch. Seeing the mix, whether it’s love, fighting, laughter, tears, all of it. You get invested. You laugh with them, you cry with them, you scream at the television.”

Big Brother premieres July 17 on CBS.

 

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