Big Brother: Reindeer Games is a spin-off show that debuted last winter on CBS.
The show brought back nine familiar Big Brother alums to compete for a cash prize during an abbreviated season.
A $100,000 prize was on the line, and many alums jumped at the chance to return to the Big Brother house for a few days.
The players included BB22 winner Cody Calafiore, BB24 winner Taylor Hale, BB23 winner Xavier Prather, BB19 winner Josh Martinez, and BB18 winner Nicole Franzel.
All challenges had holiday themes, and fellow alums also returned as hosts. Derek Xiao (BB23), Tiffany Mitchell (BB23), and Jordan Lloyd (BB11 winner) served as the co-hosts and elves.
Nicole won the first season of Big Brother: Reindeer Games, making her the first two-time winner of the Big Brother US shows.
The first season’s success led fans to hope a second Reindeer Games would happen this winter.
Big Brother producers have some bad news on Reindeer Games
Big Brother: Reindeer Games will not return this winter. The sad news is that the spin-off couldn’t find a spot on the CBS primetime schedule.
“Because we started so late this season and CBS’ fall schedule starts so late this season, everything just pushes back,” Executive Producer Rich Meehan told Entertainment Weekly.
“So if there’s not airtime, there’s not much you can do for that,” he added.
Indeed, Big Brother 26 began later and the season ended later than usual. CBS also re-started many of its primetime shows later in the fall, leading to a backlog of episodes for those programs.
This is all very unfortunate because the interest was there to have Big Brother: Reindeer Games 2.
Reindeer Games is not canceled
The good news is that CBS did not cancel Reindeer Games. The show won’t be on this winter, but could return next winter.
Hopefully, CBS and the Big Brother producers work together to bring it back next year. That also gives them time to make it even better and include someone from the Big Brother 27 cast.
Previous seasons of Big Brother are streaming on Paramount+.
Big Brother 27 airs on CBS during the summer of 2025.
