Mixing newbies and returnees can provide drama… and a distinct game advantage for one side.

Should Big Brother bring back returning players for season 28?

Mixing newbies and returnees can provide drama… and a distinct game advantage for one side.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

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June 24, 2026 11:15 a.m. ET

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Taylor Hale; Keanu Soto; Angela Murray on 'Big Brother'. Credit:

CBS (2); Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty

- Rachel Reilly's return was a huge success last summer on *Big Brother*. Does this mean producers will do it again with another former player?

- Returning contestants have a huge statistical advantage over newbies. We break down the numbers.

- Do you want to see another mix of former and new players. Weigh in with *your* vote in our poll.

There was a time when *Big Brother* was obsessed with mixing new and returning players. Including the 2016 *Big Brother: Over the Top* installment that streamed on CBS All Access, six out of 10 seasons between *Big Brother 11* and *Big Brother 19* featured a mix of new and returning players.

And then, the cross-pollination came to an abrupt stop. While there was the all-returnee *Big Brother All-Stars* for season 22, CBS’ summer reality competition series was otherwise all-newbies all the time… until last summer, when the franchise decided for the first time in eight years to mix old and new contestants.

Season 13 winner Rachel Reilly shocked the *Big Brother 27* houseguests when she reentered the abode. The decision by producers to bring Rachel back ended up being a masterstroke as Iconica shook up the game and brought the much-needed drama… especially when it came to her hot-and-cold relationship with Keanu Soto.

So will *Big Brother* do it again and bring back a player or *players* for season 28?

Rachel Reilly on 'Big Brother' season 27.

Fans speculated that might be the case when CBS’ announcement on the July 9 premiere date did not contain the usual “all new Houseguests” language. And it certainly would not be surprising for producers to cash another returning player check since it paid such handsome dividends last summer in a season that was generally loved by fans (see where it placed on my *Big Brother* season rankings).

The advantage for producers in bringing back an all-star is getting a proven commodity in the house that not only knows how to play the game, but knows how to make good television as well — either through spicy confessional interviews or interactions with other cast members. If you throw a Britney Haynes or Danielle Reyes in there, you know they are going to deliver (especially if they are together while being forced to wear Christmas attire).

After the success of season 27, we asked executive producer Allison Grodner if we should expect to see more former players cohabitating with first-timers. "You never know," Grodner told ** last fall. "I mean, it worked out nicely, but we don't necessarily like to repeat ourselves all the time either. I think it was nice that there was a break and that we had complete newbie casts playing. And so it just depends."

'Big Brother' announces premiere date and a big change for season 28

'Big Brother' producers discuss potential return of more past winners (exclusive)

But is this cross-mingling fair? In 2017, I ran a statistical analysis showing how returning players on *Big Brother* and *Survivor* had a massive advantage over new contestants in terms of their probability of making it all the way to the final two or three.

Remember that run of six out of 10 seasons I mentioned when *Big Brother* mixed all-stars and newbies? It began when season 10’s Jessie Godderz returned for season 11. His stay was brief, as “Mr. PEC-Tacular” was voted out fifth by the newbies. However, that would turn out to be the *only* time in those six merged seasons when a returning player did not make it to the final two. Rachel Reilly, Dan Gheesling, Nicole Franzel, Paul Abrahamian, and Jason Roy (*Over the Top*) all made it to the very end, with Rachel and Nicole winning.

Rachel may have pulled the feat off again last summer had she not been eliminated in the controversial White Locust competition, which saw the fan favorite be ousted without a single vote cast against her.

It the seven seasons that have mixed new and old players, there have been 88 newbies and 18 returnees. Yet of the final 14 chairs on those seasons, five of them have been filled by all-stars. That means if you were a new contestant on one of those mixed installments, you had a 10 percent chance of making it to the end. If you were a returnee, however, your chances of pleading your case to the jury were almost triple that, at 28 percent. The numbers don’t lie.

Julie Chen Moonves on 'Big Brother' season 27.

Matthew Taplinger/CBS

Of course, complaints about fairness on a show in which contestants are sassed by robots and animatronics while also competing in a challenge that involves watching colored fart gas come out of people’s butts is a bit of a losing battle, but it’s still worth noting.

So the question then becomes: Is the almost guaranteed entertainment value of a returning contestant mingling among newbies worth the inherent advantage that contestant (or contestants) receive over the rest of the game board? Should producers bring back an all-star again this summer?

We’re not asking that rhetorically either. We want to know what YOU think, so use your voice to weigh in via our poll below. Would you like to see mix of new and returning players on season 28? Hit the poll to register your vote!

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