'Big Brother' Host Julie Chen Moonves Reveals What the "Big Holiday Surprise" Is

The Gist:

• The long-awaited Big Brother 25 finale ended with details of what Julie Chen Moonves called a "big holiday surprise."
• It's something from the Big Brother universe that fans haven't had before.
• The fans speculated there would be a winter season full of Big Brother legends.

At long last, the Big Brother 25 finale came and went. The latest season of the reality competition series is the longest installment to date, with the final three houseguests staying in the Big Brother house for 100 days straight. But finally, the end is here — and we were more than ready to crown the winner, which we now know is Jag.

Everyone knows a Big Brother finale means the show takes off several months until the following summer — or does it? As it turns out, longtime host Julie Chen Moonves had a "big holiday surprise" in store for the fans! And at the end of the finale, she revealed what it is. Read on for all the known details, including what this highly anticipated announcement could mean for the show's future.

At the end of the Big Brother 25 finale, Julie addressed the fans and revealed a new series of sorts from "The Big Brother universe." As it turns out, the holiday surprise is a short winter season of Big Brother called Reindeer Games. The series lasts just six episodes and premieres on Dec. 11.

Ahead of the announcement, fans had been hearing the rumors for weeks about a mini season of the show, and since there is still a long delay in WGA and SAG-AFTRA productions, CBS is likely relying on another Big Brother season to fill up the empty time slots.

Since learning about the "big holiday surprise," superfans speculated that a season full of Big Brother legends was imminent. Many former legendary houseguests had been teasing their long-awaited comebacks, including Season 10 winner Dan Gheesling and Season 24 winner Taylor Hale.

In response to a November 2023 article about Julie teasing a possible "Legends" season, Dan tweeted, "Is it time to go back one more time? Y or N?" Um, yes, please! We would love to see Dan back in the Big Brother house!

Taylor also responded, simply writing, "Could be fun" alongside the eyes and person shrugging emojis.

In November 2023, Julie spoke with Entertainment Weekly and teased an upcoming winter season. She was adamant that it wouldn't consist of celebrities and hinted that it would instead be full of Big Brother legends.

"I don't think a celebrity run will happen," she told the outlet. "But maybe we will have a month's worth that is special in its own way. Maybe you bring back Legends, for those are the real Big Brother celebrities."

The host added, "They could play a fast, one-month version. Or maybe we get three months' worth starting in January or February. Even if the strike ended right now, nothing's going to go into production until January, so maybe you do need a month's worth of Big Brother just to fill."

Big Brother's Reindeer Games features nine former houseguests, including one from Season 25. And it's just what fans need, going into the holiday season.