'Big Brother Reindeer Games' Might Be a One-Season Spinoff for the Reality Show

When Big Brother rolled out an unexpected spinoff in late 2023 called Reindeer Games, it was kind of the perfect way to end the year for some fans. While the first season lasted just a few weeks and contained a different kind of game with houseguests not required to live in the BB house, it was a fast-paced and fun game to watch. But after CBS announced that it's not airing in late 2024, is Big Brother Reindeer Games canceled?

When it comes to different iterations of the long-running reality competition show, never say never. But sometimes, there appears to be a need to take a season or two off before bringing them back, like Celebrity Big Brother. Is that the case for Reindeer Games? Fans are hopeful that they haven't seen the end of it after just one season of the competition.

So far, no one from CBS has announced that Big Brother Reindeer Games is canceled. Unfortunately, it still isn't part of the fall lineup before 2024 is over, but it isn't gone forever. For what it's worth, however, Big Brother producers enjoy doing the holiday-themed competition show, so it's unlikely that it's canceled, even if executives can never guarantee a yearly season.

"Reindeer Games is one of our favorite things that we've done recently," executive producer Rich Meehan told Entertainment Weekly." It was really fun and we thought it worked really well,"

Longtime executive producer Allison Grodner echoed that sentiment to the outlet when she revealed that a lot of Big Brother fans had hoped the AI helper Jankie from Season 25 would announce a new season at the end of the Season 25 finale. But, as viewers know, that didn't happen.

Unlike Big Brother, which has a place in the CBS primetime lineup whether it premieres early or late in the summer, Reindeer Games doesn't get that kind of priority scheduling. And the reason it's not happening in 2024 all boils down to what is airing on CBS and what there isn't room for. Which, in this case, is Big Brother Reindeer Games.

Meehan told Entertainment Weekly, "Because we started so late this season and CBS' fall schedule starts so late this season, everything just pushes back. So if there's not airtime, there's not much you can do for that."

The first season of Reindeer Games included memorable veteran players like Nicole Franzel-Arroyo, Taylor Hale, and Xavier Prather. The competition was filmed over the course of several days and did not include live feeds or live episodes like the OG Big Brother. But in that way, Reindeer Games was a bit easier to keep up with and almost felt like a more light-hearted version of Big Brother. And fans are hopeful that it will return in the future.