Every Season Of Big Brother US, Ranked

Big Brother season 25’s on the horizon, and the show’s upcoming season marks its quarter-century milestone. Viewers have been anxiously awaiting the newest season, and to mark the occasion of its 25th anniversary, CBS will be airing a retrospective on the show. It’ll feature clips of never-before-seen moments from past seasons, and provide updates on some of America’s favorite houseguests, BB will be offering a look back at what the show’s been before, bringing it full circle. There will be juicy tidbits about the newest season. It’ll be exciting to look back, and learn more about Big Brother season 25.

With Big Brother season 24 getting so much buzz, the upcoming season may see many viewers returning to the show after a long break, hopeful to see the classic style of Big Brother gameplay. While the most recent season had its own controversies, its outcome was anticipated. When Taylor Hale was crowned the winner of BB season 24, after a summer filled with microaggressions from the cast, it seemed like the true spirit of Big Brother had returned in some way. With the show popular once again, it’s time to rank the past seasons.

24 Big Brother 9

Big Brother season 9 was called ‘Til Death Do You Part, and as one of the few original series airing during the 2007 Writer’s Guild of America strike, it had the potential to be a huge hit for the franchise. Coming off a few great seasons, it quickly became clear that Big Brother season 9 wasn’t going to be one for the history books. Employing the twist that each pair of contestants was competing as a couple, the season fell flat quickly. While Big Brother season 9 could’ve been one of the most successful for the franchise, it wound up being one of the least-watched seasons of the series.

23 Big Brother 19

Big Brother season 19 brought together a group of all-new personalities and included one veteran, Big Brother season 18’s Paul Abrahamian, who had been the runner-up of the season prior. In a move that felt plotted, it seemed obvious that Paul was meant to win the season, and was being edited to be the hero. While the dynamics in the rest of the cast were interesting at times, the majority of the drama in this season felt manufactured. The season wound up ending with Paul getting the second place slot for a second installment in a row, which was the only positive in a season of negatives.

22 Big Brother 17

Big Brother season 17 seemed promising prior to its release, as it was being advertised as a summer of all-new twists for the houseguests. Things were looking up, but the general feeling within the house quickly shifted from something fresh and new to something darker. The dynamics in the house were uncomfortable from the start, and with the outdated “twin twist” that played out between Liz Nolan and her twin sister Julia Nolan being less-than-exciting throughout the season, it quickly became boring to watch. The only shining light on Big Brother season 17 was Da’Vonne Rogers, who was sadly eliminated quickly.

21 Big Brother 15

Though it’s one of the least re-watchable seasons of Big Brother, due to the rampant racist remarks made throughout the summer, BB15 was one of the most competitive seasons the franchise had seen in a long stretch. While Big Brother season 15 had what appeared to be an interesting cast, including Rachel Reilly’s sister Elissa Slater, the cast wound up being the biggest issue of the season. When Big Brother season 15 houseguests like Aaryn Gries began making racist remarks towards housemates, it quickly became a highly-publicized and toxic situation, which even host Julie Chen commented on.

20 Big Brother 18

Big Brother season 18 was set up to be interesting for the series, bringing back several past house guests who hoped to compete for the prize once again. In inviting Nicole Franzel, James Huling, Da’Vonne Rogers, and Frank Eudy back, the cast had veterans in the game and did their best to rally against them. The dynamics of this season felt off quickly, especially considering the lack of diversity in the house. While there was an eventual marriage between two of the cast members from BB18, Nicole and AFP winner Victor Arroyo, their budding relationship wasn’t enough to save the lack of excitement this season brought to the table.

19 Big Brother 20

As the twentieth season of Big Brother, this season hoped to show off some of the most classic BB gameplay the show had seen in years. Unfortunately, the house guests on this season weren’t always equipped to handle the level of drama that they brought into the game. There were some standouts in this season, including runner-up Tyler Crispen who was one of the best players Big Brother had seen in years, and the drama that came from the relationship of Bayleigh Dayton and Christoper “Swaggy C” Williams, but overall it fell flat in most areas. Kaycee Clark, the winner, was predictable and overall the gameplay itself felt stilted.

18 Big Brother 5

Big Brother season 5 brought about an interesting twist, called “Project DNA” or “Do Not Assume”, which made it memorable from the start. It was quickly figured out that the first part of the twist included Michael “Cowboy” Ellis and Jennifer “Nakomis” Dedmon, who were unknowingly half-siblings. This didn’t impact the game much, but the pair did get to have an ally within the house. The second part of the twist involved twins Adria Klein and Natalie Carroll, who were switching out throughout the first weeks of competition and posing as one player. Though the twists were interesting, they didn’t impact the gameplay much and ultimately fell quite flat.

17 Big Brother 16

Big Brother season 16 had an interesting slate of house guests and should’ve been a tough competition, but ultimately fell short because of the ruling alliance in the house. In some seasons of Big Brother, it’s fascinating to see one alliance truly run their way through the house. For Derrick Levasseur and Cody Calafiore, who quickly formed The Hitmen alliance, it was uninteresting by the end to watch the duo take other players out. Derrick, who was a retired undercover cop, was able to adopt a different personality entirely in the game, but even watching him systematically make his way to the top wasn’t enough to redeem this season.

16 Big Brother 1

The original season of the series is one of its most memorable, but not one of its best. Big Brother season 1 originally aired in 2000, and quickly became a fascinating look into a social experiment for viewers who had never seen anything like it before. Though the season was interesting, it featured very little in terms of what viewers now know as Big Brother style gameplay. While it’s a big deal being the first season, it’s definitely not the shows best outing.

15 Big Brother 21

Big Brother seasons can be difficult to watch when the house splits into powerful alliances and maintains them throughout the game, but Big Brother season 21 actually did this in an interesting way, especially because the house’s most powerful alliance caved in on itself before imploding. While this season did have its faults, including some bouts of racist remarks and an overall lack of diversity, but watching the large powerful alliance in the house (Gr8ful) crumble was ultimately a fascinating look at the interpersonal dynamics at play.

14 Big Brother 23

Big Brother season 23 faced some of the standard issues of modern Big Brother, but it did feature one of the most inclusive casts in years due to the backlash CBS faced at its lack of diversity. After years of fans asking for more diversity, CBS required a minimum of 50% of the cast of the series had to be BIPOC and the change made Big Brother season 23 one of the most interesting in years. The Cookout alliance comprised of Tiffany Mitchell, Xavier Prather, Derek Frazier, Azah Awasum, Kyland Young, and Hannah Chaddha, became one of the most popular alliances in years, and ensured BB 23 would be memorable.

13 Big Brother 3

Big Brother season 3 was another shift for the series, in which the production team learned a valuable lesson in how to get the best results from their jury members. After a season that set them up with a more consistent competition, Big Brother season 3 saw people truly understanding the experiment they were walking into for the first time. The cast of Big Brother season 3 who made it far enough to become jury members were not sequestered before the finale episode, which means they were able to hear and see everything that went on throughout the season. This created a bitter jury, which ultimately skewed the end results.

12 Big Brother 13

A season of interesting connections, there were 6 veterans who joined the cast of Big Brother season 13 in pairs. Two couples, Jeff Schroeder & Jordan Lloyd and Rachel Reilly & Brendon Villegas, along with an infamous father and daughter, Evel Dick Donato and Daniele Donato, came into the house to compete for another turn on Big Brother. While Dick left the house quickly and stranded Daniele, the other pairs stuck around for the majority of the game. Though the veterans were an interesting twist, the rest of BB 13’s cast were somewhat lackluster and made it a mid season than some other Big Brother outings.

11 Big Brother 2

Big Brother season 2 revamped the series a bit, bringing in a bit more competitive style to the series that continued as it went on. Part of the charm of the show comes from the competitions and the social dynamics that come into play due to the shifting power dynamics throughout the house. While Big Brother season 1 was a look into the pure psychology of contestants living in an enclosed space for so long, Big Brother season 2 brought in different elements to change things up. With the inclusion of the first ever and most famous alliance, Chilltown, the season is infamous.

10 Big Brother 24

The most recent season of Big Brother was highly buzzed about, and it delivered on the continued promise to have a highly diverse cast. For another season, there were no former house guests in the house and this made the dynamics interesting between the brand-new cast. Though there were some issues early on with microaggressions toward Taylor Hale, the backlash surrounding the behavior was taken much more seriously than in prior seasons of Big Brother. With Taylor being crowned the winner of Big Brother season 24, it was the first season in years that the audience felt truly vindicated about.

9 Big Brother 12

After an exciting outing for the prior few seasons, Big Brother season 12 continued on the same path and was one of the most enjoyable seasons of the 2010s. Introducing viewers to Rachel and Brendon who formed a showmance quickly, BB 12 was dominated by The Brigade alliance which consisted of Matt Hoffman, Enzo Palumbo, Lane Elenburg, and Hayden Moss. Though the alliance made it close to the end in tact, it was interesting to watch the players move through the house mostly undetected throughout the season.

8 Big Brother 4

Big Brother season 4 had an interesting twist, as the contestants were competing with their exes in a twist called “the X-factor”. While the twist was developed well and played out in an interesting manner, the season fell short in terms of entertainment value at times. The dynamics between the house guests were fascinating, especially considering they were all exes. It was one of the first times that the show truly found its roots, and getting to watch Jun Song and Allison Irwin play their way through the house was incredible to watch.

7 Big Brother 14

One of the most interesting concepts for a season of Big Brother, this season proved to be one of the most intense summers the show has ever seen. Bringing in some of the best Big Brother alums as coaches, BB 14 invited back Janelle Pierzina, Britney Haynes, Mike “Boogie” Malin, and Dan Gheesling to build teams of players early on in the competition. After weeks of gameplay, the four coaches were allowed back into the game as players. Dan, as one of the greatest players in BB history, swept through the house and though he didn’t take the win for a second time, many feel he deserved it.

6 Big Brother 22

The second edition of Big Brother: All Stars, season 22 featured some of the biggest players to ever hit the BB house. Bringing back some of the biggest names in Big Brother history, the season was riddled with issues from the start. While the house guest choices were great, many of the newer BB players were quick to go after older ones, meaning fan favorites like Kaysar Rhida and Janelle Pierzina were ousted quickly and not given the opportunity to truly play the game again. While BB 22 could’ve been the All Stars that many had been waiting for, it didn’t quite live up to the hype.

5 Big Brother 8

Big Brother season 8 was directly after the first edition of Big Brother: All Stars, which made it a huge undertaking for the series as the show needed to top an incredible previous season. In order to do so, the twist involved brought past enemies of 3 house guests into the fold. Daniele and Dick, a father/daughter duo who hadn’t spoken for years prior to BB 8, were in the spotlight quickly, and the show followed their tumultuous relationship. Dick, the most volatile Big Brother house guest ever, was fascinating to watch as he moved through the house and ultimately made it into the final 2 with his daughter.