Julie Chen Hopes To Stick With ‘Big Brother’ But CBS Putting Out Feelers Just In Case, Reports ‘Us Weekly’


There has been a great deal of speculation among Big Brother fans regarding the future of the show. Season 20 will end in just a few days, and there are some major unknowns about what happens from there. Will host Julie Chen stick with the series? Will CBS bring it back for Season 21?

Earlier this week, Julie Chen announced that she was leaving The Talk, noting that she was focusing on her family. This exit came just days after her husband, Les Moonves, left CBS under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations. Speculation immediately started to swirl around the notion that Chen might leave Big Brother as well.

So far, Julie has been present for the live Big Brother episodes that have aired since Moonves’ exit and her Talk departure. Some media outlets have detailed that she plans to stick with the show going forward, while as the Inquisitr has noted, other supposed insiders say that she’ll announce her departure once Season 20 finishes.

According to a new report from Us Weekly, Julie seemingly wants to stay on as the Big Brother host and CBS is reportedly open to keeping her. There had been rumblings that her contract ended with Season 20, but Us Weekly says that it extends through next winter’s Celebrity Big Brother — and that it is expected that Chen will host that as planned.

Not only has Chen’s ongoing involvement been under scrutiny, the fate of the show as a whole has also been undetermined. So far, CBS has not formally announced that they’ll bring back Big Brother for Season 21. During Thursday night’s show, the network hyped that they are starting the casting process for Season 21. That may not be a formal confirmation, but it looks like good news for fans.

According to Deadline, Julie’s current contract not only includes the upcoming Celebrity Big Brother season, but reportedly runs through the fall of 2019. That would mean that she’s already committed to Season 21 — unless either she or the network break that contract.

While both Chen and CBS seem open to keeping her on as the Big Brother host, the buzz is that the network is quietly working on backup options in case they need them. There’s been a fair amount of talk that former contestant Dr. Will Kirby could be a natural pick, and as the Inquisitr has detailed, a lot of fans seem to love that idea.

Other potential future hosts under consideration supposedly include Celebrity Big Brother runner-up Ross Mathews, along with Arisa Cox from Big Brother Canada. If CBS does end up needing a new host, it seems likely that the list of potential candidates will grow longer before a final decision is made.

Will Julie Chen stick around as the host of Big Brother and will CBS renew the series for Season 21, as is looking likely? Fans have had a blast following this current run and are hopeful that there’s plenty more yet to come.

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