Following one of the most eventful seasons in all of Big Brother history, records were set last night when the jury of 7 crowned, Chelsie Baham, winner of #BB26 in a unanimous vote (the first woman in a regular season of Big Brother to accomplish such a feat). In a summer full of blindsides, drama, and strategy, Chelsie cemented her status as a BB legend with gameplay that paralleled the likes of fellow BB winners Dan Gheesling and Derrick Levasseur. And for the first time in over 13 years, audiences were able to witness an all women final 2, which has not been done since Rachel Reilly and Porsche Briggs sat together at the season finale of BB13.
To say this was a summer for the women would be an understatement, as the ladies of #BB26 were in power for a majority of the season — with only 20% of the HOH competitions being won by men. Not to worry however, because the men of the season also made their mark, represented by another record-breaking event with, Tucker Des Lauriers, being the first pre-juror to ever win America’s Favorite Player — also joined by Quinn Martin and Angela Murray in the top 3 houseguests voted for the AFP prize.
In more breaking news for the BB community, fans were left feeling bittersweet when former Big Brother winner, Dr. Will Kirby, decided to step down as host of the jury roundtable after over a decade. With the position now up for grabs, speculation surrounding who would replace Kirby surplussed prior to finale night where we learned that recent winner and BB legend, Taylor Hale, would step in as the new host of the jury-round table. For many of us, this news came as a cherry on top of a wonderful season, where we got to see Taylor sit down with the evicted houseguests to discuss the merits of the final 2 houseguests.
Unfortunately for the BB27 cast, this season of #BB26 will be forever remembered as not only one of the best seasons of the show’s modern era, but also arguably one of the best seasons of Big Brother as a whole. From the veto being used every week with the exception of one the entire season, to the insane female dominance in competitions, and the drama/blindsides around every corner- this summer of Big Brother will truly go down as one of the messiest and most entertaining seasons to watch with an amazing winner top it all off- Chelsie Baham. Considering the success of the implemented AI-arena and other twists, it will be interesting to see how production will raise the bar to match the crazy energy that was given to us throughout #BB26. As we anticipate another season of Big Brother next summer, there will be much to look back on as we begin to reflect and reminisce on the amazing experience that was, Big Brother Season 26.
