Yes — is Big Brother on tonight, and CBS has it set for Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. That weekly schedule is the fastest way to check when the show is on without guessing from the premiere chatter.
Thursday, July 9 brought the bigger season 28 twist: Rachel Reilly showed up during the premiere, entered the house for a challenge, and then posted afterward, “I'm here. I'm alive. That was a crazy experience,” on Instagram. She also wrote, “Now, I can officially say that I have never been evicted from the Big Brother house for two seasons in a row.”
Big Brother season 28 premiere
The premiere did more than bring Reilly back. Julie Chen Moonves announced that Survivor's Rick Devens and Big Brother alum Angela Murray would be joining the show, turning the opening night into a cast-change episode rather than a routine season launch. For viewers tracking tonight’s episode, the practical point is simple: the franchise is airing on its regular CBS nights at 8:00 p.m. ET, with the season 28 surprise now part of the setup.
Reilly's return also carried the show's own history with it. She won Big Brother season 13 in 2011, first competed in season 12, and met Brendon Villegas there before they tied the knot in 2012. She and Villegas also competed on The Amazing Race in 2012, and she later returned for season 27.
Rachel Reilly and the volcano
That season 27 run ended after she failed to complete the White Locust challenge in time, so the new premiere staged a pointed callback: Reilly was pushed by a velociraptor into a volcano. After the show, she said, “So, the volcano was extremely hot,” and added, “It was much better than the White Locust because that was horrible.”
Julie Chen Moonves also played up the contradiction in the stunt, joking that Reilly may have made the lava her minions, faked her own death, had Brendon in the dinosaur suit, and is coming back for revenge on Angela for celebrating her demise. She said she was wondering if Angela Murray will be this season's version of Rachel Reilly from last year, and called Murray’s arrival “like a rock star surprising their fans.”
For anyone checking schedules tonight, the answer is already on the board: Big Brother airs on CBS Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and Paramount+ carries the episodes for streaming. The premiere’s twist leaves one unresolved beat in the season 28 rollout — which reality TV legend will take Reilly’s spot in the next episode.
