But first … is Julie Chen out at Big Brother? The host’s role is up in the air, and she may be hanging up her hat as the host of the CBS reality show after season 20. Chen, 48, officially quit The Talk on Tuesday, September 18, a week after the network fired her husband Les Moonves, who served as CEO and chairman.
Moonves was accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct and has denied all claims made against him. However, since the allegations began, Chen has stayed by his side, even making a statement by signing off of Big Brother as “Julie Chen Moonves” in her first appearance following his firing.
While Chen announced she was leaving The Talk to “spend more time at home with my husband and our young son,” she did not reveal if she’d return to future seasons of Big Brother.
The 20th installment of the series is currently airing and she expected to finish out the season, which ends on Wednesday, September 26.
However, an insider close to the show tells Us Weekly that a decision has not yet been made yet about future seasons. While we hear some production members are hoping Chen remains on the show, the network has also been quietly putting out feelers should Chen not return.
The source tells Us that names such as season 2 winner Dr. Will Kirby, Celebrity Big Brother runner-up Ross Mathews and Big Brother Canada host Arisa Cox have all been thrown around. Meanwhile a second insider claims the network will likely seek a bigger name and even possibly rebrand the show completely.
Big Brother airs on CBS Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
