CBS has revealed the full Big Brother Season 28 cast, introducing 14 new housemates in a live stream as the long-running competition turns to a Time Trip theme. Ashley Trail, 24, of Chicago, Illinois, is among the players now headed into the house, where they will compete for a $750,000 cash prize under constant surveillance.
The reveal gives the season a clear shape before the first door closes. It also answers the question fans were already asking in searches for Big Brother ahead of the premiere: who is in, when it starts and what changes this year. The cast includes Ashley Trail, Barrett Pfeiffer, Chuk Anyanwu, Drew Campbell, Haley Thogmartin, Jason de Puy, Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk, LaTrice Verrett, Lyric Medeiros, Mallory Aurichio, Melody Morris, Rome Seymour and Taylor Brown, with Julie Chen Moonves presenting the lineup.
Big Brother Season 28 premieres Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS with a special 90-minute episode, followed by Big Brother: Unlocked on Friday, July 10, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The live feeds then go live Friday, July 10, at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT on Paramount+, Pluto and YouTube, and a second 90-minute episode airs Sunday, July 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. If you are looking for the season launch schedule, CBS has already put the answer in one place, including the July 9 start that was also set out in coverage of when Big Brother 2026 starts and the separate cast reveal stream that aired on YouTube at noon ET.
What the cast list does not spell out is just as telling. CBS has hinted at a mix that includes an MMA fighter, a rocket scientist, a game show host, a vineyard executive, the daughter of an ’80s pop star and a Drag Race All-Star, but the live reveal did not match those descriptions to each player in the first pass. That leaves viewers with a cast they know by name, but not yet by the full mix of roles and backstories the game seems built to exploit.
That gap is part of the appeal. Big Brother is not just returning with a prize and a theme; it is asking a new group of housemates to live on camera, sort out alliances in public and do it fast once the premiere week begins. The identities are set. The game starts next.
