Big Brother Reindeer Games


Big Brother Reindeer Games is a reality competition television series and spin-off of the American version of Big Brother. It premiered on CBS on December 11, 2023, to December 21, 2023, and is hosted by former Big Brother HouseGuests Derek Xiao, Tiffany Mitchell, and Jordan Lloyd. The series features nine former HouseGuests competing against each other across six episodes which aired over the course of two weeks. Big Brother Reindeer Games was placed on hiatus in 2024 due to lack of scheduling availability on the network.

House

The house used for Big Brother Reindeer Games was renamed to the Santa's Lodge under the holiday-theme. The entryway of the house is decorated with flying reindeer, gold-wrapped presents, and a red flannel rug. The living room has a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments and wreaths. The kitchen, which in this season was named "Mrs. Claus Bakery", has red and green wallpaper with Christmas symbols, and gingerbread men on the counters.

Format

Each episode will consist of three games and will end in a "Santa's Showdown", the outcome of which determines the elimination of one HouseGuest. The players will not live in the BB house, will not live together, and there will be no voting off of other players. Four HouseGuest will remain in the finale with one winning a grand prize.

Format changes and additions

Unlike the previous seasons of Big Brother, Reindeer Games won't involve any nominations, house-voted evictions or live broadcasts. Instead, the nine houseguests from previous seasons would compete in a series of holiday-themed daily challenges.

Naughty and Nice Challenge

In this challenge, the houseguests would compete to gain an advantage for the next challenge, while simultaneously, giving a disadvantage for a houseguest of their choosing, also known as the Naughty List Punishment.

Jingle Bell Brawl Challenge

The winner, or winners, of this challenge, would receive safety from elimination.

Santa's Showdown

The nominees would compete against each other in various challenges to determine who would stay in the lodge and who would be eliminated from the game.
  • The losing houseguest would get to choose a present under the Christmas tree that contains gifts from a fruit cake to $5,000.

HouseGuests

The HouseGuests were revealed intermittently throughout December 6 and 7, 2023.
NameAgeOccupationResidenceResult
'
Big Brother 16, Big Brother 18 & Big Brother 22: All-Stars
31Boutique ownerUbly, MichiganWinner
Episode 6
Taylor Hale
Big Brother 24
28Motivational speakerDetroit, Michigan
'
Big Brother 16
40ActorLos Angeles, CaliforniaFinalist
Episode 6
'
Big Brother 23
29AttorneyMilwaukee, WisconsinFinalist
Episode 6
'
Big Brother 12 & Big Brother 14
36Real estate agentTulsa, OklahomaEliminated
Episode 5
'
Big Brother 19
29Content creatorMiami, FloridaEliminated
Episode 4
'
Big Brother 3 & Big Brother 7: All-Stars
51Real estate managerSan Francisco, CaliforniaEliminated
Episode 3
'
Big Brother 16 & Big Brother 22: All-Stars
32Software sales repHowell, New JerseyEliminated
Episode 2
'
Big Brother 25
34Stay-at-home dadEastman, GeorgiaEliminated
Episode 1

;Notes

Future appearances

In 2024, Josh Martinez competed on The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras. Martinez competed on the second season of the Telemundo reality TV series Los 50.
In 2025, Xavier Prather competed on season one of The Anonymous. Britney Haynes and Danielle Reyes competed on season three of The Traitors US. Martinez competed in season one of Destination X. Taylor Hale competed in The Amazing Race 38.

Episodes



Competition history

;Notes

Production

Development

In May 2023 Deadline Hollywood reported that CBS was considering an additional season of Big Brother in the 2023–24 television schedule, with "all-star contestants", to fill in gaps left by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. CBS had previously done the same with Big Brother 9 which aired in 2008 to combat the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.
Ahead of the Big Brother 25 finale in November 2023, host Julie Chen Moonves teased a "holiday surprise" from the "Big Brother universe". In an interview following the episode, Chen Moonves stated that a fourth season of Celebrity Big Brother was unlikely to happen, but noted the possibility of a shortened season with returning players. The Hollywood labor disputes were ultimately ceased with the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike ending in October, and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike ending the following month. With most scripted series set to begin filming shortened seasons in late-November and early-December, and most premiere dates not expected until 2024, there were still empty slots in the schedule.
During the Big Brother 25 finale, it was announced that a new spin-off of Big Brother would air in December titled Big Brother Reindeer Games. The series will be produced by Fly on the Wall Entertainment and Endemol Shine North America with Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan, and Chris Roach serving as executive producers, all returning from Big Brother.
In November 2024 it was announced that the series would not air a second season in December, with producers citing lack of airtime availability on CBS but remaining hopeful that it could return in the future.

Casting

The series will not feature Chen Moonves and will instead be hosted by former Big Brother HouseGuests Derek Xiao, Tiffany Mitchell, and Jordan Lloyd who will be known as "Santa's Elf Ambassadors"; Xiao and Mitchell competed on Big Brother 23, while Lloyd was on both Big Brother 11 and Big Brother 13 Additionally, nine other former contestants, including one from Big Brother 25, will return to compete.

Marketing and release

The series premiered on December 11, 2023, and was filmed in its entirety prior to its release. It will feature no live feeds. Big Brother Reindeer Games will air three episodes a week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, over two weeks, totaling six episodes before its finale on December 21. A teaser trailer was aired during the Big Brother 25 finale featuring former competitors Frankie Grande, Britney Haynes, and Danielle Reyes, and was styled off a similar teaser that opened the twenty-fifth season. Episodes from the series will also stream on Paramount+.