Big Brother 21 is the twenty-first season of the American version of the television reality program Big Brother. The season featured a summer camp theme. It premiered on June 25, 2019 and concluded on September 25, 2019. The 40-episode season was broadcast on CBS in the United States and Global in Canada. The show chronicles a group of contestants, known as HouseGuests, as they compete to be the last competitor remaining to win a grand prize of .
Over the course of the season, the HouseGuests participated in a series of competitions to win power and safety to avoid being eliminated, referred to as "evicted". In the finale episode, previous nine evicted HouseGuests, known as the Jury, voted on who they thought should win the game out of the last two HouseGuests remaining. The HouseGuest who received the most votes would be declared the winner. Prior to the live finale, a public vote is held to determine who would win the title America's Favorite HouseGuest and a prize of . Jackson Michie was declared the winner of the season in a 6–3 jury vote over Holly Allen while Nicole Anthony won the public vote for America's Favorite HouseGuest.
Despite receiving negative reviews from fans and critics, on September 5, 2019, CBS confirmed that the series was renewed for a twenty-second season.
Format Big Brother follows a group of contestants, known as HouseGuests, who live inside a custom-built house outfitted with cameras and microphones recording their every move 24 hours a day. The HouseGuests are sequestered with no contact with the outside world. During their stay, the HouseGuests share their thoughts on their day-to-day lives inside the house in a private room known as the Diary Room. Each week, the HouseGuests compete in competitions to win power and safety inside the house. At the start of each week, the HouseGuests compete in a Head of Household (abbreviated as "HOH") competition. The winner of the HoH competition is immune from eviction and selects two HouseGuests to be nominated for eviction. Six HouseGuests are then selected to compete in the Power of Veto (abbreviated as "PoV") competition: the reigning HoH, the nominees, and three other HouseGuests chosen by random draw. The winner of the PoV competition has the right to either revoke the nomination of one of the nominated HouseGuests or leave them as is. If the veto winner uses this power, the HoH must immediately nominate another HouseGuest for eviction. The PoV winner is also immune from being named as the replacement nominee. On eviction night, all HouseGuests vote to evict one of the nominees, though the Head of Household and the nominees are not allowed to vote. This vote is conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household casts the tie-breaking vote. The nominee with the most votes is evicted from the house. The last nine evicted HouseGuests comprise the Jury and are sequestered in a separate location following their eviction and ultimately decide the winner of the season. The Jury is only allowed to see the competitions and ceremonies that include all of the remaining HouseGuests; they are not shown any interviews or other footage that might include strategy or details regarding nominations. The viewing public is able to award an additional prize of by choosing "America's Favorite HouseGuest". All evicted HouseGuests are eligible to win this award except for those who either voluntarily leave or are forcibly removed for rule violations.
Format changes and additions Over the course of the game, several changes to the format were introduced.
Camp Director On the first premiere night, Julie announced that the HouseGuests would vote for a Camp Director. That person would be safe from the first eviction as well, but they had to select four HouseGuests to "banish". Those four HouseGuests would then compete to stay in house. The three winners would go back into the house while the loser stayed banished and did not return. Michie was elected Camp Director and banished Cliff, David, Jessica, and Kemi. David lost the competition and was evicted.
Whacktivity Competition On the second premiere night, Julie announced the Whacktivity Competition where a game-changing twist would be unleashed onto the house. Every week for the first three weeks, five designated HouseGuests, unless previously evicted (denoted with strikethrough text), would play in the competition to win a special power in the house. Week Theme Players(winner in green) Whacktivity Power Name Description Outcome 1 Nightmare Cliff Nightmare Power During the night, Ovi can secretly wake up the house and call a new Nomination Ceremony, with the Head of Household naming two new nominees. The original nominees would have immunity for the week. The power is able to be used for the first six Nominations. Not used(Evicted) Isabella Kathryn Nicole Ovi 2 Chaos Holly Chaos Power After chips have been drawn for a Veto player draw, Jack can force a re-draw for the players. This power can only be used once and is able to be used until there are six players left in the game. Used in Week 4Holly, Jessica, Sam↓Analyse, Kathryn, Sam Jack Michie Sam Tommy 3 Panic Analyse Panic Power At any of the next four Power of Veto Ceremonies, Christie can turn the Golden Power of Veto into a Diamond Power of Veto, which will allow its holder to pull someone off the nomination block and then, instead of the Head of Household naming the replacement nominee, the Veto holder names the replacement. Not used(Expired) Christie Jessica Nick
Camp Comeback During the first live eviction show, Julie announced to the audience that the first person voted out of the game would not go anywhere. After revealing Ovi's eviction, the HouseGuests were told that the evicted HouseGuest would not leave the house as normal, but live inside the house as part of Camp Comeback. At this time, David returned to the house. One of the first four HouseGuests to be eliminated would win their way back into the game. The evicted HouseGuests would not compete in competitions or ceremonies and would sleep in a special bedroom. The four HouseGuests, David, Ovi, Kemi, and Cliff, competed immediately after Cliff's eviction on Day 30. Cliff won and made his way back into the game, while David, Ovi, and Kemi were forced to immediately leave the house for good.
This twist also postponed Have-Nots as the Have-Not room was being used by the HouseGuests in Camp Comeback.
America's Field Trip A twist called America's Field Trip was teased at the end of the July 25, 2019 eviction episode. On the August 1, 2019 eviction episode, it was revealed that America would vote for three HouseGuests who would compete against one another, with the winner being given immunity for the week, the runner-up being given a punishment and the loser being a third nominee. Should this third nominee be vetoed, no replacement nominee would be named, with only the HoH's two nominees facing the eviction vote. Voting for America's Field Trip opened shortly after the twist was revealed on the August 1, 2019. Voting closed on August 9, 2019, with the competition taking place shortly after. That same day, Analyse, Christie and Michie were voted in to compete in the competition. Michie won, meaning he was immune from eviction for that week. Analyse was the runner-up and received a punishment. Christie lost and was nominated as the third nominee.
Prank Week During the eviction episode on August 23, it was revealed that Prank Week would take place during Week 9 in the House.
America's Prankster The main feature of the week was America's Prankster twist. The HouseGuest voted as "America's Prankster" anonymously nominated one HouseGuest for eviction at the Nomination Ceremony, leaving the Head of Household with only one nomination. If their nominee is taken off the block by the Power of Veto, they will also anonymously name the replacement during the Veto Meeting. Holly, as Head of Household, was not eligible to be voted for America's Prankster. Voting opened for America's Prankster on August 22, 2019 at 6:30 pm PT (9:30 pm ET) and closed on August 23, 2019 at 9:00 am PT (12:00 pm ET). Nick won and, on Day 66, nominated Christie.
Other Pranks Big Brother also played various pranks on the HouseGuests and the viewers during the week that did not affect the game. The pranks of Prank Week included: BB Birdwatching Tour: Big Brother made the HouseGuests stay up during the night with the "Big Brother Birdwatching Audio Tour" – which featured bird sounds and the names of birds. Big Brother intended to prank them by making the HouseGuests believe that the Audio Tour would be the subject matter for the next Head of Household competition and they would stay awake to remember the Audio Tour. It wasn't until the live Head of Household competition when the HouseGuests were told that the competition would not involve the bird sounds. Pie punishment: Cliff, Jessica, and Nicole got the lowest scores in the Head of Household competition and received a punishment. Periodically throughout the day or night, Big Brother would call Cliff, Jessica, and Nicole to make a pie and throw it in the face of either themselves or another HouseGuest. Interrupted sleep: Whether it be for the pie punishment or just to mess with the HouseGuests, Big Brother would wake HouseGuests in the middle of the night. Opening sequence: At the beginning of Wednesday's episode, the starting sequence showed videos and images from last season. Slimy Veto draw: At the Veto player draw, the box that held the HouseGuests' chips was full with slime, forcing Holly, Nick, and Christie to reach into the slime to pick the Veto players. Zingbot 9000: Zingbot – the robot programmed to roast HouseGuests – made his annual visit to the house to "zing" the Final 8 HouseGuests. He made his appearance on Day 67 for the Power of Veto competition. Clown spottings: Periodically on Day 69, Big Brother had clowns appear in the many windows around the House to scare the HouseGuests.
HouseGuests
On June 10, 2019, CBS reported that the cast would be revealed on June 17, 2019 on Big Brother live feeds to viewers with a CBS All Access subscription. Jeff Schroeder returned to host pre-season interviews with the cast after being replaced by Celebrity Big Brother alumnus Ross Mathews for the previous season.
Name Age Occupation Residence Entry Result 24 Server Los Angeles, California Day 1 WinnerDay 99 31 Wine safari guide Los Angeles, California Day 99 24 Preschool aide Long Island, New York 53Petroleum engineerHouston, Texas Day 1 28 Broadway dancer Huguenot, New York 28 Boutique owner Keyport, New Jersey rowspan=2 37 Plus-size model Oak Park, Illinois 27 Therapist Sewell, New Jersey 22 College soccer star Simi Valley, California 29 Digital marketing executive Dallas, Texas 28 Fitness trainer Tampa, Florida 31 Truck driver Mountain Top, Pennsylvania 22 Public health analyst Los Angeles, California 25 Marketing strategist Brooklyn, New York Day 23 ExitedDay 30 Day 1 22 College student Knoxville, Tennessee Day 15ExitedDay 30 Day 1 29 Photographer Atlanta, Georgia Day 15ExitedDay 30 Day 1
Future appearances A month after the season ended, Jessica Milagros appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful. In 2020, David Alexander and Nicole Anthony returned as contestants for Big Brother: All-Stars. In 2022, Kathryn Dunn appeared on the fifth season of Ex on the Beach. Later that year, David Alexander competed on the first season of The Challenge: USA. Also in 2022, Analyse Talavera and Tommy Bracco competed on The Challenge: Ride or Dies as a team.
In 2025, Kat Dunn competed on The Amazing Race 38 partnered with her boyfriend. That same year, Tommy Bracco competed with his father, Phil, on the first season of 99 to Beat. In 2026, Alexander competed on the fifth season of The Floor.
Episodes
Voting history Color key: