CBS All Access’ First Original Series, a Digital-Only Big Brother Spinoff, Premieres Sept. 28

CBS All Access certainly isn't taking it easy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. One day after rolling out an ad-free version of its streaming service, the company has announced the premiere date and title of its first original series, a digital-only spinoff of Big Brother. Big Brother: Over the Top will begin streaming live exclusively on CBS All Access on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The 10-week season of the reality competition series will be hosted by Julie Chen, who also emcees the broadcast version that will continue airing each summer. The premiere comes just one week after Big Brother's 90-minute Sept. 21 Season 18 finale on CBS, and will give CBS and CBS All Access ample opportunities to market the new series to Big Brother viewers. "[The digital series] reimagines the Big Brother format for multiplatform audiences," CBS All Access said in a release. "Fans will have more opportunities to engage with the houseguests, while also having access to all the Big Brother interactive features they love—24/7 live feeds, chat and impact votes, plus a weekly one-hour episode with live evictions and more." The last remaining houseguest will receive a $250,000 grand prize, half the amount offered on the broadcast version of the show. "With the unique streaming format, not only will viewers get to see everything play out live, including ceremonies and competitions, the audience will also participate in the show like never before," said executive producer Allison Grodner in a statement. "Each week will offer unprecedented interactive opportunities that will have an immediate impact on the game." Marc DeBevoise, CBS Interactive president and COO, told Adweek Big Brother: Over the Top will make the 24/7 live camera feeds, which have been "a tremendous success" with CBS All Access subscribers, "a core part" of the show. Big Brother: Over the Top is CBS All Access' first original scripted series, with a new series rolling out each quarter over the next year. A new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery, is coming in January, followed next spring by a spinoff of The Good Wife, starring Christine Baranski. As it tries to entice viewers to sign up for its original content, CBS All Access announced an ad-free version of the service on Wednesday that will cost $4 more per month, bringing the monthly total to $9.99. But subscribers on the ad-free tier will still see ads when watching the livestream of their local CBS station as well as up to 30 seconds of promos per half-hour on some episodes. CBS All Access, which launched in 2014, already has around 1 million subscribers paying $5.99 a month, CBS Corp. chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves said on July's earnings call, "well ahead of where we thought we'd be at this point in the game."

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CBS All Access’ First Original Series, a Digital-Only Big Brother Spinoff, Premieres Sept. 28

One week after original's season finale on CBS

Jason Lynch

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Jason Lynch