Considering that Big Brother has been going strong now for 26 seasons over 24 years, it stands to reason that there will be a lackluster season or two among the bunch. In fact, there are more than a few seasons that aren’t as great as others. That might be because of the lack of drama or houseguests that don’t bring that positive, competitive spirit. Thankfully, the current season 26 so far has all the elements fans love, suggesting it will rank among the best.
Most of the worst seasons of Big Brother hail from the later years, but a few are from the first half of the show’s run. These seasons rank at the bottom for various reasons, coming down to houseguests, controversies, or strange twists that didn’t quite work. In each case, there was a bit of magic missing compared to the best seasons of Big Brother.
10Season 20
2018
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There was real potential in season 20, especially with stand-out players like Tyler Crispen. He quickly emerged as a dominating force and strategic player, but his energy was met by others like Kaycee Clark, Brett Robinson, and Bayleigh Dayton. Battles, however, started to get personal and fights overly dramatic. Bayleigh’s argument with Tyler got so heated, in fact, that her mouth started bleeding.
This season had some problematic issues relating to derogatory comments about race and inappropriate behavior, not to mention the worst alliance name ever, with FOUTTE. Terrible moves in the game, like Kaitlyn Herman blindsiding and evicting her own alliance member for no good reason and Angela “Rockstar” Lantry helping another player in the OTEV competition contributed to this season being near the bottom. Plus, who can forget the creepy twist that had emotional player Sam Bledsoe playing the first week as robot, sequestered from the others while she communicated through a moving robot with a screen. It seemed like only a handful of players actually came to play this season, and others were just along for the ride.
9Season 25
2023
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Season 25 made history with Jag Bains becoming not only the first-ever Sikh-Punjabi contestant to play but also win the game; and Matt Klotz as the first deaf contestant on the show. The season was rife with criticism, however, from the highly physical nature of the competitions that seemed to favor the younger, fitter players to the inclusion of Survivor legend Cirie Fields in the house, secretly playing with her son Jared Fields, though this proved to be to her detriment, not help.
There were backstabs and dumb moves that made it clear many of the players weren’t familiar with the game. Even the competitions and punishments were odd, like one that saw fluorescent gas emitting from players’ rear ends when they bent over. Cameron Hardin, the one stand-out superfan, was put in tough positions and his game blew up far sooner than it should. Once he went home, fans declared the season had been boring.
8Season 18
2016
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There was a lot going on in season 18, and not in a good way. The show tried to mix things up by combining new and returning players. Nicole Franzel got into yet another showmance, one of the most used words in Big Brother terminology. Some new players were related to former players, like Cody Calafiore’s brother Paulie Calafiore and Vanessa Rousso’s sister, Tiffany Rousso. There was Jozea Flores, who thought himself something of a god in the game when he was nothing of the sort (and was voted out early). And Michelle “Big Meech” Meyer, who would not stop crying. The America’s Care Packages twist just seemed like it was designed to give unfair advantages to players.
Overall, the season featured a lot of unlikable cast members, so there wasn’t really someone fans could root for to win. In fact, even the person who arguably should have won, Paul Abrahamian, didn’t because the jury was so bitter by his cut-throat strategy, lack of social game, and inability to own up to his moves.
7Season 13
2011
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There was a lot that was unfair about this season from the moment it started. The season brought back fan favorites (and pairs), Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd, Rachel Reilly and Brendan Villegas, and Danielle Briones and Dick Donato, the latter of whom had to leave early for medical reasons. It was instantly obvious that this season would be a vehicle to favor the returning players over the new ones. They had the upper hand not only by being in pairs, but also knowing one another and the game.
Not surprisingly, fans watched new player after new player was evicted week after week before ever getting to know them. With that said, those new players weren’t exactly doing much to save their games. In one of the worst, most shocking moves ever on the show, for example, Lawon Exum asked to be evicted because he was convinced that he would be brought back with special powers in the game. He was wrong.
6Season 1
2000
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The first season ranks among the worst only because of the much lower production value, fewer competitors, and the fact that the series was still trying to figure things out at this time. There were elements that didn’t work and were changed in subsequent seasons, like viewers being able to vote players out. There were a lot of segments in the show designed to fill time, especially since it was airing six times per week.
This frequency has since been cut down to three: with the 24/7 live feeds, people can tune in whenever they want. Imagine six nights a week of Big Brother, and it’s easy to see how things would get boring and monotonous. Big Brother season one is still worth watching to see what the show looked like before it developed into the series it is now. But as innovative as it was, this season was a precursor to better seasons that came after it.
5Season 22
2020
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Usually, an All-Stars season performs well. Viewers know all the players who are returning, and they are pros who bring the drama and entertainment to the show. But there was a sense right from the beginning of season 22 that it was set up to be a redemption season for Cody Calafiore. A competition beast, he memorably came in second to his best friend in the house, Derrick Levasseur, on season 16 after winning the last competition and choosing to take Derrick with him. Some commended Cody’s loyalty, others thought his decision was dumb since it sealed his second-place fate.
Not surprisingly, Cody dominated every competition in this All-Star season, winning a total of eight. He was never nominated for the block, and he won by unanimous vote. But this seemed to be written in the stars the second the season started, leaving little excitement from one week to the next, or for any competitions. The season was predictable and downright boring. The most exciting part was when Cody betrayed Nicole Franzel in the finals and took Enzo Palumbo instead, leaving her to pout in anger on the live finale.
4Season 21
2019
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The Gr8ful alliance dominated from the beginning and accomplished what fans don’t like seeing: predictable competition wins, vote-outs, and ignoring of the “non-cool kids.” The season was also rife with racist and misogynist words and actions. It led to another player, Jack Mathews, one of the meanest Big Brother players, being booed and confronted by Julie Chen when he was voted out. It was the Jackson Michie show from the beginning, and his tumultuous relationship with Holly Allen and the mean girl and guy energy throughout the house in general made the season icky.
The weird challenges and twists, and the overall summer camp theme was weird. Twists like Camp Comeback, where former players could live in the house and listen to conversations but weren’t really participating in the game, created a strange vibe. Jackson and Holly as the final two was arguably the least liked final duo ever on the show, and the jury was one of the most bitter.
3Season 19
2017
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The cast of season 19 left much to be desired. The focus quickly shifted to the return of Paul Abrahamian, who had come up short on season 18 and was named runner-up. They went in wanting to make friends, but instead, dominated the game, bullied others, and ran the house. Meanwhile, the conflict between Cody Nickson and his side of the house and others, like Josh Martinez, got heated. This is the season when Josh ran through the house banging pots and pans to annoy his rivals, which goes down in history as a memorable Big Brother moment. But it was icing on the cake of a very uncomfortably tense season.
What’s more, even the good players didn’t seem to be playing. Christmas Abbott broke her ankle early on yet was allowed to compete or sit out physical competitions she couldn’t participate in. In one instance, Paul even convinced everyone to throw the competition to them. There was a lot of Cody and Jessica Grafsnuggling, and players coupling up, like Mark Jansen and Elena Davies and Matt Clines and Raven Walton and not doing much of anything but hang out. The season was filled with delusional floaters who believed they were playing great games, resulting in Josh winning over Paul.
2Season 9
2008
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One of the earlier seasons to rank as one of the worst is so because the season may have been slightly rushed. It premiered earlier than usual to help fill programming holes in the CBS line-up caused by the Writers Guild of America strike. And the assumed lack of preparation showed. The season was racier than ever with a lot of under the sheets action caught on the live feeds and overt sexual acts, from kissing to giving one another lap dances. It didn’t seem like the same kid-friendly, fun show.
The Soulmates twist that saw players evicted in pairs seemed deeply unfair. Arguably worst of all, however, is the controversial winner, Adam Jasinski, who rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in the house and said questionable things. The feelings fans had about him were solidified when it was revealed that he was charged with drug trafficking and failing to pay income taxes on his $500,000 winnings, according to The United States Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts. Thankfully, once Big Brother returned to its regularly scheduled programming later that year, season 10 redeemed the series. That season turned out to be the best season of Big Brother to date.
1Season 15
2013
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Season 15 ranks as the worst because even if there were good competitors in the game, they were completely overshadowed by the toxic conversations and cast members. The live feeds picked up conversations involving racism, homophobia, antisemitism, misogyny, the list goes on. CBS was even forced to display a disclaimer before airing episodes and chose to air controversial footage on the edited aired episodes to spark conversation. When player Aaryn Gries was evicted, the audience booed her and host Julie Chen confronted her with some of the deplorable words she said. She was also dropped from her agency as a result of her words in the house, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, GinaMarie Zimmerman, who was also caught on camera making disgusting comments and bullied and almost got into physical altercations with others, was also let go from her job, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It's unfortunate because this season had people ready and willing to play. But the conflicting personalities and players who said shocking things made it difficult to focus on the game. Fans were also disappointed with the way the game played out when supposed “floater” Andy Herren popped up near the end to flip-flop sides and navigated his way to a win some didn’t believe he deserved.
