Jerry O’Connell has been a household name for decades thanks to his work in film and television. However, he’s gone off script for his role as “Big Brother: Unlocked” co-host for Season 28 of the CBS competition series.
“It’s just incredible in this day and age of TV to reach 1,000 episodes,” he told TheWrap ahead of the show’s upcoming milestone. “And while that’s an incredible feat, what really impresses me is that ‘Big Brother 28’ is more relevant and more popular than it has ever been. You just can’t wait for the next episode.”
“‘Big Brother’ and ‘Survivor’ are just incredible reflections of society and human interactions and human behavior,” O’Connell added. “I love a lot of unscripted television, I’ve watched a lot of unscripted television and I turn off a lot of unscripted television. Sometimes I’ll start seasons, get a few episodes in, and I’ll look around at my kids and my wife and be like, ‘I’m out. I’m not doing this. This this just isn’t interesting to me.’ But that doesn’t happen on ‘Big Brother.’”
Across 1,000 episodes, host Julie Chen Moonves has only missed one live eviction — Quinn’s in Season 26 back in 2024. Luckily, her fellow “The Talk” alum was nearby and ready to step in while she recovered from Covid-19.
“They let me know the night before: We’re going to test Queen Julie Chen Moonves tomorrow and if it’s a positive test, we need someone to fill in and we know you know the show. There’s a good chance she’ll test negative, so don’t get too excited, but we may need you,” O’Connell recalled. “I couldn’t sleep that night. As a ‘Big Brother’ fan, I’ve got to do this. I can’t go off script. People want their live ‘Big Brother’ show, they know exactly what they want.”
“I actually got a text from Julie herself that morning, saying, ‘I have a great group of people there working, just listen to them and you’ll be fine,’” he continued. “I was very nervous, so I got great words of encouragement from Miss Julie Chen Moonves. But really, it was the staff that helped me out and took me through. They’ve obviously done this a lot before in the past and they knew exactly what they were doing.”
Two years later, the actor now co-hosts aftershow “Big Brother: Unlocked” alongside past winners Taylor Hale and Derrick Levasseur, periodically joined by other former “BB” houseguests.
“I’ve got to give all praise to my co-hosts. They are not only experts, they have not only been in the house, they are winners,” O’Connell said. I am what they call a casual viewer. I don’t watch the feeds … I dedicate five hours a week to ‘Big Brother,’ that’s a good amount. I feel pretty good about that. But to have the insight that Taylor and Derrick give me on that show, you can’t buy that.”
“They’re the foremost experts on ‘Big Brother,’ so it’s such an honor to sit next to them. And they answer all my questions,” he further shared. “They really push the ‘Unlocked’ team to make the show the best it can be. They are so dialed in and they push our producers to give exclusive content. I’m really proud and so excited to be sitting next to those two.”
Plus, O’Connell thinks it’s time for the reality show to receive some love from the critics now that it’s been on the air for 26 years since its July 2000 debut.
“I’ve got to say this: I do not know how ‘Big Brother’ does not have an Emmy. I don’t understand it. As someone who has hosted the show once, watched what goes into that show — they have a crew that deals with just the people in the house; they have a crew that deals with just with the live show,” he noted. “It’s not just a live finale; it’s a live show that happens weekly. There’s 24/7 crew coming in and out of that house. Just the caterers alone! I don’t know how they haven’t been nominated.”
Don’t miss the 90-minute 1,000th episode special this Thursday, Aug. 27, on CBS.
“Big Brother: Unlocked” has episodes planned for Sept. 4 and Sept. 18, all leading up to the “BB28” season finale on Oct. 1.
