Based on my years of watching Big Brother before and during the 2024 TV season, being named a Have-Not is about the worst thing that can happen to you in the game. Those unlucky Houseguests are forced to spend a week eating slop, sleeping in some of the worst conditions in Have-Not Rooms, and taking cold showers until their week ends. It's a substantial part of the game, though it rarely gets screen time on episodes anymore, so why is it still happening? Fortunately, Big Brother's EPs were ready with an answer and gave me some hope they could switch it up.
Rich Meehan and Allison Grodner spoke to EW after the positive fan response to Season 26 and what's ahead for the future. Since they're already 'very likely' making one big change to the game, it seemed fair to ask about changing another element. Meehan first started by explaining why Have-Not talk doesn't get a ton and sometimes zero screen time in the episodes, especially compared to the older seasons of Big Brother:
We talk about it every season. The reason why we don't really service the story is that there's just so much now in this modern era of Big Brother. There's so much going on game-wise and strategy-wise, and in the early days it just wasn't as active as it is today, so there was time to service that story.
The classic seasons of Big Brother, all currently available on streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, had space in episodes to do food challenges that would dictate the groceries the house received for that week. It was a fun element, and I'd love to see something like that return in a modern season. Based on Rich Meehan's comments above, though, I don't think there's room in the episodes to highlight it.
So, if there's no time to highlight the Have-Not selection and who is going without, why do so? As Rich Meehan explained, there is a valid reason to keep it in Big Brother, even if those who are watching the live feeds are the only ones keeping tabs on who is or isn't being punished each week:
There is something to the Have and Have-Not nature of the house and how it makes people feel and how it impacts the psychology of the game. So we've kept it for that reason, even though we don't necessarily service it on the show. But we have talked about: Is there a new take? I just don't know.
As much as I'd love to see Have-Nots go away, I agree with Rich Meehan. It's a core part of Big Brother strategy, and if you want to win BB, you better volunteer to be a Have-Not at least once. Those who don't will see the nomination block quickly and often be sent home for refusing to make sacrifices to help others.
Of course, after seasons of it being irrelevant to the plot, Allison Grodner pointed out Have-Nots did factor into the storyline of Big Brother 26. Even Brooklyn Rivera was surprised to see her storyline revolved around eating Angela Murray's charcuterie board when the latter Houseguest could not. As funny as everything that came from that was, it might've ensured we'll get Have-Nots for the next three seasons because of how much it was talked about online.
Rich Meehan and Allison Grodner have discussed many things since Big Brother Season 26, including recently confirming that the spinoff Reindeer Games will not return this holiday season. The good news is that it simply came down to there not being enough time in CBS' winter schedule, so there is a chance we'll see it return in 2025. It also sounds like there's a good chance of seeing more Have-Nots in 2025, but we'll have to wait and see for sure.
Big Brother will return to CBS with Season 27 this summer. Continue to watch old seasons on Paramount+, or check out the 24/7 channel on Pluto TV to watch ad-supported past seasons for free.