Big Brother Brasil 26

Big Brother Brasil 26^[a] is the twenty-sixth season of the Brazilian reality show Big Brother Brasil, which premiered on January 12, 2026, on TV Globo.^[1] This season will continue to be hosted by journalist Tadeu Schmidt, with Rodrigo Dourado continuining as the executive producer.

This season will last for 100 days, tying with seasons 21–25 as the longest of the show. Much like the previous sixth seasons, it features housemates divided into the "Civilians" and "Celebrities" groups, with the addition of a third group known as "Veterans", composed of notable past housemates.

In addition, for the first time ever, the audience was able to vote for the housemates that would composed the Civilians group through five different Glass Houses in each of the 5 regions of Brazil, with two men and women in each house competing for the first 10 spots of the cast. The losers were eventually sequestered to await for further opportunities to make the cast.

The series is broadcast daily on TV Globo in free-to-air format and on Multishow via subscription television, with live 1-hour segments after the main show's conclusion on free-to-air TV. Continuous live feeds coverage is available through the pay-per-view (PPV) service exclusively on Globoplay for Globo.com subscribers.

Applications for Big Brother Brasil 26 started on April 17, 2025, during the broadcast of Big Brother Brasil 25.^[2]

This season's twist reused the format from the past few seasons, with housemates now being divided into three groups: Civilians (everyday Brazilians), Celebrities (notable media personalities) and Veterans (past housemates).^[3][4]

The Glass House twist, in which housemate prospects are displayed in a shopping mall to compete for a spot in the cast, was taken to whole another level this season. Around the five regions of the country, 20 housemates went through a public vote, with two men and two women in each Glass House competing for a spot in the cast.^[5]

The voting happened from January 9 to 11, with special broadcasts every night on TV Globo. On the night of the 11th, the housemates chosen by the audience to compose the cast were revealed, with the losers being sequestered once again to await for further chances of making the cast.^[6][7]

On premiere night, however, it was then revealed that the 9 housemates not chosen would compete in an endurance test in the infamous White Room. At first, it was announced that only the two housemates who lasted the longest would earn spots in the cast. This number was later increased to three on Friday, following the removal of Celeb Henri Castelli for medical reasons. Eventually, it was further expanded to four due to health concerns for the remaining contestants, who had surpassed the 100-hour mark in the room.^[29]

The voting system remains the same used since Big Brother Brasil 24, with a couple changes. Besides the unlimited online votes (called the Fan Vote), the viewers would have the option to cast only one vote using their CPF, the Brazilian equivalent to a Social Security Number (called the Sole Vote). This season, however, the Fan Vote would have a weighted average of 30%, and the Sole Vote an average of 70%, following audience complaints that the results of the past few seasons (in particular the wins of Amanda Meirelles in Big Brother Brasil 23 and Renata Saldanha in Big Brother Brasil 25) did not accurately reflect the opinion of the masses.^[30]

This season, the prize is, unlike previous seasons, fixed at R$ 5,4 million, the biggest in the history of the show and of all Big Brother seasons around the world, being displayed to the house in the living room.^[30]

This season, the Big Sincere used since Big Brother Brasil 24 continues, airing every Monday. Originally intended to be done only by the protagonists of the week (the Head of Household, Power of Immunity holder, and the nominees), it was now expanded to include all participants, with only a selected few appearing on the live broadcast and the remainder appearing at the Pay-per-view stream.^[31][32]

Host Tadeu Schmidt will ask questions based on the topics selected by housemates. Usually, confronts are limited to a maximum of 60 seconds, and right to reply, when given, is limited to 30 seconds. This season, a live studio audience may suggest questions to the host, and vote for a specific contestant in a given question (e.g. "who was the best/worst this week", "who is invisible at the game").^[33][34]

After the result of the HoH's competition, the winner of the competition will take part in "The HoH's Crosshairs" twist, where they are required to hand out a pre-determined number of wristbands to housemates they are considering nominating on Sunday night. The HoH must then choose their nomination for eviction among the housemates pre-selected, without any room to change their minds.

While intended to continue as the season-long twist it has been since Big Brother Brasil 24, the limiting nature of the twist was wildly panned by the audience, leading to it being discontinued following Week 1.

This season, there'll be three Big Phones in different places of the house, with the public being allowed to vote for which one is going to ring, unleashing good or bad consequences on the nomination process for those who decide to answer it.^[35]

The Counterattack is a power occasionally given to a nominee, granting them the opportunity to nominate an additional housemate for eviction, effectively dragging another player to the block with them. While viewers are informed when the power will be featured in advance (on Thursdays before the Head of Household competition even takes place), the housemates are only informed about the twist on the spot.

Since Week 2, the Win-wins, a Mercado Pago-sponsored twist was added, in which three randomly selected housemates get the chance to either win R$20,000, or win half of said value in exchange for a privileged information about the upcoming week's events. The three housemates go to a secret room and each one choose an envelope deciding whether to leave or stay. The person chosen to leave must also veto someone from continuing in the activity. The remaining person can choose between winning R$20,000 or winning R$10,000 and a privileged information.^[36]

On January 22, Week 2, five boxes with different effects were placed on the backyard of the house. The first housemate who touched the box must open it, receive the consequence the box has, and choose another housemate to open the second box and so on.^[37]

Introduced on Week 4, the Risky Duel is an occasional twist that gives housemates a chance to face one of their targets in a logic-based game, where both are given a chance at immunity and face the risk of being nominated. Unbeknownst to the cast, the answers they provide in small mid-week Big Sinceres (usually on Fridays) are later used for the twists.^[38]

On February 13, Week 5, as a event celebrating the Brazilian Carnival, several carnival props were handed to the housemates, and each person would choose one of them. Unbeknownst to them, seven of these would hand consequences to their users.^[39]

Introduced in Week 6, the power machine allowed the housemates to buy advantages or mysterious items using the game's currency. On Week 6, the machine appeared on February 18, 11am, offering surprise boxes for various prices. The main surprise box allowed its buyer to veto someone from participating to the Return from the Block competition. On Week 9, the machine is set to appear on March 15, 2pm, offering as the main prize the power to take someone out from the block.^[40]

The 20 potential housemates who competed for the ten spots in the Civilian group were revealed on January 9, 2026, during commercial breaks on Globo's programming. The housemates in the Celebrity and Veteran groups were announced at the season premiere on January 12, 2026.^[41]

Key

  Civilians

  Celebrities

  Veterans

  White Room Civilians

On the morning of January 11, 2026, candidate Marcel Lucena, from the Southeast Region's Glass House, reportedly stated that he wanted to quit the show after expressing homesickness, which generated protests from the audience present at ParkShopping. Shortly after, Lucena ended up abandoning the idea, being called out by Tadeu Schmidt live during his appearance in Esporte Espetacular.

On the same day, with the announcement of the voting results, Marcel and Milena Moreira ended up being the most voted to enter from the region by the public, generating indignation among viewers due to the fact that the contestant had shown disappointment with the announcement.

Meanwhile, participant Jordana Morais, from the Central-West Region's Glass House, divided opinions after research revealed that she had used the quota system in a public competition for the Court of Auditors of Distrito Federal in 2015, but ended up failing the exam. Furthermore, she had worked as a Technical Assistant in the Deputy Office of the political party União Brasil until April 2025, when she was dismissed.

Candidate Ricardinho Chahini, from the Glass House in the North Region, ended up causing an awkward situation on air by demanding that Esporte Espetacular cover tournaments and show reports about freestyle football, a sport in which he is an athlete and which is also little known in the country.

Furthermore, another factor that caused discomfort among the audience was that only one Black participant (Milena) was chosen by the public, while other Black candidates such as Breno Corã, Leandro Rocha, Matheus Moreira, and Ricardo Negro were left out of the show, going to the "White Room" challenge, raising debates about a possible racist view of the viewers, recalling cases of Black participants being rejected in other editions, and Milena began to suffer attacks on social media. Later, Corã replaced Marcel after he decided to quit the show on the day of the premiere, due to a panic attack on his way to the Globo Studios.

On the morning of January 14, 2026, during the first Head of Household's Challenge, actor Henri Castelli suffered a seizure. He was assisted by dummies, who were activated by the participants, a team of firefighters, and businessman Alberto Cowboy, who knew that he could be eliminated if he left the challenge platform. Castelli was removed from the house and taken to a hospital near Globo Studios, returning shortly afterward. However, in the afternoon of the same day, Henri became ill again, this time in the outdoor area of the house while talking to actress Aline Campos. He was assisted by the production team and taken to the Diary Room, but did not return to the program, leaving the other housemates worried. This moment, unlike the first, was not broadcast on Globoplay, with the camera immediately switching to the Head of Household's Challenge. During filming, before the cut, Henri appeared quite restless, fidgeting with his hair and touching his face. At the start of the prime-time live broadcast on TV, Tadeu Schmidt informed viewers and participants that Castelli had to be removed from the reality show due to health issues. Globo was heavily criticized by the public and some doctors for the delay in attending to the participant and for bringing him back to the show without him undergoing examinations and medical observation lasting a minimum of 12 hours and a maximum of 24 hours. Later, it was revealed that the actor suffered from paresthesia due to a physical assault he had suffered in 2020.

On February 7th, before the final round of the Power of Immunity competition, Alberto Cowboy choked while drinking water, becoming ill in front of the other housemates who panicked throughout the house, leading some to call for production and even the dummies who were in the challenge area. Alberto was immediately assisted after being taken to the Diary Room, returning later and defeating Ana Paula Renault in the final round to win the competition. The businessman revealed that he suffers from sensitive glottis, where the larynx is highly sensitive to stimuli, also revealing that his family suffers from the same problem. Furthermore, this would not be the first time Cowboy had fallen ill on the show, having had the same incident in the seventh season. Once again, TV Globo was heavily criticized by the public due to the delay in providing immediate assistance.

While perpetuating the "White Room" dynamic among contestants Chaiany Andrade, Elisa Klein, Gabriela Saporito, Leandro Rocha, Livia Christina, Matheus Moreira, Rafaella Farias and Ricardo Negro, the show's production attempted to use methods to force one of the seven remaining contestants to press the red button. These methods included disturbing sounds such as a baby crying, a chainsaw, a weather disaster siren, a dog barking, and the clinking of plates with forks and knives, as well as total darkness. However, they were largely unsuccessful, although Elisa gave up on the fourth day of the dynamic due to headaches caused by the noises, resulting from a migraine. The methods were classified as psychological torture, generating outrage among some viewers who started a hashtag on X demanding that all those confined in the room participate in the program. The case was also reported by a news program on the Spanish channel laSexta, which compared the room to a US military prison in Cuba. Furthermore, the contestants survived only on water and crackers and were not allowed to shower, as there was no shower on site, and there were also suspicions of sleep deprivation.

On January 16, 2026, on the fifth day of the challenge, Tadeu Schmidt announced that he would prepare a "surprise" to "shake up" the contestants in the fight for the three spots in the house. The surprise would be the presentation of proposals, since, after the departure of Ricardinho Chahini and Elisa, no participant had pressed the button. The first proposal was a "prize" of 50,000 reais, in addition to advertising for the Cif cleaning products brand, and ten years of their products free of charge. Livia ended up accepting the deal and, with that, pressed the red button. The idea was compared to the dynamics of the American Netflix series Squid Game. The situation again displeased the public, as the practice was seen as "cruel".

In the early morning of January 17, 2026, Ricardo had to give up on the challenge after suffering an allergic reaction and feeling hungry. Following this, the White Room contestants received a visit from the show's medical team, who confirmed their clinical well-being. As a solution for the decisive stage, the production increased the number of cast members to four, creating a final challenge: the contestants had to stand on small platforms. Whoever failed this challenge would win the prize of 50,000 reais, and the other four would go straight into the Big Brother house. In the early morning of January 18, 2026, the challenge was interrupted after Rafaella fainted, and the four remaining contestants (Chaiany, Gabriela, Leandro and Matheus) were declared the new housemates.

The Special Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances, a state body linked to the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, released a public letter repudiating the White Room challenge, comparing it to the torture carried out during the military dictatorship against political prisoners. Globo chose not to comment.

Some of Pedro Espíndola's actions began to be questioned by the other housemates after multiple occurrences of inappropriate behavior. On January 16th, Espíndola was involved in an episode of religious intolerance against Ana Paula Renault, implying to her he had choked due to something she had done to him using her faith. Renault, who was vocal outside the house about her liberal and progressive views, had also been repeatedly questioned by Espíndola about her political affiliation, which she refused to disclose, knowing that Espíndola was hoping to mobilize extremist right-wing politicians to vote against her when she did end up on the block. Furthermore, he repeatedly stated throughout the house that he had cheated on his wife, as external reports of alleged domestic violence and involvement with minors surfaced as well.

On January 17th, during the Power of Immunity competition, Pedro intentionally pushed the button before his partner, Paulo Augusto, finished the challenge, disqualifying the pair and angering Augusto; he later repeatedly tried to hug and anger Augusto, and faked an anxiety attack to the other housemates. Espíndola also intentionally spilled propolis oil on Juliano Floss's jacket, which smelled of his girlfriend Marina Sena's perfume, greatly irritating Floss. On the same day, Espíndola took Jordana's underwear to hang it up without her permission, which bothered and made her extremely uncomfortable.

On the following day, Espíndola sexually harassed Jordana Morais in the house's pantry while she was looking for a curling iron. On that occasion, Pedro grabbed the housemate's neck in an attempt to forcibly kiss her. The images of the moment were not aired on pay-per-view, which outraged viewers. Furthermore, when Jordana recounted what she had suffered, the cameras were cut. After the incident, Pedro pressed the withdrawal button and left the game, knowing he would be ejected during the live show that night. In the Diary Room, immediately after quitting, Pedro admitted that he had his eye on Jordana because she resembled his wife. On the night of the same day, the live show aired the images from the pantry, showing the moment when Pedro approached Jordana and sexually harassed her, in addition to following her after the incident to ensure she would not speak up about it to other housemates, as he incorrectly assumed there were no cameras in the pantry.

After that, in a conversation with the housemates before the nominations, Tadeu Schmidt informed them that even if Pedro hadn't pressed the button to quit, he would have been removed from the show because of the incident. Globo began treating the now ex-BBB as an ejected housemate, excluding him from the season's intro, the list of housemates on the official website and the show's features, in addition to terminating his contract with ViU, the broadcaster's digital agency, and cutting his participation stipend. The channel also prepared a dossier detailing the contestant's behavior for the authorities.

Matheus Moreira has accumulated a series of controversies since officially joining the cast of the reality show, after surviving the White Room challenge. Among the most criticized episodes is the use of terms considered disrespectful, such as referring to Ana Paula Renault as Milena's "boss" in a context of racial and hierarchical conflict, as well as moments pointed out as homophobic, especially during a parade that preceded the first Head of Household's Party of the season. On that occasion, Matheus allegedly imitated effeminate mannerisms in a pejorative way, which led part of the public and some housemates to classify the attitude as "recreational homophobia". On January 23, 2026, Matheus was formally denounced to the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of São Paulo on suspicion of homophobia. The complaint was filed by the alternate federal deputy and president of the LGBTQIAPN+ Pride Association, Agripino Magalhães, based mainly on the imitation considered offensive.

On January 26th, hours after Moreira was nominated for elimination by the week's Head of Household, Babu Santana, the housemate's team posted a video on his Instagram account of a hooded man wearing a sock over his face, with his voice altered, sitting in a chair in a neutral setting, with a tense soundtrack, criticizing the show's production for supposedly hiding some conflicts in the live broadcast and claiming that Matheus had come to break the "pattern" of the housemates. Part of the public interpreted the message as a supposed election campaign by the participant, using the show as a "stepping stone" to promote himself among right-wing politicians and influencers who adopt a stance against TV Globo, in addition to an attempt to sabotage his conflicts.

Days after his eviction, in a long statement on social media on February 4th, through an eleven-minute video, Moreira acknowledged his mistakes during the dialogues with the housemates, but again attacked Ana Paula Renault, accusing his former opponent of trying to use the Black movement to her advantage, in addition to comparing her to Princess Isabel, one of the heirs to the throne of the Empire of Brazil and responsible for signing the Golden Law. On the 9th, Ana Paula's team announced the opening of a lawsuit against Matheus after he reposted on his X a montage made by artificial intelligence of the now ex-BBB tied to a tree trunk, while Renault appeared with a whip in her hand using the captions "right" and "left". The photo had a high racist content for using the theme of slavery.

• Official site (in Portuguese)