The fans have spoken and Global TV says Big Brother Canada will be returning in 2018.
The fate of the series was in doubt after host Arisa Cox said in June that the Canadian edition of the reality franchise was going on hiatus and would not return in 2018.
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But after Cox made her announcement, fans launched an online petition to try to save the series.
Global said in a news release Thursday that Big Brother Canada will return “following the overwhelmingly powerful fan response to its hiatus.”
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Barbara Williams, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Corus Entertainment, said they “heard the fans loud and clear.”
“In a game-changing twist, beloved series Big Brother Canada will return to Global in 2018, earlier than previously anticipated,” Williams said. “With the utmost respect for the loyal following this series has engendered over five terrific seasons, we heard the fans loud and clear. We recognized their passion for this high quality, dynamic, and engaging series, and are thrilled to have Big Brother Canada on the Global schedule next year.”
“Big Brother Canada has the best fans in the world, and we could not be more thrilled and honoured to be producing a brand new season of Big Brother Canada for them,” said John Brunton, executive producer and chairman and CEO of Insight Productions. “Strap on your seatbelts, it’s going to be another wild ride!”
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Many previous Big Brother Canada competitors took to Twitter to celebrate the news with their fans.
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Fans of Big Brother Canada also took to Twitter to celebrate their efforts to get the show back on the air.
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Airing exclusively on Global in the 2018 broadcast season, Big Brother Canada plucks a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move.
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Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.
Additional details about Big Brother Canada Season 6, including casting news, will be announced at a later date.
—With files from The Canadian Press