'Big Brother Canada' cancelled by Corus Entertainment after 12 seasons

Corus Entertainment announced Thursday that after 12 seasons of Big Brother Canada, the popular reality TV series is being cancelled. The announcement comes after the show was notably missing from company's recent 2024/2025 TV lineup.

Superfans have continued to be strong supporters of the series. There has been a fan-made petition circulating online to try to save the show.

"Today as we say goodbye to the beloved series, we celebrate the great success and impact Big Brother Canada has had in our country and in the Canadian media landscape for over a decade," the statement from Troy Reeb, co-chief executive officer of Corus Entertainment reads. "Global will always be proud to have been home to Big Brother Canada for 12 seasons, and we are grateful to our partners at Banijay Rights for their support and guidance, and Insight Productions for their passion, dedication, and creativity."

"We would like to thank Executive Producer Erin Brock and Host and Executive Producer Arisa Cox for always leading thought-provoking conversations, telling uniquely Canadian stories, and reflecting the diverse culture of Canada in one of television’s biggest social experiments. This series, and the production team behind it, have truly set the bar in creating entertaining unscripted television. And finally, to our #BBCAN fanbase, you have all kept the series thriving and we thank you for joining us on this journey for the last 12 seasons."

The Big Brother franchise began in the Netherlands in the 1990s, growing in popularity as it spread around the world.

The show's format involves a group of people moving into a house together, being watched 24/7. Houseguests are voted out of the competition until there's one winner standing.

Most recently, Bayleigh Pelham from Halifax won Season 12 of Big Brother Canada. Pelham won $200,000 in cash and prizes, which includes $10,000 in cash, $10,000 from TonyBet, $10,000 provided by Philips Sonicare Oral Care, a new wardrobe from WINNERS, a $10,000 Samsung Galaxy prize pack, $10,000 from Endy, a vacation with Sunwing, and a 2024 INFINITI QX60 SUV.

While fans have been particularly loyal to Big Brother Canada, the series did face some criticism when the decision was made to get rid of the popular live feeds in Season 11, being replaced with videos called Digital Dailies.

But while some changes were made that debatably didn't best serve the series, it's the end of an era with the loss of Big Brother Canada.