‘Big Brother’ Queen Julie Chen Is All Smiles As She Announces Season 21 Premiere Date

It’s official: there will be no Big Brother without “Chenbot.” Julie Chen Moonves, the longtime host of Big Brother, will be back for the 21st season of the CBS reality show this summer. Chen Moonves, who is affectionately known as “Chenbot” to diehard fans of the show, took to Instagram to announce the two-night BB21 premiere as fans begin counting down to the big event.

Despite her difficult year, Julie Chen looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world as she posed on a flamingo-fronted skateboard wearing a leather jacket and ripped jeans with her hair in a ponytail. The CBS star’s casual look is a far cry from the gowns and designer dresses she often wears for her hosting segments on Big Brother.

It’s no surprise that diehard Big Brother fans took to the comments section of the post to remark on the return of Julie Chen, who quit her high-profile position on CBS’ The Talk last fall amid her husband Les Moonves’ misconduct scandal. Many fans called Julie Chen “queen” as they commented on her new Big Brother post.

“Julie Chen… in a pair of jeans on a skateboard????? I love when a queen expands her brand,” one Big Brother fan wrote.

“Queen is back and better than ever,” another fan wrote.

Another wrote, “OMG JULIE I MISSED U ICONIC LEGEND.”

Big Brother will return with hour-long episodes on Tuesday, June 25, and Wednesday, June 26, at 8 p.m. ET, Deadline reports. The CBS reality competition will then switch to its regular three-weekly-episode format, airing Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays all summer long, with the finale airing in late September.

Big Brother continues to be a strong ratings draw, so the show’s future wasn’t in question when CBS CEO Les Moonves was fired amid rampant misconduct allegations last fall. But many fans wondered if Julie Chen would exit the network alongside her husband, especially after she quit The Talk days after Moonves’ scandal broke.

But as her husband’s embarrassing drama played out in the background, Julie not only finished out last summer’s landmark 20th season of Big Brother, but she returned to CBS in January to host the sophomore season of Celebrity Big Brother.

Julie Chen’s contract runs through the upcoming 21st season of Big Brother, but it’s hard to imagine the show ever going on without her.

Julie Chen’s new Big Brother announcement comes a few days after she dropped the first-ever teaser for the upcoming season of the CBS reality show, which you can see below.