'Big Brother' Won't Be The Same This Fall

This is it, folks. The end is nigh for Big Brother 18, whose season finale airs this Wednesday night. With a final three consisting of Paul, Nicole, and James, all of whom seem to have pissed off plenty of people in the jury, I truly believe it's anyone's game to take home the $500,000 prize and have eternal glory — or as long as the public cares about this summer fave. But actually, Big Brother is coming back before you know it. And with changes that include a new name ( Big Brother: Over the Top ), you're going to need to know how to watch the new season of Big Brother now more than ever before.

You may have heard that CBS is switching things up when it comes to the upcoming new season of Big Brother. CBS will be airing an all-new digital edition of the series titled Big Brother: Over the Top , which kicks off just one week after the BB18 finale on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 10 p.m. ET, according to the network's website. And that aforementioned "digital edition" business means that this season of Big Brother will be aired exclusively on CBS All Access, the network's subscription-only streaming service, which allows you to stream all of CBS' programming for $5.99 per month with limited commercials or $9.99 per month for commercial-free viewing, the service's website says.

Yes, that means you won't be able to turn on the old boob tube and watch Big Brother three times a week like usual because the whole season will only be streamed online. However, that also means no sporting events broadcast on your local CBS affiliate will mess up the Big Brother TV schedule, as they sometimes tend to do during the summer season, so that's something.

Of course, Big Brother has always had an online element with its live feeds, which provide 24/7 (to a certain extent, which I'll get to later) spying on, uh, I mean, viewing of the houseguests for a price. These days, the Big Brother live feeds are available through a CBS All Access subscription.

But there's a lot more that's going to be different with the new season of Big Brother than just where it's going to air. For one thing, Big Brother: Over the Top will be a slightly shorter 10-week season, Entertainment Weekly reports, as opposed to a 13-week season as the past few installments of the series have been. Fans will also be able to watch Head of Household competitions, as well as nomination and veto ceremonies as they happen, which have all previously been blacked out on the live feeds, executive producer Allison Grodner said in a statement, as reported by EW. Well, since CBS All Access is the only way for people to watch the new season, it doesn't really make much sense to not show these big moments right as they occur, now does it?

CBS has also teased that viewers will have more power this season of Big Brother. "The audience will have more influence over the game than ever before," a video explaining the upcoming season on CBS' website says. It's unclear exactly what that means as of now, but I certainly hope fans will have a more significant role in the game than just voting for what gross food the Have Nots are forced to eat in addition to Slop for the week.

Luckily, there's going to be a lot of familiar elements of Big Brother: Over the Top , too. For one thing Julie Chen will be returning as host, according to CBS' website. Big Brother executive producers Grodner and Rich Meehan will also be back at the helm, which means the show should come packed with all of the outrageous houseguests, fierce competition, and showmances we know and love.

But if you are unable to or just don't feel like shelling out some extra moolah for CBS All Access, Big Brother will be back for Season 19 in Summer 2017 on CBS, the network announced in August, as reported by Deadline. We'll have to wait and see how successful this new fall edition of Big Brother will be, but I think this reality show will still be the most delicious summer treat.

Images: Sonja Flemming/CBS; Giphy (2)