Big Brother 17 (also known as Big Brother: Takeover) is the seventeenth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. The season premiered on June 24, 2015 with a two-night premiere with the following episode airing on June 25, 2015, broadcast on CBS in the United States and Global in Canada. The season ended with a 90-minute season finale on September 23, 2015, following the fall season premiere of Survivor: Cambodia, after 98 days of competition. Julie Chen returned as host. On September 23, 2015, Steve Moses was crowned the winner defeating Liz Nolan in a 6–3 jury vote. James Huling was voted as the season's America's Favorite HouseGuest.
Format Big Brother follows a group of contestants, known as HouseGuests, who live inside a custom-built house outfitted with cameras and microphones recording their every move 24 hours a day. The HouseGuests are sequestered with no contact with the outside world. During their stay, the HouseGuests share their thoughts on their day-to-day lives inside the house in a private room known as the Diary Room. Each week, the HouseGuests compete in competitions in order to win power and safety inside the house.
At the start of each week, the HouseGuests compete in a Head of Household (abbreviated as "HOH") competition. The winner of the HoH competition is immune from eviction and selects two HouseGuests to be nominated for eviction. As with the previous season, the first five weeks of the season feature two concurrent Heads of Household. Each HoH would nominate two HouseGuests for eviction, for a total of four nominees. The two pairs of nominees would then compete in a "Battle of the Block" competition. The winning pair would be removed from the block, with the HoH who nominated them dethroned. The dethroned HoH would later be eligible to be nominated as a replacement if the Veto is used, while the Battle of the Block winners are safe for the rest of the week.
Six HouseGuests are then selected to compete in the Power of Veto (abbreviated as "PoV") competition: the reigning HoH, the nominees, and three other HouseGuests chosen by random draw. The winner of the PoV competition has the right to either revoke the nomination of one of the nominated HouseGuests or leave them as is. If the veto winner uses this power, the HoH must immediately nominate another HouseGuest for eviction. The PoV winner is also immune from being named as the replacement nominee. The HouseGuest overthrown as a result of the Battle of the Block competition is eligible to be nominated by the reigning Head of Household if the Power of Veto is used.
On eviction night, all HouseGuests vote to evict one of the nominees, though the Head of Household and the nominees are not allowed to vote. This vote is conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household casts the tie-breaking vote. The nominee with the most votes is evicted from the house. The last nine evicted HouseGuests comprise the Jury and are sequestered in a separate location following their eviction and ultimately decide the winner of the season. The Jury is only allowed to see the competitions and ceremonies that include all of the remaining HouseGuests; they are not shown any interviews or other footage that might include strategy or details regarding nominations. The viewing public is able to award an additional prize of by choosing "America's Favorite HouseGuest". All evicted HouseGuests are eligible to win this award except for those who either voluntarily leave or are forcibly removed.
Format changes and additions BB Takeover CBS announced the season's twist, BB Takeover, on June 17, 2015, in which a surprise guest would visit the house each week to reveal a different twist to the HouseGuests. Though it was initially announced that there would be a guest every week, there were no Takeovers after Week 3; in an interview during the season, Julie Chen stated that the twist had been cancelled because "there was enough going on” with the other elements of the game, though no official announcement was ever made to the HouseGuests.
Week Takeover guest Twist Effect 1Phil Keoghan Two additional HouseGuests The Amazing Race 26 alumni Jackie and Jeff entered the game. BB Fast Forward Immunity for the week was granted to the two HouseGuests who sat out of the first HoH competitions and one HouseGuest each of their choice. 2 Kathy Griffin Last Laugh The power to block three HouseGuests from voting in the next eviction was granted to the HouseGuest who answered the seventh call to a phone booth in the house. 3Rob Gronkowski Gronk Party Week Have-Nots were removed for the week, provided the HouseGuests participated in Gronk Parties throughout the week. Luxury competition All of the week's competition winners earned a chance to win a cabin on a three-day cruise.
Battle of the Block The Battle of the block was first introduced in the sixteenth season. In the twist, two houseguests would be nominated by each Head of Household. Each pair of HouseGuests would compete in a Battle of the Block competition. Whichever pair won would have safety for the week, and the Head of Household who nominated them would be dethroned, leaving one Head of Household remaining.
Twin Twist As with the fifth season, a pair of twins competed as one HouseGuest, switching every few days between the house and a sequestered location off-site. The twins, Liz and Julia, played as Liz, changing places in the Diary Room with approximately ten minutes to catch each other up. After the twins survived the first five evictions, the twist was revealed and both twins competed separately. Though the twist was not officially revealed to the other HouseGuests before its completion, the twins were allowed to discuss it freely.
HouseGuests
On June 16, 2015, 14 HouseGuests were announced by CBS, including Audrey Middleton, the first transgender contestant to appear on the American version of Big Brother, professional wrestler and former WWE NXT competitor Austin Matelson and Vanessa Rousso, who, when the season began, was ranked among the top five women in poker history in terms of all-time money winnings. On June 25, 2015, The Amazing Race 26 alumni Jackie Ibarra and Jeff Weldon were revealed as the 15th and 16th HouseGuests as part of the first Takeover. It was later revealed that HouseGuest Liz Nolan and her twin sister, Julia, were competing as one for the Twin Twist; after surviving the first five evictions, the twins began competing separately, increasing the total number of HouseGuests to 17, the most ever in an American season of Big Brother.
Name Age on entry Occupation Residence Day entered Result 22 College student Gouverneur, New York1 WinnerDay 98 23 Marketing coordinator Miami, Florida Day 98 32 Professional poker player Las Vegas, Nevada 27DentistScranton, Pennsylvania 71 1 30 Professional wrestler Woodland Hills, California 23 Marketing intern Miami, Florida 43 31 Retail associate Wichita Falls, Texas1 25 Server New York, New York 26 Retail manager Denver, Colorado 27 Professional dancer Las Vegas, Nevada 33 Interior designer Atlanta, Georgia 23 Graduate student College Station, Texas 25 Supermarket cashier Swansea, Massachusetts 25 Digital media consultant Villa Rica, Georgia 26 Account executive Tampa, Florida 27 Poker dealer Inglewood, California 23 Personal trainer Venice Beach, California
Future appearances In the Big Brother version of The Price Is Right, James Huling and Da'Vonne Rogers were both selected as competitors of the show. In 2016, Huling and Rogers both returned as HouseGuests on Big Brother 18. Later that year, Jason Roy competed on Big Brother: Over the Top, while Liz Nolan made an appearance for a Halloween event. In 2020, Rogers returned for a third time to compete on Big Brother: All-Stars.
Outside Big Brother, Da'Vonne Rogers also competed on MTV's The Challenge: Final Reckoning. Later in 2019, Rogers returned alongside Liz & Julia Nolan on The Challenge: War of the Worlds. In 2022, Rogers appeared on the fifth season of Ex on the Beach. In 2024, Rogers competed on the Amazon Freevee reality TV series The Goat. In 2025, Rogers competed on the fifth season of The Challenge: All Stars.
In 2025, the Nolan twins made a cameo appearance in the Week 3 HOH Competition in Big Brother 27.
Episodes
Voting history Color key:
+Voting history (season 17)Week 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8Week 9Week 10Week 11Week 12Week 13Day 50Day 57Day 71Day 78Day 85Day 89Day 98Finale Head(s) ofHousehold JamesJason BeckyShelli AustinVanessa LizShelli JackieVanessa James Becky Steve Liz Austin Vanessa Liz Steve Vanessa Steve Steve (None) Battle of the BeckyJohn JasonSteve JasonMeg JackieJames JamesLiz (None)(None) Nominations(pre-veto) JackieSteve Da'VonneJohn JamesJohn JasonJohn BeckyClay ClayShelli ShelliSteve JackieMeg BeckyJohn JohnSteve JamesMeg JamesJohn AustinLiz JohnSteve JohnVanessa Veto winner Steve John John Vanessa Clay James Steve John Liz Vanessa James Julia Austin John Vanessa Nominations(post-veto) JaceJackie Da'VonneMeg JamesJeff AudreyJohn BeckyJason ClayShelli ShelliVanessa JackieMeg BeckyJohn JohnSteve JuliaMeg JamesJohn JuliaLiz AustinSteve JohnLiz LizVanessa Steve Jace Da'Vonne James Audrey Jason Clay Shelli Head ofHousehold Becky Nominated Meg James Head ofHousehold Nominated Head ofHousehold Vanessa Winner LizJace Da'Vonne James Audrey Jason Clay Shelli Jackie Head ofHousehold John Meg Head ofHouseholdNominated Steve NominatedNominated VanessaJace Da'Vonne Head ofHousehold Audrey Head ofHousehold Clay Nominated Jackie Becky John Head ofHousehold James Julia Austin John Evicted(Day 98) Liz JohnJace Da'Vonne James Nominated Jason Clay Shelli Jackie Nominated Nominated Meg Nominated Julia Austin Nominated (Day 91) Steve Austin Jace Da'Vonne Jeff John Jason Clay Shelli Jackie Becky Head ofHousehold Meg James Julia Nominated Evicted(Day 89) Liz Julia Unknown HouseGuest Clay Shelli Jackie Becky John Nominated James Nominated Evicted(Day 85) Liz JamesHead ofHousehold Da'Vonne Nominated AudreyBeckyHead ofHousehold Shelli Jackie Becky John Julia Nominated Evicted(Day 78) Steve Meg Jace Nominated Jeff Audrey Becky Clay Shelli Nominated Becky John Nominated Evicted(Day 78) Steve BeckyJaceNoteligible Jeff Audrey Nominated Clay Head ofHousehold Meg Nominated Evicted(Day 64) Steve JackieNominated Noteligible James Audrey Jason Clay Shelli Nominated Evicted(Day 57) Steve Shelli Jace Head ofHousehold Jeff Head ofHousehold Jason Nominated Nominated Evicted(Day 57) Steve Clay Jace Da'Vonne Jeff Audrey Jason Nominated Evicted(Day 50) Jason Jace MegJeff Audrey Nominated Evicted(Day 43) Audrey Jackie Meg Jeff Nominated Evicted(Day 36) Jeff Jace NoteligibleNominated Evicted(Day 29) Da'VonneJaceNominated Evicted(Day 22) Jace Nominated Evicted(Day 15)EvictedJace12 of 13votesto evictDa'Vonne7 of 9votesto evictJeff7 of 11votesto evictAudrey10 of 11votesto evictJason7 of 9votesto evict JuliaShelli8 of 8votesto evictJackie6 of 7votesto evict Becky6 of 6votesto evictJohn5 of 5votesto evict Johninto gameJames4 of 4votesto evictJulia3 of 3votesto evictAustin2 of 3votesto evictJohnVanessa'schoiceto evictVanessaSteve'schoiceto evictSteve6 votesto winClay9 of 9votesto evictMeg4 of 5votesto evictLiz3 votesto win Notes
Production On September 24, 2014, CBS announced that it had renewed Big Brother for its seventeenth and eighteenth editions for broadcast in summer 2015 and 2016, respectively. The series would continue to be hosted by Julie Chen.