Julie Chen revealed that she and the producers are actively pushing for Celebrity Big Brother season 3 but are still waiting for CBS to order the series. To the shock of many fans, CBS was not able to release CBB season 3 in 2020. The series typically airs around winter and spring, which, in 2020, was the exact time period when the COVID-19 pandemic was becoming a serious problem that the world needed to face. It was just the wrong timing for a network to shoot a brand-new season of a show, as no one understood the virus yet and there were no safety protocols in place for producers to rely on.
But with the news that Big Brother 22: All-Stars was going to happen (albeit a delayed start), the fans felt confident that the franchise's schedule would go back to "normal" in 2021. Since 2018, that schedule means a Celebrity Big Brother season during the winter/spring and a new regular season of Big Brother over the summer. So far, CBS has only officially ordered Big Brother 23 for the summer of 2021, but certain reports have surfaced about a potential CBB season for earlier in the year. Still, there hadn't been any word from an official source about the status of that spin-off.
Now, the one and only Julie Chen is providing an update on Celebrity Big Brother 3 and touched on the possibility of a new Over The Top edition. During an interview with the Hello, Friends! podcast (seen below), Julie remarked on the huge undertaking that it is to produce a new season of Big Brother, stating that they must keep being careful during this COVID-19 pandemic. But Julie also mentioned that she and the production team have actively pushed for Celebrity Big Brother season 3 behind the scenes, and yet are still waiting for CBS to order the new season. Her assessment is that the network didn't say "no," but did say a "not yet." Later in the interview, Julie acknowledged that the growth of streaming services might make it possible for a Big Brother: Over The Top season 2 to happen in the future. However, she makes it clear that there are no plans for it at the moment.
The diehard Big Brother fans would really enjoy getting a new CBB season earlier in 2021, and the idea that a new Over The Top season is even possible will certainly blow some people's minds. A few rumors did come out in 2020 regarding Celebrity Big Brother 3 happening sometime soon, but this is the first official tidbit of information that we get from someone who is heavily involved with the franchise.
As always, the fans should expect the unexpected. There seems to be interest from the producers to make Celebrity Big Brother 3 happen, but it is ultimately up to CBS to make that decision.
Sources: Hello, Friends! podcast