EXCLUSIVE: Big Brother is back with a bang.

Season 28 debuted 3.88 million live + same-day viewers, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel, making it the series’ most-watched premiere episode in five years (since the July 7, 2021 premiere’s 4.27M total viewers).

The episode was also up 22% from last year’s premiere audience of 3.18M and 21% over Big Brother‘s Season 27 Thursday night average. Speaking of Thursdays, the Season 28 premiere also lays claim to the most-watched Thursday night Big Brother premiere in six years, since August 2020.

On social media, the premiere episode also put up a franchise-best performance as the most-engaged and most-viewed premiere since 2020. The episode generated 8.1M social media views and 866,000 interactions.

Big Brother kicked off Season 28 with the introduction of the “Big Brother: Time Trip” twist, introducing 14 new Houseguests alongside surprise appearances from reality-TV veterans Angela Murray (Big Brother 26), Rick Devens (Survivor) and Rachel Reilly (Big Brother winner and franchise icon).

Rachel’s shocking “demise” and exit from the game became the premiere’s biggest moment, paving the way for the arrival of Survivor 45 winner Dee Valladares, whose entry into the House was officially revealed during Friday’s Big Brother: Unlocked episode.

Big Brother Season 28 returned for its biggest season ever with a special 90-minute premiere on Thursday, July 9 at 8 p.m. ET. The companion series Big Brother: Unlocked premiered on Friday, July 10 at 8 p.m. ET. Additionally, a special 90-minute episode debuted on Sunday, July 12 at 8 p.m. ET.

Season 28 will see the most original hours of programming in 25 years since Big Brother’s 2000 debut through extended 90-minute Wednesday episodes and the return of Big Brother: Unlocked on Friday nights throughout the season. And, Big Brother will make television history this season as the first primetime series to hit 1,000 original episodes later this summer.