It’s official: Big Brother has reached 1,000 drama-packed episodes. But first, we sat down with host Julie Chen Moonves to reflect on 28 seasons and the legacy of the iconic show.

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Since 2000, Julie Chen Moonves has been at the helm, guiding countless houseguests through evictions, competitions, blindsides, and some truly unforgettable live-TV moments. It's hard to imagine a world of Big Brother without Julie's iconic catchphrases like "But first," "It's official," and "Love one another."

To celebrate the record-breaking milestone, I spoke with Julie the morning after the 1,000th episode to hear about 26 years of hosting — from the chaos in her earpiece during live shows to the most chaotic moments backstage. She also revealed her favorite seasons, named the player she considers the ultimate Big Brother winner, and shared the biggest lesson the show has taught her.

Note: This interview has been modified for length and clarity.

Julie: That moment didn't really hit me until this morning. I always think of myself as a train conductor. I've got a lot of pressure to get that train out of the station on time and then pull into the home station on time, so I have to compartmentalize.

I'm just getting to bask in it now, because I had a lot of responsibility last night to make sure Dan [Gheesling], Janelle [Pierzina], and the Cookout got asked the right questions, the evicted houseguest got enough love and support — and I have a lot of people in my earpiece telling me, "We're over time" or "We're under time."

So I don't let the emotion get to me — that's when I channel my inner 'Chenbot,' and I'm like, "Just do your job, just do your job." But there were moments when I looked out into the crowd, and I saw faces from the past. (Laughs) I think I only called one person the wrong name because of the lighting at the end of the night.

I'm old-school Chinese. I was raised by Chinese immigrants, and it was like, "You're going to play piano, you're going to get good grades, you're going to be respectful." So I'm a rule follower, and I'm kind of perfectly made to be the host of this incredible show called Big Brother, which is live, real, and raw. Then, when I can be more human, I feel like I can let my guard down and open my heart to the houseguests and to everyone.

I know God is the reason why we're still here today. Big Brother is the little show that could. I see it as my duty and my job.

Julie: I was nervous for so many seasons. I would feel my heart pounding beforehand, and meanwhile, I had done live television my whole life. While I was on Big Brother for many seasons, I was also either doing the morning news for CBS News or hosting a live daily talk show on CBS. But when it's primetime, and it's a different show than anything I've done, it's all on your shoulders.

I'd say up until maybe Season 18 or so, I'd get nervous. Things kind of changed in 2020. I had started my personal relationship with God in 2018, and by 2020, I felt like a toddler. I was still learning why He created me and who He is, and developing my personal relationship with Him, which I still am.

And once I learned — and I'm still learning — to "let go and let God," that's when the nervousness went away. It's television. I'm not saving lives. I'm not a doctor or a surgeon. It's fun, and I'm human. It's going to be okay. I didn't learn that lesson probably until the summer of 2020, to really just let go.

There are times when old Julie comes back, when they tell me something disastrous, but I'm kind of like, "Let's just go with it. Let's see what happens."

Julie: What people may not realize is that I can have three or four voices talking to me. 

I have my live-show producer who's telling me something. He might be saying like, "Just so you're aware, Barrett is in the diary room, and he's very upset." At the same time, the director might be talking to me, saying, "Okay, get ready, camera present. I'm coming to you." They're in the same control booth, but each has a button they can use to talk to me, so sometimes they're both talking at once.

Then I have my stage manager, who might be trying to communicate with me. Sometimes it's just through hand signals, and often it's his voice. He's the best stage manager in the business. He's the one who saved the Oscars with the envelope. He's wonderful, calm, just incredible.

I could be talking to the house, and I have to listen to everything the houseguests are saying while getting all these cues. You have to be able to compartmentalize, multitask, hear a lot of voices at once — and then decide, "What am I going to do?"

Sometimes they wrap me when I'm talking to an evicted houseguest, and I'm like, "I'm going in for another question." I've done live television my whole life, and I'm 56. So sometimes I break the rules. I'm like, "I'm going in. I feel it."

Julie: I was recently reminded of this story by one of our executive producers, Don Wollman. He said, "This is why Julie's the best in the business."

He told me that a few years ago, pretty recently, on finale night, I was told at the last minute that the keys didn't fit in the box. I should go back and rewatch it because I actually don't remember.

He said, "You should have seen Julie. She was told the keys didn't fit in the box, and she was just cool as a cucumber. I actually had to walk out of the control room because it was in meltdown. But I watched Julie, and as they told her, she was like, 'Okay, got it. Noted. Done,' and that was it."

I actually kind of love it when there's a little bit of drama. I like to think on the fly, and that's from my live-TV background.

Julie: "But first" became its own thing thanks to viewers, fans, and, in large part, because of my robotic "Chenbot" self.

I'm like, (imitates herself) "But first, but first, but first." No emotion. I'm getting through the motions. The joke was on me. I don't think the intention was kind, but when I saw it, I laughed so hard. If you make a mean joke at my expense, but it's true, I will probably laugh harder than anyone.

With "Expect the unexpected," we knew we wanted another catchphrase. "Love one another" was one that I wrote, and I love that it's become a thing. People can be mean, and sometimes the meanest people are the ones who've had something mean done to them. At the end of the day, if we do love one another and we invite someone we think we can't stand to have a seat at the table, there's probably more that unites you than divides you. 

We're living in a difficult time when we really do need to try to see each other with God's eyes, hear each other with God's ears, and be slow to speak, slow to anger, but quick to listen.

Julie: I'm not going to count Season 28 because it's still in progress.

- Season 2. No question. It turned the game upside down.

- Next, I would say definitely Season 23, the Cookout season.

- I tend not to like All-Stars as much, but I loved the redemption God gave Cody Calafiore in Season 22. He earned it. So that goes up there.

- Finally, Season 13, with Rachel Reilly winning. I remember being halfway through the season, thinking, Wow, I love her. Her win was iconic. It was so pure and human, and it just shows — you can all hate on me, but I'm going to show up, and I'm going to show out.

Julie: There's no one like Will Kirby. He's probably the ultimate, because he's an honest liar. He'll lie, cheat, and steal, but he's also telling you, "I'm going to lie, cheat, and steal." So you can't really tell whether he's telling the truth or lying. And he's so dang charming, right?

When he played in Season 2, he looked like Rob Lowe to me. He could say something like, "I can't stand you," to your face with a smile, and you're just under his spell.

Julie: I test-ran one of the BB Blockbuster competitions against two journalists from TheWrap, and I was shocked that I won.

It's the one we called "Newton’s Apples," where you have round balls that you have to roll up and get five to land on a platform. And then after you got five on the platform, you had to take other balls and knock them down.

I did well because I know the key is — when you roll it up, you've got to spin it back toward you. You need speed to get the ball up there, but when it gets up there, that back speed is what stops it.

Julie: I'd pick the season Derrick Levasseur won. Frankie Grande was in it, and there was so much going on. And, you know, Derrick is from Boston. I'm from Queens, New York. (Laughs) I feel like I could have sniffed out that he was an undercover detective.

So I think I would want to be in that season — there was so much good drama.

Julie: In terms of the best position, at the moment, it's a tie between Rick Devens and Barrett. Rick is looking good, though I do have mixed emotions about a former Survivor contestant who didn't win Survivor winning Big Brother. I also think Barrett could win because he's good at competitions, and I feel like he purposely hasn't been winning them. He's also onto Drew not being totally loyal.

At the beginning of the season, we have this running thing at Big Brother behind the scenes. You can put up to $10 in the pot, and you get your pick — but you have to pick before they move into the house, and before you even hear them speak. I put in 10 bucks, with 5 on Drew and 5 on Lala. So I would love to see Drew or Lala win just for bragging rights.

But I really want Taylor to win. She's a thinker. She's smart. She's adorable. She gets the game. 

Julie: Big Brother has taught me not to be so judgy. I'm a viewer too, and there'd be times I'm at home with my family, and I'm like, "So-and-so drives me crazy!"

As I've matured and grown stronger in Christ, I've learned how to apply God's Word in my life and on the show. Who am I to judge? Who's any of us to judge anybody else? There's only one judge, and His name is Jesus. It's God.

It's taught me not to sweat the small stuff. I used to really sweat the small stuff, and looking back, that's so foolish. It's called the small stuff for a reason, and no one's thinking about it but me.

I've learned that when you do make mistakes on air, and you can laugh about it, that's the most fun part of the show. That's an unscripted moment in an unscripted show, and yeah, I make mistakes. Yeah, I'm human. Yeah, I'm flawed. Just laugh at it, embrace it, and move forward.

Big Brother 28 is currently airing on CBS and is streaming on Paramount+.