The third Collab season was sold as the ordinary Filipino’s turn in Kuya’s house. Premiere night introduced eight Kapuso and eight Kapamilya housemates, several of them already familiar to viewers.

For two months, the pitch for Pinoy Big Brother Collab 3.0 was simple. After two seasons of celebrity housemates, the third would open Kuya’s house to ordinary Filipinos aged 18 to 35, the way the show began in 2005. Auditions ran in August, and we previewed the season on those terms in Pinoy Big Brother Collab 3.0 Starts October 24 With Ordinary Filipinos in the New Bahay ni Kuya.

On Saturday night, the new Bahay ni Kuya opened with 16 housemates. The show introduced them as eight Kapuso and eight Kapamilya, the network sides that define the Collab format. Kapuso is GMA’s name for its network family, and Kapamilya is ABS-CBN’s. That is the same split the two celebrity seasons used, and Kuya placed every housemate on one side or the other.

The Kapuso Eight

The GMA side opens with four names its viewers already know. Winwyn Marquez, “Ang Reyna Mama ng Parañaque,” became the first Filipina to win Reina Hispanoamericana in 2017 and is the daughter of actors Alma Moreno and Joey Marquez. Mikee Quintos, “Ang Independent Archi-tista ng Manila,” is a GMA actress whose tagline folds her architecture background into artista (actor). Anthony Constantino, “Ang Total Dream Heartthrob ng U.S.A.,” and Raheel Bhyria, “Ang Brusko Boksingero ng Las Piñas,” are also GMA talents.

They’re joined by Ethan Benares, “Ang Sporty Palangga ng Bacolod”; Lans Nagal, “Ang VetMed Content Creator ng Cavite”; Nicole Fortuna, “Ang Pretty Dependable Ate ng Bohol”; and Bela Arcal, “Ang Overseas Factory Senpai ng Cavite.”

The Kapamilya Eight

On the ABS-CBN side, Star Magic artists Cianne Dominguez, “Ang Madlang Babe ng Antipolo,” and Robbie Jaworski, “Ang Dedicated Son ng Pasig,” entered alongside Gehlee Dangca, “Ang Darling K-pop Idol ng Las Piñas,” a former member of UNIS, the K-pop girl group that debuted in South Korea in 2024.

Completing the side are Nathan Garcia, “Ang Hustling Swag Stunner ng Cebu”; Shea Valerio, “Ang Miss Ma-Beauting Anak ng Rizal”; Calix Esguerra, “Ang Rampanalong Apo ng Pampanga”; Jeo Ong, “Ang Adventure-Boy-Next-Door ng Palawan”; and Primo Alterado, “Ang Kwelang Creator ng Taguig.”

The Surprise Was Hinted

The twist came on air. Kuya revealed that the cast mixed online audition entrants with celebrities the show had invited to audition, then assigned each of the 16 to the Kapuso or Kapamilya side as they walked in. GMA executive Annette Gozon-Valdes had hinted at it during the new house’s unveiling, telling reporters the season’s combination was “something entirely new that they wouldn’t expect.” Promotion through premiere week still described the season as a chance for ordinary Filipinos to enter the house.

The result works as a hedge. We argued in 21 Years In, Pinoy Big Brother Still Sells the Same Thing: Being Seen that the show’s real product is visibility. A house of true unknowns would have to build its audience from nothing, and Pinoy Big Brother runs on public votes. Housemates with established names and two network machines behind them give the season a voting base from day one. It also comes in a year when ABS-CBN moved the show into a house its executives described as more cost-efficient.

What the season gives up is the premise it was sold on. The original 2005 run worked because viewers watched strangers become people they cared about. Collab 3.0 starts with that story already half-told for at least seven of its housemates, and with every one of them carrying a network’s colors into the vote.

Two Housemates With a Second Role

The hosts added one more wrinkle on premiere night: two of the 16 will take on a special role as Kuya’s collaborators. The show hasn’t named the two or explained what the role involves.

A New House, Familiar Faces at the Door

The season is the first in the new Bahay ni Kuya, set up in the former Gina Lopez Building along Mother Ignacia Avenue in Quezon City. The building once housed ABS-CBN Foundation staff. The original house on Eugenio Lopez Drive closed in March after 21 years.

The opening brought back past housemates to perform the franchise anthem “Pinoy Ako,” the Orange and Lemons song:

• Maymay Entrata, Big Winner of PBB Lucky Season 7
• Caprice Cayetano and Lella Ford, Big Winners of Collab 2.0
• Heath Jornales and Carmelle Collado
• Will Ashley of the first Collab season

In a GMA interview before the premiere, Ashley’s advice to the new batch was not to plan their stay: “Don’t plan kasi the more you plan, hindi lalabas ‘yung totoong personality mo.” (Don’t plan, because the more you plan, your real personality won’t come out.)

Michael Sager, a housemate in the first Collab season, joins the hosting team this year as its newest member.

What We Don’t Know Yet

• Which two housemates are Kuya’s collaborators, and what that role means for the game.
• Whether the housemates will compete as Kapuso–Kapamilya duos, as in earlier Collab seasons.
• The regular timeslots after the premiere’s special 6 PM slot.
• How long the season will run.

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Show: Pinoy Big Brother Collab 3.0 (GMA Network and ABS-CBN)

Premiere: Saturday, October 24, 2026, 6 PM

Where to watch: GMA Network, Kapuso Stream, ABS-CBN YouTube channel

Housemates: 16 (eight Kapuso, eight Kapamilya)

Hosts: Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, Robi Domingo, Melai Cantiveros-Francisco, Enchong Dee, Gabbi Garcia, Alexa Ilacad, Michael Sager

House: Former Gina Lopez Building, Mother Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City