Levi Banks didn't overstay his welcome as a Big Brother houseguest.

In fact, the 28-year-old pulled out of the 28th iteration of the CBS series early, turning down his spot in the house just as filming was set to begin. As fans caught wind of the unexpected casting switch-up, Banks cleared the air about why he won't be appearing on national TV screens after all. 

"What's up Big Brother fans? My name is Levi Banks," the wine executive properly introduced himself in a video shared to Instagram July 9. "I just wanted to give you all a quick update and to let you know that I am doing great."

After reassuring concerned followers that he wasn't leaving under duress, Banks broke down what factored into his decision to step back from the "Time Trip" season, in which players will be transported to different eras in time through rooms and challenges.

"I was all set and ready to move into the Big Brother House this season," Banks clarified, adding, "as we got closer, and closer, and closer to the move-in day, I just realized this was not the right fit for me, personally."

And though the model was confident in his change of plans, the choice admittedly was not easy. As Banks confessed, "That was probably the hardest decision of my entire life."

Banks noted that he was "so, so, so thankful for this opportunity" and remains "on good terms with CBS, Big Brother and everyone."

As for the North Carolina native's plans now that he's changed the channel on entering reality TV?

"I am so freaking excited to watch the show tonight," Banks effused. "Oh my gosh, I am pumped. It's gonna be a little bit different of a POV than in the house as to being on my couch, but I will take that one thing at a time." 

Banks finished the update by shouting out Yash Patel, a financial analyst from New Jersey who was reported to step in after Banks' premature departure, joining MMA fighter Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk, game show host Melody Morris and more.

Need to know what else to add to your queue while bingeing BB? All the most anticipated shows of 2026 await below...

Season five finds Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) dealing with the consequences of Princess (Scarlett Rayner) and Tyler’s (Cooper Turner) biological mother Kat (Charlotte Riley) turning up at their doorstep, and the whirlwind of chaos she brings into their settled family life.

A hopeful family drama, epic survival tale, and origin story of the American West, this fresh adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s enduring, almost 100-year-old book series about growing up in the American West in the 1800s offers a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.

Since its beginning in 1986, Burning Man has grown from its anarchic counterculture roots in San Francisco to a globally recognized spectacle. Each year, 80,000 self-styled “Burners” congregate in the Nevada desert to create music, art, and connection, raise temples, join a spiritual movement centered on community, and take part in a modern American cultural experiment. Following the organization through several years of unprecedented turmoil, the documentary follows a movement pushed to its limits as it strives to stay operational while staying true to its core values.

The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo) - July 9

The Bravo series' milestone 20th season is sure to heat up summer.

Heidi Klum returns to host the fashion competition series' 22nd season.

Oxygen's true crime series is back with ten all-new episodes exploring shocking homicide cases from the indisputable cultural capital of the South. As the rising music, film, and tech industries cultivate a sense of glam, hustle, and grit that marks the city’s signature style, each episode uncovers crimes that reveal the dark side of wealth, status, and power. Through firsthand accounts from detectives, journalists, and victims’ loved ones, the series examines the deadly tragedies that have shaken one of America’s most influential cultural and economic hubs.

The Real Murders of Atlanta offers an unflinching look at the perils of power, passion, ambition, and greed in the Empire of the New South, where money and danger often go hand in hand, and the same ruthlessness that pushes people to make bold moves can also lead them to kill.

The weekly series, showcasing first responders and everyday heroes, returns for its eighth season with new host Brooke Shields.

The Westies is a gritty and kinetic crime drama centering on New York City’s infamously violent Irish gang of the same name. The series is set in the early 1980s when the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the Westies’ home turf in Hell’s Kitchen promises a financial windfall. Despite being outnumbered fifty-to-one by the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, the Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile dĂ©tente. But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.

Hooligans: The ARCH Racing Project with Keanu Reeves & Gard Hollinger (Samsung TV Plus) - July 12

The docuseries chronicles Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger, founders of ARCH Motorcycle, as they shift gears from building world-class machines to competing in the high-stakes world of professional racing in MotoAmerica, America’s premier motorcycle road racing series, where they line up against the best in the Super Hooligan National Championship. With the same precision, craftsmanship and relentless drive that define their brand, the ARCH team sets out to prove they can hold their own against the giants of motorsports.

Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro (ABC) - July 13

The DWTS spinoff searching for new professionals debuts summer 2026.

Rabbit Hole is the first-of-its-kind variety show for the digital generation, where the biggest creators for teens collide in the most epic collabs, unpredictable challenges, and scroll-stopping shorts. High stakes, high chaos, hi-larious. Headlining the series is a dynamic ensemble of the most followed and influential creators for teens across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch, with a combined reach of 675M followers across social and digital platforms.

Homestead Rescue: Intervention (Discovery Channel) - July 14

From the fan-favorite series Homestead Rescue comes an all-new, high-stakes intervention series featuring the Raney family. Wilderness living experts Marty and Matt Raney and Misty Bilodeau heed desperate pleas from concerned family, friends, or neighbors of homesteaders living beyond the edge of survival and who are too proud to ask for help. After ambushing the off-gridders with an intervention rescue, the Raneys must confront a new range of challenges and emotions to save the failing homesteads, fractured families and fading dreams. 

Lucky is based on The New York Times bestselling novel and Reese’s Book Club pick of the same name by Marissa Stapley. When a multi-million-dollar heist goes sideways, con artist Lucky (Anya Taylor-Joy) is forced to go on the run. Pursued by both the FBI and a ruthless crime boss, Lucky must fight for her life—and a way out.

The action comedy follows best friends Debbie Claybourne (Octavia Spencer) and Judith Burton (Hannah Waddingham) who thought they knew everything about each other, except Judith turns out to be an international assassin. When a mysterious figure emerges from Judith’s past and a hit goes horribly wrong, both of their worlds are turned upside down as they’re forced to go on the run together. It’s a race against time and a road trip across Europe, with law enforcement, highly trained assassins, and some very dangerous criminals at their heels.

Saturday Night Live's Marcello Hernandez will host the 2026 ESPYs Presented by Capital One at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in NYC.

The Five Star Weekend is centered on Hollis Shaw, a famed cook and best selling author known for her delicious recipes, impeccable taste, and warm demeanor, who suffers a devastating loss.    

Unable to move forward, the death starts to expose the cracks in Hollis’s picture-perfect life—her strained marriage, her complicated relationship with her daughter, and her growing pursuit of validation from her fans. In an effort to overcome grief and find herself again, Hollis gets the idea to host a weekend away at her house on Nantucket with three friends from different stages in her life: her childhood, her twenties, thirties, and one surprise fifth star. Set against a luxurious and coastal backdrop, the stars will mature in ways they could never imagine as boundaries are pushed and secrets are exposed.

Lonnie Hawkins, (Will Ferrell) 2004's number one golfer, struggles on the back nine of his career to recapture his magic. His body says retire, but his heart says he's not done yet. His ex-wife and his son Lance, golf's new golden boy, know he's through. But with one more major to win to complete golf's Grand Slam, Lonnie refuses to believe he's anything other than one stroke away from the greatest comeback in golf history.

Nick and Charlie are inseparable, but with Nick preparing to leave for university and Charlie finding new independence at school, the reality of a long-distance relationship begins to weigh on them. Doubts take hold, and their relationship faces its biggest challenge yet. Meanwhile, their friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on. Can first loves really last forever?

Maine Cabin Masters: All Inn (Magnolia Network) - July 19

The latest expansion of the fan-favorite Maine Cabin Masters franchise, Maine Cabin Masters: All Inn, sees the crew tackling their largest project to date, renovating a sprawling nine-bedroom estate and barn into a welcoming lakeside destination. In addition to renovating existing spaces, the team must build three new cabins from the ground up, all while racing to complete the project in less than a year. As the project takes shape, unexpected setbacks and tight deadlines add pressure as the team prepares the property to welcome its first guests.

Hank and Peggy settle into retirement life on Rainey Street while attempting to keep their neighbors from going off the rails. Bobby navigates old friendships while dealing with the stresses of being an entrepreneur.

In a glamorous California suburb, a young woman’s arrest for a violent fantasy plot against her ex-boyfriend's new wife becomes a sensational scandal, but the truth remains hidden behind a sophisticated web of deception. As the investigation peels back layers of betrayal, it becomes unclear who is the true victim and who is the villain in a game where everyone is playing a part.

Sophia was always the good girl growing up and her father’s rock, but her quest to identify her unknown grandfather results in a shocking discovery: He is Charles Manson, history’s most notorious criminal; and he bears striking physical similarities to her beloved father. Sophia’s discovery propels her into an underworld of Manson family members and unreliable narrators as she traces her grandfather’s life.

Along the way, her genetics unlock never-before-released records and exclusive audio recordings that illuminate Manson’s pathology in startling ways. But the more Sophia uncovers, the more her relationship with her father is strained. For Sophia, there’s no turning back. What has she inherited, and how will she reckon with her family legacy?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+) - July 23

In season four of the Paramount+ Original Series, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise - led by Captain Christopher Pike - embark on a series of thrilling and emotional adventures across the stars. As they journey to strange new worlds, they will battle inner demons and external threats, encounter colorful new characters, reunite with familiar faces and confront terrifying aliens. Through it all, they strive to embrace a bright, hopeful future.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (HBO Max) - July 23

Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. Stuart is aided in this quest by his girlfriend Denise, geologist friend Bert, and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke. Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we’ve come to know and love from The Big Bang Theory. As the title implies, things don’t go well.

Pompeii: Out of Time (National Geographic) - July 23

A fusion of cinematic scripted drama and investigative documentary storytelling, the series transports audiences to ancient Rome in the hours before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Guided by a team of archaeologists, historians, geologists and disaster experts, he uncovers remarkable evidence—and the stories of real people that challenge long-held assumptions about Pompeii and its final hours—not least revealing that many of those caught up in the disaster had the chance to survive.

Sarah Polly, a married music teacher from Bristol, has vanished. Minutes have turned into hours; hours into days. And yet her family have heard nothing. Her car keys are still in the dish by the front door, her mobile phone is still charging under the bed. It’s as if she’s simply walked out on her stable family home
Concerned, Sarah’s husband Michael Polly goes to the police. He speaks to Detective Julie Mckenzie. He is determined - insistent - that she finds out what has happened to his wife. Mckenzie promises him she will. But something in her gut tells her he is responsible.

A heartfelt drama set against the sweeping vistas of Texas Hill Country, Ransom Canyon follows the intersecting lives of deep-rooted families in a town where your neighbors know everyone's business.

Season two picks up six months after the events of the first season, with rancher Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel) fighting to reclaim his legacy after being unseated as trustee of his family's Double K Ranch, while musician Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly) must decide if her heart truly belongs in the small town she once tried to outrun or in the fast-paced world of New York City. Are they star-crossed lovers, or fated to be together? In Ransom Canyon, true love stories are messy, complicated, and always worth the wait.