Big Brother: Renewed for Season 21! Will Julie Chen come back?

Despite rumors, Big Brother will remain on CBS for season 21!

Host Julie Chen looked at the details of the distribution of next summer's edition as part of Thursday's expulsion event.

In typical pre-final fashion, Chen directed viewers to a casting site, confirming that the show would still be around next year.

Like most shows this year, there has been some erosion in the live rankings, but more than 5 million viewers and a score of 1.5 among adults aged 18 to 49 continue to make a difference .

But what about Chen?

There have been conflicting reports that she could leave Big Brother since she left The Talk after nine seasons earlier this week.

Related: Julie Chen returns to CBS, pays tribute to Moonves

Her departure from the series occurred after her husband, Les Moonves, was dismissed from the network following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

If you think the series would not be the same without Julie, then we could have some good news for you.

According to the deadline, Julie's contract runs until the fall of 2019, and the website says she will "continue to work at Big Brother and look forward to hosting the show in the coming years."

Julie has been in the series since her debut in 2000, so we think it's fair to say that fans love her over the years.

However, there have been innumerable rumors that producers are lining up to replace Julie in case Julie leaves the series or if CBS does not want her to come back.

Upon returning to CBS last week, Chen became controversial when she apparently paid tribute to Moonves a few days after being fired from the network.

"I'm Julie Chen Moonves. Good night, "she said at the end of the episode of Big Brother last Thursday. Prior to this slice, she usually said that she called herself "Julie Chen".

The reaction of the fans of the series has provoked a polarizing reaction, some having the impression to have continued normally, without changing anything.

While her future at Big Brother was uncertain, there was really no question of whether she would come back.

The question was when she was going to announce her departure.

Related: Julie Chen leaves the conference after the release of CBS Les Moonves

Julie was not seen when the talk show returned for season 9 last week.

"I take a few days off at The Talk to be with my family," she said in a statement at the end of the season.

"I'll be back soon and see you tonight on Big Brother."

However, a pre-recorded message aired on The Talk earlier this week, confirming its release.

"I've been to The Talk since the day it started nine years ago, and the actors, the team and the staff have become my family over the years," she said.

"But now I have to spend more time at home, with my husband and our young son, so I decided to leave The Talk."

Although knowing that Julie has been on a contract until the fall of 2019, there is still a lot of time from now until the next summer 's edition.

With a second episode of Big Brother: Celebrity Edition in mid-season, we should have a more accurate response from the network about its future in the coming months.

Do you want Chen to stay with the series, or do you think it's time to have new blood to animate the series?

Do you even want to look without Julie?

Hit the comments below.

Big Brother continues Sunday on CBS.

Paul Dailly is a writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.