The highly anticipated opening of “Pinoy Big Brother Otso” and the entrance of the eight new teen housemates into Big Brother’s house drew a big number of viewers from all over the country, making it the most watched program of the weekend according to data from Kantar Media.

The introduction of the first batch of housemates received a national TV rating of 26.6% last Saturday (November 10) and a rating of 28.8% last Sunday (November 11), besting the ratings of its rival programs for both days, “Daddy’s Gurl” (17.2%) on Saturday and “Studio 7” (15.3%) on Sunday.

Netizens also showed their support for the eighth season of “PBB” as it became a trending topic on Twitter not just in the Philippines but worldwide.

The show’s opening revealed the first batch of teen housemates. These are Seth Fedelin, the Hope-pool Son of Cavite; Aljon Mendoza, the Shy Charmer of Pampanga; Art Guma, the Baeral Gwapito of Davao; and Josh Worsley, the Little Prince of Davao. The girl teen housemates, on the other hand, are Jelay Pilones, the Sassy Sipag Girl of Gen San; Kaori Oinuma, the Kawaii Daughter of Japan; Lie Reposposa, the Teenig ng Tawanan of Davao; and Karina Bautista, the Miss Independent of Isabela.

Seth and Jelay both dedicate their journey in “PBB Otso” to their families. At their young age they are already helping out with their families’ livelihood; Seth by managing their family pool, which is rented out to the public, and Jelay by joining her parents’ showband.

On the other hand, Josh joined “PBB” to make give back to his supportive Filipino-Britih family and try to make them proud.

Karina and Kaori have more than one thing in common: they are both half Japanese, and also never got to know their fathers. Karina has been living by herself in Isabela while her mom works in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Kaori, who lives in Japan, balances studying and working to help her mother with their expenses.

Self-improvement is what drove Aljon to join “Pinoy Big Brother.” Will the challenges from Big Brother be able to bring out shy Aljon from his shell?

Meanwhile, Art and Lie are no strangers to attention as they have both had their share of the limelight. Art’s video of trying to make his friends laugh became viral while Lie was once a “Tawag ng Tanghalan” contestant. They now have another opportunity to show off their talent to Kapamilyas.

“PBB Otso” will be different from past seasons as audience will get to follow two houses: Bahay ni Kuya and Camp Star Hunt.

The most famous house in the country will always have eight housemates inside it at any given time during its eighth season. Once a housemate is eliminated, a Star Dreamer from “Camp Star Hunt” will take his or her place. “Camp Star Hunt” is an exclusive show on iWant, the new streaming service from ABS-CBN, where Star Dreamers will compete with each other for the chance to become an official housemate. Viewers also can watch them in the afternoon show “PBB Otso Gold”.

The first batch of housemates will stay inside the “PBB” house for eight weeks as the succeeding three batches of housemates will also stay for eight weeks. Each batch will have a winner who will then become one of the final eight housemates in the last two weeks of “PBB Otso.” There will be a ‘boto ng bayan’ to determine the other housemates, one from each batch, who will complete the final eight housemates who will compete to become the Ultim8 Big Winner of “PBB Otso.”

Watch “PBB Otso” every night on Primetime Bida after Halik,” every Saturday after “Home Sweetie Home,” and every Sunday after “Wansapanataym.” Viewers can also tune in every afternoon to “PBB Otso Gold” on Kapamilya Gold after “Los Bastardos.” Fans can follow “Camp Star Hunt” and “PBB Otso” on iWant for catch up episodes and livestreams for both houses.