LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- Less than a month after wrapping its sixth edition, CBS has gone ahead and renewed its summer mainstay "Big Brother" for a seventh season.

Last year, CBS waited until the spring before giving the thumbs up for another edition of the Endemol USA-produced series (read the story).

Executive producers Allison Grodner and Arnold Shapiro as well as host Julie Chen will all return for the new installment, which will bow in the summer of 2006.

As usual, full details about the various twists and turns for the new season won't be announced until the weeks leading up to the premiere. Among the rumored possibilities: an all-star edition featuring previous "Big Brother" cast members.

This past summer, "Big Brother" averaged 7.24 million viewers across its three airings each week - Tuesdays (8.20 million), Thursdays (7.62 million) and Saturdays (5.18 million).