It only took several years, but "Big Brother" is finally becoming the summer low-cost fare that CBS has been looking for.

Viewership for the reality show grew 7 percent this season, leading the network to order a 12th edition of "Big Brother" just ahead of its two-hour season finale.

CBS launched "Big Brother" in 2000 on the heels of the breakout success of "Survivor," picking up a concept first introduced to Dutch television audiences in 1997. The first season didn't really attract viewers, but it did attract a lawsuit from Marvin Rosenblum, a Chicago attorney who owned the film rights to "1984" that was based on the George Orwell novel of the same name where the name "Big Brother" comes from. CBS later settled with Rosenblum outside of court.

After that first season, CBS completely retooled the show, which has helped bring in more viewers every season.

This year, the show has drawn an average of 7.08 million viewers compared to 6.6 million last year, according to numbers provided by CBS. Viewership among adults 18 to 49 also grew by 4 percent while adults 18 to 34 grew 5 percent.

Online, "Big Brother" earned its spot as the top show on CBS.com, as it typically does, but grew that audience by 25 percent in unique users and a 94 percent increase in video streams compared to last year. Also the site logged a record 11.6 million votes during one of the eviction proceedings.

The program, which airs three nights a week, will broadcast its season finale Sept. 15 beginning at 9 p.m. ET.