‘Big Brother All-Stars’ Premiere Recap: Former Players Return As Cast Is Revealed Live
Fans have been asking for it for years and CBS finally delivered. Big Brother kicked off its 22nd season on Wednesday night and for the first time since 2006, former players from seasons past returned to play the game again for an All-Stars season.
The cast featured former winners, runners-up, big personalities, and all returned with something to prove. The two-hour live premiere kicked off as host Julie Chen Moonves welcomed the 16 houseguests to the Big Brother House. She explained that the houseguests would enter in groups of four and quickly take part in a challenge. The winner of the challenge would advance to play in the Head of Household competition later in the show.
Before anyone entered the house, Julie confirmed that all players had been quarantined separately for two weeks and were given multiple COVID-19 tests before entering the house.
Season 18 winner Nicole Franzel, three-time player Janelle Pierzina, Season 8 runner up Dani Briones, and Season 19 third place finisher Christmas Abbott were the first to enter the house. They each had to run to the backyard and try to complete a puzzle task. Christmas was the lone player to finish and she moved on to the next round.
The next group to enter the house included Season 14 winner Ian Terry, Season 11 third-place finisher Kevin Campbell, Season 10 runner up Memphis Garrett, and Season 20 runner up Tyler Crispin. They competed in the challenge and Ian and Memphis both completed it to advance.
Season 21 third place finisher Nicole Anthony, Season 10 fan favorite Keesha Smith, Season 17 and 18 fan favorite Da’Vonne Rogers and Season 20 favorite Bayleigh Dayton all entered the house. Nicole would be the lone one to finish and advance into the final round.
The final group of houseguests to enter the house included Season 6 and 7 fan-favorite Kaysar Ridha, Season 16 runner up Cody Calafiore, Season 12 third-place finisher Enzo Palumbo, and Season 21 first evictee David Alexander. Cody would win the challenge and advance into the final round.
For the first Head of Household (HoH) competition of the summer, the final five competed as they had to balance their way across a star track without falling. The one to complete it in the fastest time would be the first HoH of the summer. Cody finished in 22.7 seconds, giving him the first HoH win of the season. Will this come back to haunt him?
Of course, it would not be Big Brother without a twist. Julie revealed to the All-Stars that there is a hidden room called the “safety suite” and it can keep All-Stars safe from eviction. She was a little scarce on the details but it looks like we’ll have to tune in Sunday for more on that.
Overall Thoughts
I highly doubted this season would happen but I’ve never been happier to be wrong. Would we have an All-Star season if COVID-19 did not happen? Probably not. I’m so excited for this new season that I’m going to be glued to the feeds for the first time ever!
I’ve watched every season of Big Brother since Season 1 back in 2000. So it is pretty cool to see some old school players mixed with some new school players. The way each generation played the game is so different and I’m excited to see where things go this season. I love this cast but I am confused as to why Christmas and David are considered All-Stars.
What did you think of the premiere? Let me know in the comments below!
Big Brother All-Stars continues Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.