‘Big Brother 21’: Snap judgments on the 16 new houseguests (and dog lovers)
“Big Brother 21” premieres next week, but we got to meet the 16 new houseguests live and, well, on our screens Monday during their pre-season interviews with Jeff Schroeder on CBS All Access. If you didn’t tune in to the four-hour affair, fret not, we’ve got you covered below. Here are our first impressions of these newbies, who own lots of dogs and will miss them very much this summer.
Analyse Talavera
A fan since she was 10, Analyse wants to play like Kaycee last season, but she’s also “competitive and athletic” like Angela, so she thinks that’ll be her downfall. She also hopes there are cute guys and she may or may not know who Anna Faris is after Jeff said her name is pronounced like Faris’ (Ahn-a-leese). So disrespectful to “The House Bunny.” Analyse’s answers weren’t great and she was uber giggly the whole time, but let’s hope that was just nerves. You know if she becomes a villain, the Anal Lice nickname is waiting right there.
Quote: [on what her hashtag would be] “Thank you, Jesus. … Actually, thank ya, Jesus.”
David Alexander
A “recent fan,” Davis seems very low-key, so we probably won’t be seeing a lotta Diary Rooms from him early on. His plan is to play the social game and “use the bubbly personality” and not dominate the comps. He is not looking forward to being cut off from the world and is happy the NBA Finals didn’t go to a Game 7 otherwise he would’ve missed it on Sunday. “To be unaware is weird,” he laments. I get it, bro. Honestly, his only drawback is that his life motto is “David is going to do David.”
Quote: [on slop] “Vitamin-fortified is good for you.”
SEE ‘Big Brother 21’ cast: Here are your 16 brand new houseguests
Christie Murphy
Christie has been a superfan since Season 8 and homegirl was literally crying as she sat down in the Diary Room. Her Staten Island accent will be easy to love to hate, as will her Kaitlyn vibes. She journals every day and since she can’t do that in the house, she’s gonna make the house have a “gratitude circle” every morning, during which everyone goes around and lists three things they’re grateful for. This will work out well. Count on lots of meltdowns from her.
Quote: “I feel like this is the Time of Christie.”
Jackson Michie
Jackson, who was named after the Mississippi capital, is this season’s Hot Guy Who Wants You to Know He’s More Than a Hot Guy. A fan since Season 10 (he wants to meet Mr. Pec-Tacular), he knows he’ll be viewed as a physical threat, but he still wants to win the first HOH to guarantee his safety. “You gotta get some blood on your hands,” he says. At least someone is willing to. He comes off very level-headed and serious, and we know what has happened to Hot Serious Southern guys (Winston, Monte) lately, so mark him for an early boot.
Quote: “[‘Big Brother’ is] sales. You’re selling yourself to 15 other people.”
Jessica Milagros
More like Jessica MiLAUGHgros. Seriously, girl punctuated every answer with a laugh. She is very, very bubbly, so this might get annoying on the live feeds. A plus-size model, Jess hopes she’s underestimated because of her size, but FYI, she’s run marathons and spins. (Are spin classes the epitome of physical strength and ability?) She has seven best friends, so she feels like she can get along with anybody. Wow, look, she’s actually here to make friends. So it’s not a shocker when she answers Jeff’s favorite question – would you rather win and be hated by America or lose and be love? – by saying she wants to win and be loved. <eye roll>
Quote: [on her hashtag] “Hashtag Chi Town Cutie, I dunno. I was like, Curvy Cutie!”
Nick Maccarone
Nick has been a fan since Season 17, which he watched at his aunt’s house after a tornado knocked out his cable. He may only be a fan for a couple of years, but he instantly dragged Matt for eating 3,000 bowls of cereal on Season 19, so he already has my support. Other than that, dude is blunt as hell, so that might bite him in the butt. His game plan for the first two weeks is to “use my charm.” He talks a mile a minute, so I’m sending thoughts and prayers to all the live-feed transcribers, who will have their work cut out for them.
Quote: [on seeing Season 17 for the first time] “This Asian dude comes on with a country accent and I was like, ‘What is going on?!’”
Ovi Kabir
Ovi first watched “Big Brother” in high school as an assignment for his AP Sociology class. See, TV is educational! A recent college graduate, he seems like a nice guy, so he’ll be labeled boring in there. He thinks he’s self-aware to know he’s not the smartest person in the room, but he’s going to work with the “smartest team.” And by “work,” he means lay low and “let other people make moves.” So… a floater? He has no problem backstabbing people because he’s only loyal to his family, his girlfriend and his dog. He also wants you to follow his dog on Instagram.
Quote: “If I’m going to take three months away from the dog, I need to win the damn game.”
SEE We finally have the ‘Big Brother 21’ premiere date, and there’s already a twist
Jack Matthews
Ah, Jason Momoa’s twin. Only he has never seen “Game of Thrones” or “Aquaman.” Jack seems like a great hang. I wanna get beers with him. His strategy is to not go after the HOHs but win the Vetos. Not terrible, but you need to be picked to play the Vetos first, if, you know, you’re not nominated already. He hates people who are “one-uppers”: people who have to tell a story that beats somebody else’s story. Gonna steal that term. He’s fit and big, but he claims he’s a jack of all trades and a master of none. Jack appears laidback and chill enough that he could make it far if he can avoid being an instant target. He, too, will miss his dog, a black lab named Laila, and his cat, who is named Celine Dion. New automatic fave.
Quote: “I’m the king of average.”
Tommy Bracco
A Broadway dancer — he was the scene-stealer in “Pretty Woman” — Tommy is pretty tiny, so he’s going to be this season’s rat. Which he totally wants to be. His idol is Ian from Season 14, which was the first season he watched, so he wants to be the “runt” who “no one realized [was] a threat.” His plan: throw comps and just win everyone over by being “fun, energetic, crazy.” He’s your stereotypical Italian boy from a tight-knit Staten Island family, and he doesn’t want to get in a showmance since his mom is watching. But, as Tommy, who’s gay, notes, the show usually only has one token gay guy a season, so he might not have anyone to showmance anyway. What a low-key burn.
Quote: “I feel like I’ve been playing ‘Big Brother’ for the last 10 years of my life, being a theater performer.”
Holly Allen
This is the wine safari guide. (If you’ve already Googled her, you’d know she dated a “Bachelorette” alum.) Holly is supposedly a fan of the show, but she had no idea she was in the Diary Room. OK. She also called “Big Brother” stars an “elite group of people” when, as Jeff interrupted, she probably means “crazy.” Since she grew up on a dude ranch in Wyoming, Holly feels like she’s been preparing all her life for “Big Brother” because she would be cut off from society every summer while ranch-livin’. Also, get ready for a ton of Wyoming stories on the show. You can just feel it. She will also miss her dog, Jackson, who’s 3 years old and has been to 20 states. Things were going all right with Holly until she says she’d rather lose and be loved because “I can make $500,000 doing something else, right?” Sigh.
Quote: “I’m going in single and skeptical.”
Kathryn Dunn
Kathryn looks like your typical dumb blonde, but she’s a fan and insists she knows the game — this is apparently the only show she watches — and is willing to stab people in the back. We get another dog shout-out here, to her four-legged pal, Boss. Seriously, the show is missing a huge opportunity if it doesn’t do Pupdates on these pooches every week. Kathryn is in digital marketing and was super pressed about fans on Twitter calling her an “influencer” last week during all the cast speculation. Wait til she gets out and sees everyone making fun of her (and Jeff’s) “scotch-free” gaffe.
Quote: “Here I am talking a big game and I’ll probably be the first one evicted.”
Isabella Wang
Bella, as she goes by, is a fan and immediately knew she was in the DR, so points for her. She doesn’t have the best memory, so she thinks she’ll struggle with those comps, but she’s confident she’s going to “make a connection with every houseguest” because she used to work in retail. OK, but who actually likes when people come up to them when they’re shopping? She lost 50 pounds last year and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, which Jeff referenced earlier in his interview with Jack about one-uppers (hmm…). But mostly, Bella is worried about her tiger mom, who is big about sunscreen, which Bella can’t promise she’ll wear every day. Girl, you’re in L.A. in the summer and your only connection to the outside world is the backyard. There’s a feisty player inside of Bella, but it’s getting obscured by all her “I’m bringing a lot of love” talk. At least she’ll probably participate in Christie’s gratitude circle.
Quote: [on her pet peeve] “People who can’t properly wash their hands. We’re going to hold a seminar of how to wash your hands on Big Brother.”
SEE ‘Big Brother’ is the ultimate tease with this Season 21 teaser
Kemi Fakunle
Kemi is a kook. In a good way. She has the best personality out of everyone so far and promises that “I’m not that interesting, but I’m fun.” She might be the former too. She’s only been watching the show for a year, but has seen 10 seasons, and she’s all about bagging that dough. Her strategy is to “make friends for purposes of the show” and her pet peeve is “overly emotional people for no reason.” Relatable. So get ready for some fireworks between her and Christie. And oh, look! She’s another dog owner who will miss her dog. C’mon, CBS, make BB Pupdates happen!
Quote: “I’m trying to win and trying to go shopping after. Just kidding, I would go back to school.”
Cliff Hogg
The most important thing you need to know about this conversation is that Jeff doesn’t know what loofahs are. (Cliff grows them in his Houston backyard, along with grapes.) He tried to walk it back by saying he didn’t know you could grow loofahs, but too late, Jeff! We already know! I guess they’re saving all the amiable folks for the end because Cliff, 53, feels like your fun dad who is Very Dad. He even tossed in a dad joke for good measure. He knows people will make assumptions about him and will underestimate him, which he’s OK with. A fan since Season 8, Cliff can definitely be more of a Kevin than a Glenn or a Steve. But really, the show should cast more than one token older houseguest a season.
Quote: “I’m still holding out hope this is a special geriatric season — everyone’s on scooters and walkers, and I’ll dominate the season.”
Sam Smith
Sam is a truck driver and really wants you to know it. He’s also a married dad of two boys and really wants you to know it. He believes social threats are voted out in the first half of the game and physical threats the second half, which is not really true, but whatever. He doesn’t want any blood on his hands at first, so this neat freak will be messy if everyone else is. His scratchy voice will… be an acquired taste, to put it mildly.
Quote: “I already have haters now after I switched my political views.”
Nicole Anthony
Nicole’s going to be the Weird One. She wants her hashtag to be #QuirkyQueen, so she’s all in on this. She’s like if Bronte and Raven had a baby. It’s going to be A LOT on the feeds. A preschool aide, Nicole is also very, very proud of her smarts; she graduated second of her high school class and summa cum laude in college, which she mentioned at least twice. She’s not gonna tell the house about her giant brain. But seriously, though, who goes around anyway announcing that they were in the top of their class in high school and college? That’s not something you introduce yourself with unless you really need that validation. (She’s only 24, so I guess that tracks.) Anyway, Nicole also periodically and randomly emphasized her New York accent, so any arguments with the New Yorkers will be absolutely delightful on the ears.
Quote: “[The houseguests are] my students. That’s how I’m gonna view it.”
“Big Brother 21” will have a two-night premiere on Tuesday, June 25 and Wednesday, June 26 at 8/7c with one-hour episodes. Its first Sunday episode will be on June 30 at 8/7c. The show will revert back to its usual Wednesday/Thursday/Sunday schedule beginning with the Wednesday, July 10 installment. Starting then, the weekday episodes will also move to the 9/8c slot, while the Sunday ones will remain at 8/7c. The first live eviction is Wednesday, July 3.
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