It's almost time to head back to the crazy house for Big Brother 21. CBS recently revealed the 2019 cast will be announced Monday, June 17, with BB alum Jeff Schroeder doing interviews. It wasn't quite the big news fans were hoping for. They wanted the cast announced right then, to clear up the many rumors that have been floating around.
Every year, Big Brother has casting rumors before the new season. Casting director Robyn Kass yawned off the latest round of "spoilers," without pointing out which leaks were incorrect:
Zing! One widespread Big Brother 21 casting rumor was that half the cast could be returning players. That scoop initially came out via Brent Wolgamott of Rob Has a Podcast:
There were 16 houseguests in the summer 2018 Big Brother 20, so that's why that "spoiler" would've been half a season of returnees. Two HGs who played last summer are Faysal Shafaat and Haleigh Broucher, who became a couple during the show. Their names came up from another account as potential returnees:
Evel Dick, who won Big Brother 8, weighed in on the returnees rumors -- which sounded similar to the annual hope/fear that this might be the year Big Brother does another all-stars season:
Alex Kidwell, formerly of Rob Has a Podcast, shared an update that was tied to the previous spoiler about a half-returnees season:
A showmance theme! Ugh. Based on what he heard, BB20's Chris "Swaggy C" Williams and Bayleigh Dayton could still have a wedding on CBS during BB21. But his sources say the half-returnees showmance theme was dropped "due to fan response" -- which, honestly, doesn't track. Since when do they care about fan response?
If the "fan response" angle has merit, maybe it's tied to The Amazing Race 31, which is currently airing with several Big Brother returnees. Ratings haven't been gangbusters, so maybe there was a decision to give CBS reality show viewers a break from the returning players? That's pure speculation. Either way, new players are the best. Big Brother 20 had its frustrations, but not from houseguests being unwilling to get in there and play.
I was not a fan of Big Brother 15 winner Andy Herren -- or anything else about BB15 -- but I often agree with him now, and I completely agree with his take on the rumors:
Yes. My favorite Big Brother Twitter, Big Brother Daily, posted a BB21 casting poll with close to 14,000 responses. Here are the results so far:
So at least half of the voters want new players. If CBS really cares about fan response, that might tell you something.
All of the Big Brother 20 rumors will be cleared up on Monday, and then BB21 -- hosted by Julie Chen Moonves -- premieres Tuesday, June 25, followed by Wednesday, June 26 and then Sunday, June 30 on CBS. That Tuesday/Wednesday/Sunday schedule is meant to continue through the first six episodes before returning to the usual Wednesday/Thursday/Sunday schedule.
Keep up with all summer programming through our handy guide. Sign up for the BB21 live feeds now at CBS All Access. I plan to follow the Big Brother 21 live feeds spoilers for CinemaBlend, so I hope to see you back here after the Big Brother 21 premiere and we can start calling everyone out on their game moves and drama.
