As anticipated, the Big Brother 23 premiere lived up to its reputation of “Expect the Unexpected” with Julie Chen Moonves returning as the fan-favorite Big Brother host. Last night’s Big Brother 23 episode was full of new risks and rewards as well as the announcement of the largest prize in Big Brother history…more on that later.
16 new houseguests entered the Big Brother 2021 house tonight eager to compete against one another for the Big Brother 23 title and the coveted prize money. Julie explained all of the new twists for the season and we are here to break down the five best moments from the Big Brother 23 premiere. I am excited to say this was the most entertaining premiere in recent memory.
#5: New Faces Move Into Beach Club Themed House
The house has a beach club vibe in a casino atmosphere. You don’t want to miss the 3-D shark making quite the impression in the kitchen area. The decor can be over the top at times, but this is Big Brother.
The houseguests were brought into the house tonight in groups of 4 and weren’t given much time to check out the new decor. They were quickly ushered into the backyard to compete. More on that in a moment.
The 16 new houseguests are the most diverse cast in Big Brother history. CBS made a promise to their viewers late last year that all of their unscripted reality shows will feature BIOPIC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) contestants. They certainly lived up to their promise. This cast has so much promise over the casts of the last few seasons (no shade intended). Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this remains the case.
#4: Team Captains
The show kicked off with the houseguests being introduced in four different groups of 4, and all of which were of the same sex. As each group entered the Big Brother house, they were instructed to head directly to the backyard for their first competition.
Each group competed in the Kick-Off competition separately and the winner of each group was named team captain. The competition was very straightforward as compared with years prior, and everyone had a fair chance to win. The houseguests had to recreate a poster that was behind them on an easel. The first to do so correctly won.
The four winning houseguests, one from each group, were Frenchie French, Whitney Williams, Christian Birkenberger, and Claire Rehfuss.
#3: Draft Day
Once the 4 team captains were established, it was time to select teams with the remaining Big Brother houseguests. The selection process was rather unique and similar to a playground pick-up game. The team captains took turns picking their teammates.
Captains were given 2 houseguests each round to choose from generated by a giant slot machine (casino theme of course). Each houseguest that was up for selection gave a quick video fact about themselves that was prerecorded. The choices were set up to ensure that each team ended with 2 males per team and 2 females per team. Way to try and make things fair Big Brother. Kudos to you!
Each team was given a preselected name. The final four teams with their respective names are listed below:
The Jokers: Frenchie (captain), Azah Awasum, Britini D’Angelo, Derek Frazier.
The Aces: Whitney (captain), Brent Champagne, Derek Xiao, and Hannah Chaddha.
The Kings: Christian (captain), Alyssa Lopez, Xavier Prather, and Sarah Steagall.
The Queens: Claire (captain), Kyland Young, Tiffany Long, and Travis Long.
#2: HOH Competition and That Guy Called Frenchie
Once the teams were selected, Julie shifted immediately to the Head of Household (HOH) competition that was titled House of Cards. The team captains had to assemble a stacked card puzzle on top of a platform which was held up by their teammates. The first captain to complete the puzzle and ring their buzzer first won the first HOH of the season.
The first HOH and their entire team would be safe from eviction in week one. The last team to complete the puzzle would be the have-nots for the week and take cold showers, eat only slop, and sleep in uncomfortable beds.
Frenchie and his team jumped out to a quick lead and never stopped their pace. Frenchie was the first to hit the buzzer and won HOH (his second comp win of the night). But…that was not the end. Julie then offered Frenchie a deal she deemed too good to refuse. She missed the mark on that one as Frenchie did turn down the offer.
Here’s what Frenchie was offered going along with the risk versus reward theme of this season. If Frenchie agreed to try and place two oversized dice on a craps-styled table in 45 seconds, he would win safety for himself and his team for a second week.
Ultimately, Frenchie was not willing to take that risk although when he attempted to see if he would have won the reward, he placed both dice with just 2 seconds left on the clock. That would have been Frenchie’s third comp win of the night. Frenchie the farmer is definitely one to watch this season. He is already a comp beast.
#1: Largest Prize In Big Brother History
The most exciting announcement made by Julie during the premiere had to about the grand prize offered in season 23. This year’s winner will walk away with a staggering $750,000 in prize money. The houseguest’s reactions were priceless with many of them too speechless to even comment. The others had their chins on the ground…as did I.
Julie also announced a Wild Card competition that will be unveiled in the coming days. That promises to shake things up inside the Big Brother house as well. This season is already on fire and this is only night one!
With so much at stake and the new twists and turns, this is coming together to be an epic season of Big Brother. This premiere had a different feeling from those in the past. Tonight felt like a new era of Big Brother was commencing with the new diverse cast, the exceptional prize offered, and the risks to be offered to the houseguests along the way. I just hope what I am feeling comes to fruition, and this is one of the most memorable seasons of Big Brother…ever.
Make sure to come back here all season for spoilers, recaps, best moments, and so much more. We will be waiting for you.
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