It’s that time again! Time to make ridiculously-too-early predictions about how this group of new Big Brother 18 houseguests might fare. And while we may not know the whole picture in terms of all of the houseguests we’ll be watching this summer, we might as well get started on breaking down our new friends and take a look at their chances and what we can expect from each of them this summer.
At first glance, I actually think the Big Brother 18 cast is well-balanced and could have many potential winners in the end, something we can’t say for many seasons. And best of all, the houseguests seem to be hungry for that money. I believe all but two said they’d rather win and be hated than lose and be loved, which is something I look for in a serious player.
It’s nearly impossible to really determine who will win Big Brother 2016, particularly if we’re not getting the full picture right now. But I’ll give my two cents on what we’ve got to work with and will provide an update when the picture becomes clearer. Without further ado, let’s dive into the twelve new houseguests!!
Michelle Meyer
If this game was played on paper, she’d be an excellent pick to go deep into the game. She’s clearly the biggest fan of the bunch, citing herself as a live feeder on her CBS profile. To me though, her strategy seems a little disjointed. She wants to win competitions but also appear weak, which is it? As much as she claims she doesn’t want to be a superfan that appears to be so invested in the game, I’m not sure she’ll be able to help herself. Additionally, I’m not sure how self aware she is as she states she’s not awkward, but her interview with Jeff Schroeder felt awkward to me. She reminds me of Nicole Franzel from Big Brother 16 quite a bit for a number of reasons, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. The whole Dietitian thing could get annoying if other houseguests get tired of hearing what they should and shouldn’t be eating. I’m glad she is ready to play the game and do whatever it takes, but the execution is really what matters. She seems very excited to be there, and whether or not she can contain her excitement is going to say a lot in terms of how the other houseguests will react to her. It could go either way, it really depends on how she clicks with the other new houseguests and any returning veterans.
Glenn Garcia
He feels like a fish out of water to me. Certainly that New York City edge may help him in dealing with different personalities, but I have to wonder how prepared he is for what this is going to entail. I expected him to dive into being a former police detective in his interview, but there was none of that. I don’t think he’s quite the Derrick Levasseur that he thinks he might be. I’m interested to see how he copes, but I expect that younger kids are going to grate on him. The age gap is very significant for him, by 18 years. I just don’t know that I can see him overcoming that, but it’s happened before. It’s good to know he’s willing to be flexible once he sees the vibe of the house, but I do see that he could be too aggressive in his gameplay early on if he isn’t willing to take a step back and let others be more prominent. As the older person, it’s best for him to find his role, blend in, and not give anyone a reason to go after the “easy target.” I’m ready willing to be surprised, but I don’t really expect we’ll be seeing him lasting for more than a few weeks.
Is she not the spitting image of her sister, Vanessa Rousso? I do find it interesting that she’s a high school math teacher, very different than her sister Vanessa who plays poker for a living. I wonder if the houseguests are going to actually believe that. It was also fascinating that she doesn’t give up her relationship to Vanessa right away when Jeff probed her during their interview, which reminded me of Vanessa skirting around her real agenda. I do find her to be much more down to earth and relatable than Vanessa. Although perhaps before Big Brother 17 actually aired I might have felt similarly. She mentions being very competitive like her sister, but hopefully she doesn’t get too obsessed with winning every competition and playing things perfectly. I liked what she had to say on her CBS profile, mentioning wanting to form real relationships with people and her dedication to remaining focused. I think if we didn’t just see her sister crush it last year, her chances would be fantastic. But with Vanessa being fresh in everyone’s mind and potentially throwing former houseguests (that may have played with her) into the equation, I do get a little concerned. I really would like to see her overcome that however, so she can play her own game and be remembered for being Tiffany, not Vanessa’s little sister. I very much look forward to seeing what she brings.
Victor Arroyo
At first, I didn’t feel like I could get a good idea of who he is and where he fits in this cast, but as the picture has come together more I’m not sure that I like what I see. He certainly isn’t incapable, but I am just not sure he is skillful enough to do well, especially with limited knowledge of the show. When he said he wanted America to love him more than he wanted to win, I was pretty much determined thinking that he’s not in it to win it. He intends to woo the women and be a part of multiple alliances, both of which could spell some trouble if he’s not sly enough. Because he’s an obvious physical target, I do think him not standing out is probably something he should focus on. His life motto and description of himself were not at all impressive, and make me think he’s a bit egotistical, which will be sniffed out quickly by those that are perceptive. I think he will be his own worst enemy in this game and it will not be difficult for others to manipulate him if they don’t kick him out early for being a threat to win competitions. I really don’t have a great outlook in terms of his potential here, and wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was out in the first four weeks.
Bridgette Dunning
She seems perfectly nice, but I have to wonder if she’s cut out for this. I hope we don’t turn on the feeds to seeing her in a corner wondering what she got herself into. I found her to be very agreeable in her interview with Jeff, though her nursing experience might make her more worldly than she appears. Although the gesture she kept making with her hand on her chin was very much irritating and not as cute as she thinks it might be. Her hesitation to be hated says a lot, I’m not confident she’ll get far enough to be there if she doesn’t make the right connections. That’s really what I think it will come down to for Bridgette, whether or not she is able to form lasting connections, because she seems a little disconnected from the whole thing. She says in her profile that she can be oblivious and gullible, two things that are not good for the Big Brother house depending on the caliber of player you are playing with. On top of that she tells Jeff she’s not a good liar. I’m hoping it goes better than I expect, but of all the women (who I think are impressive) she was the one I couldn’t get a good read on and didn’t see a lot of potential in terms of gameplay.
He had a good, fun, generally self-aware energy but was almost working too hard to be mellow. But he seemed relaxed and approachable enough, where he can enact what he said where he’d essentially be the bartender listening to people’s problems. In his profile, he said he was confident that he was sneaky, though if others see him as sneaky, that is certainly not going to be a good thing. I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be our villain this year, or at least intends to be. If he comes off mellow and disinterested and unleashes only in the Diary Room, he will do just fine. Fortunately, he’s ready and willing to be malleable and I like that he wants to just let things unfold and react accordingly instead of speculating too much ahead of the game. He wants to have fun, which is something I personally like to hear. I’m not sure if he’s just going to be content floating along or if he’s going to be incredibly invested in the game, it’s really about where he finds himself socially in the first week. My biggest concern with Paul was the “ruffling feathers” comment he made when being interviewed by Jeff. Do a lot of things get under his skin? If he can’t keep up his cool demeanor, that’s really what everything hinges on. Can he keep up that front or no? That’s the real question here. He vows to be wild and I think we’re all hoping he delivers on that promise.
Natalie Negrotti
There are a few red flags on her profile, such as her wanting to start an all-girl alliance and being a strong competitor, that could wind up putting a big target on her, but I really enjoyed her vibe and how charismatic and engaging she was with Jeff. She’s like the opposite of Michelle for me where I feel like on paper it doesn’t look promising for Natalie, but if she’s got the charm and the game savvy that she appeared to have during the interview she could go deep. But she needs to not come in so strong and let the dust settle for a while before she really starts to play the aggressive game that she speaks of. Natalie’s self-described impatience is also not a great sign for her chances in the game, where you need to be patient and sit back sometimes. It could go really well or really poorly for Natalie: if she can make it past week three, I think she’ll be around for a while. Her clicking with the girls is really a key factor I think, because they might not like her if she’s too over the top. But she cites working with lots of other women as a cheerleader and her wanting to work with the girls is a good sign. Of course, she could be an easy target for the men if she is too aggressive in wanting to work with the girls. Regardless, she’s going to be fun on the feeds and in the Diary Room and I hope we’re afforded more than a few weeks to watch her because she’s incredibly fun and could bring a lot to this season.
Jozea Flores
He’s one of the biggest question marks for me, he certainly seems like he wants to play hard, but I am not sure if it’s all there. He makes the game seem super simple in both his CBS profile and in his interview, and I think he’s in for a shock. On his profile, he says that there will be nothing hard about living in the Big Brother 18 house and seems confident that he’ll be able to use “love and caring” to manipulate houseguests. I’m not so sure he’s ready for this. But, I do expect that he’ll bond well with people for the most part if he’s not standoffish and guarded, as he sometimes came off with during his interview with Jeff. His body language was incredibly closed off, and while it very well may be nerves, he needs to at least appear to let people in if he wants to make the right bonds to go deep in the game. To add insult to injury, Jozea sees no weaknesses in his game, but again, it’s not as easy of a game as he thinks. Maybe he’s keeping things close to the vest, but I just think he feels he’s got Big Brother figured out and he doesn’t. This could go either way for him, but things are trending downward for him unfortunately.
Bronte D’Acquisto
I know some people find her voice annoying, but I find her personality and energy to be so engaging and adorable, so forgive me if I’m somewhat biased. I expect the other houseguests will find her to be non-threatening when in actuality she’s really laid out a strategy and cites how she’ll put it into motion. I hope she’s willing to be flexible in terms of her strategy though, otherwise things could get tricky, but I have high hopes for her. Bronte is going to bring it in terms of entertainment and gameplay, the voice alone is hilarious. She had absolutely no hesitation when she said she’d rather be hated and win, and exclaimed that she was motivated by the money (so she can get her degree) more than anything else. I really loved how in her CBS profile, she said she would think through the worst case scenario instead of how things will work out perfectly, because it’s something I really find to be true. So many houseguests expect their alliance will run the tables in the competitions and it never works out that way. Her intention to use behavior science and statistics intrigues me, and I really want to see how well she can put her plans into action. As long as she can relate to her fellow houseguests and isn’t seen as an overly strategic player, things could go really well for her. Perhaps she’ll have her dream of being the “female Derrick” fulfilled.
Similar to Tiffany, I feel like Paulie was maybe a more subdued version of his brother Cody Calafiore. He’s older and wiser, but really I didn’t see a ton of differences between how Cody played the game and how Paulie wants to play it. I’m not sure if he’ll have that lingering desire to outplay Cody, but I want to hope that he won’t just carbon copy his brother, but I’m not entirely sure what he’ll bring and what ideas he has. Right away, everyone is going to know who he is, he looks just like his younger brother. A few of the new houseguests listed Cody as their favorite former houseguest (which is shocking) and might want to work with him because of this. I’m sure his social game will be up to par, I have to give credit to Cody where it is due, for Paulie however it’s more about if he’s cutthroat enough to make the decisions that Cody was never able to make. He’s going in willing to see what the rest of the house is like before making any plans, which is great, but he has to be willing to have the killer instinct that Cody could never follow through on. I really could see it going either way, but I’d be surprised if his brother made him a target, certainly the veterans and Tiffany would have bigger targets on them. The set-up is decent for him if he can navigate the group of houseguests well enough, we shall see.
Zakiyah Everette
I think her chances are decent, even though she speaks of showmances and having a big mouth, she came across very calm and even-tempered. And best of all, she wants to win badly. I think there certainly could be problems for her if she’s not approachable enough or not as aggressive in the game as she should be, but it’s really hard to point out too many red flags, especially since her CBS bio was pretty brief. But there’s a lot of upside with Zakiyah, if she plays her cards right. There’s always things that could go wrong, but if I had to place my bets on someone, I think she could be one to watch. She should be sitting back and letting things happen for a while as I imagine she’ll do, but I hope that she knows when it’s time to make moves. She says she wants to “actually play the game” so I have faith that she can do what it takes when the time comes. I imagine she’ll do just fine socially, and that’s really key for her. If she makes the right connections and doesn’t become expendable to others, I doubt she’ll be going anywhere anytime soon even if she gets nominated as a pawn early on.
Corey Brooks
His concerns about missing home and his reputation are things that don’t really look good to me. I think he’s not offensive and will be well-liked in there, but he doesn’t have the killer instinct that I look for personally. Sure, you could see him as similar to winners like Hayden or Drew, but I’m just not seeing his heart in it as much as some of the others, so I’m not seeing it so much. That said, he’ll certainly be sticking around and quite possibly could be roped into a showmance with some of the women. On top of that, the specifics of his CBS profile wasn’t bad and he did speak a lot about plans to make strong social bonds and if he puts that into action, he really could be someone in the endgame. He does seem well balanced and has a good read on what is and isn’t necessary in terms of his strategy. I’m unsure of exactly how well he’ll end up doing, but I don’t expect that he’ll be one of the guys that are targeted first, since he seems to be someone who might be more mixed in socially than some of the other big, athletic guys in this cast.
Overall, I think this cast has a lot of potential in terms of entertainment value and gameplay. I don’t see a ton of personalities that are going to get into fights and stir up the craziness, but I’ve been wrong before. I think the strategic aspect of the game is more what’s going to be focused on this season, which can always lead to drama itself. It’s going to be a great summer of Big Brother, make sure you get your live feeds before the fun kicks off next week!
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