The wait is over: Celebrity Big Brother is finally here. We’re just one short day away from the Big Brother: Celebrity Edition premiere and the launch of the Big Brother live feeds. Are you ready? I know I am.
This is going to be a shortened season but Celebrity Big Brother should be a lot of fun and an interesting experiment while it lasts. If all goes well, it could become an annual thing, much like in the UK. I’ll temper my expectations but I am very pleased with the cast and everything I’ve seen so far. So let’s break down the cast of the very first Celebrity Big Brother.
Ariadna Gutierrez was one of only two names that I was completely unfamiliar with. Because I’ve not been living under a rock I’m well aware of her Miss Universe scandal. Ariadna might be the luckiest loser to ever exist, because that surely made her a more sympathetic figure, and I don’t think she’d be a part of this cast if Steve Harvey didn’t mess up.
But Ariadna or Ari as she is being called, seems very sweet and down to earth, despite the beauty queen stereotype. She seemed very fun in the interviews I’ve seen. She has a great sense of humor to boot. Ariadna’s biggest barrier is maybe the language issue, as English is not her first language, and possibly being somewhat of an outsider because some of the cast may know each other. But I do think she possesses the charm to win over her housemates. With a few competition wins certainly possible, she could do very well in the Celebrity Big Brother house. And it doesn’t hurt that I think America will have a soft spot for her as well.
I was thrilled to see Brandi as part of the Big Brother cast. You can say a lot of things about Brandi Glanville but boring is not one of them. While she seems completely unfamiliar with the game, and was a last minute addition to the cast, I do think she’s adaptable–since she’s been on so many reality television programs. Plus Brandi has this sort of strange charm about her, and I actually think she’ll get along with people much better than we might expect. I pray that Big Brother gives our celebrity houseguests plenty of alcohol because I think it will make things more fun.
But we’ll see, I think Brandi could end up doing a lot better than we’d expect, especially if she can grasp the game and get in with the right group of people. That said, she could piss some people off and be out early, but I am leaning towards her surprising the audience with her charm and humor.
Chuck Liddell is an interesting one because he’s seems like a calm guy in this intimidating exterior. I’m really unsure if Chuck is going to be someone the houseguests all confide in and go to for advice, or if he becomes somewhat of a pariah. I think Chuck seems like a pleasant guy but he may have a darker side that he’s willing to expose if the game gets dirty. But with only three weeks, I’m not sure how dirty it might get.
I’d say watch this space because Chuck is one of the houseguests that could do really well or become a player who lives in imfamy because there’s such a high variance in how he might be perceived in there. To go far, Chuck must not fly too far under the radar, but also not be too big of a threat, which is a hard thing to pull off…but maybe he can?
James Maslow was the other person that I wasn’t familiar with when seeing the cast list. After his interviews, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know any more about him. James just came off very condescending and strange. I could understand why Ika Wong didn’t really have a good impression of him after their conversation.
I couldn’t tell if he was being playful or kind of rude. I don’t know, to me I think he may rub people the wrong way. While he and Ariadna stand out as the young ones, I think she may be able to fit in better. I have a hard time seeing James winning over his fellow houseguests, especially given how self-promotional he seems to be.
I’m not sure Keshia Knight Pulliam really cares about this experience? Those that interviewed her really weren’t too impressed. That said, this isn’t her first reality television stint, and maybe she has some experience that will be helpful. She’s also super low-key and amicable, so those are things that could work to Keshia’s advantage.
I don’t see anyone targeting her immediately especially if Keshia cooks for them. I am not sure she has the charm to really win them all over but I do see Keshia lasting for awhile, barring her being a pawn and going home by some mistake in the early weeks of the Celebrity Big Brother game.
I was very impressed with Marissa Jaret Winokur, but the quick glimpse of her on the feeds made me worry a little that she could be a bit grating. Marissa really didn’t stop talking the whole fifteen minutes that we saw of the Big Brother Live Feeds. That said, I do think she’s likable if she doesn’t annoy the crap out of them all, and she has a good working knowledge of the game.
It really depends on if everyone can tolerate Marissa’s big personality. If they can, she could go far and possibly win this thing, especially given how non-threatening she comes across, and her game knowledge that might be unexpected for some people. Marissa is one to watch.
Mark McGrath was also pretty impressive in his interviews, he came across more humorous and self-deprecating than I may have expected. I think that he’s easily going to be someone that will be well-liked in the house, especially if he doesn’t come across as a threat.
Mark is the oldest Celebrity Big Brother player but not by much, and he doesn’t act like the oldest ether. I think he’s primed to do well in this game he could certainly win if he finds himself in the right group. For Mark, it depends who he bonds with early, and if he finds himself in an alliance with the other superfans or the people that are less familiar with the Big Brother game.
I want to like Metta World Peace and I do, but he just seems to have the wrong idea of how this game works. He wants to tell people to their face that he is going to nominate and evict them? I’m not sure that’s the best move. And he was pretty resistant to learning more about the game.
In some ways I like that Metta is trying to go in with a clean slate, and not be influenced by previous iterations of Big Brother, but it seems like a missed opportunity to really not take advantage of the 19 seasons of prior knowledge. But I think that the other houseguests might really get along with Metta well if his reputation doesn’t precede him too much.
Omarosa Manigault-Newman is the star of the show, in CBS’ eyes anyways. I am sort of fascinated to see how this will play out. I don’t predict that it’s going to end well but who knows, stranger things have happened. This is clearly a move to get a lot of attention and controversy surrounding the show, which I can’t really hate on.
I think she might actually be able to cope better than we think, but I don’t see that there’s any possible way for her to win this game. She’s just too Omarosa.
Ross Mathews definitely has the skills and the knowledge of the Big Brother game, so I’m interested to see how he does. Where does Ross fit in with this bunch? I think the other superfans will probably want to work with him, or he’ll want to work with them, but there’s also a lot of them who just don’t know the show well. How much will he reveal about his knowledge of the show?
I feel like Ross has a lot of personality and it could rub some people the wrong way, it just sort of depends on how his housemates react to him, and if Ross falls in with loyal people who will help him maneuver his way to the end.
Speaking of superfans, Shannon Elizabeth is a huge one. She’s been around for years, watching and commenting on the show. I’m glad they added Shannon to this cast. I think she’s really in a great spot: She’s very aware of how to play the game and has a good mindset. She’s also not going to seem like a threat.
I’m not sure if Shannon will win, but I think she has a good chance if others don’t catch on to her gaming skills. I think Shannon’s personality is charming, and she can easily play a good enough social game to pull out a win. And Shannon’s poker experience certainly doesn’t hurt.
Well that’s everyone. What do you make of the Celebrity Big Brother cast and who do you think has the best shot to win?
We’ve got plenty more coverage coming your way as we inch closer to the premiere on February 7th. Make sure to follow @BigBroAccess on Twitter for live updates from the house!
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