Big Brother 28 Cast Reveal Reactions

Summary

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RHAP: We Know Big Brother

Episode Summary: Big Brother 28 Cast Reveal Reactions

Hosts: Rob Cicerono & Taran Armstrong
Date: July 7, 2026

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode features Rob Cicerono and Taran Armstrong reacting to the official cast reveal for Big Brother 28, which was announced via a YouTube livestream—the first time the franchise has launched the cast reveal in such a format. The hosts break down their immediate impressions of all 14 new houseguests, discuss the season’s time travel theme, highlight Big Brother’s evolving production strategies, and speculate on rumored additional cast members, including crossovers from Survivor and RuPaul’s Drag Race.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. Cast Reveal Event & BB28’s New Direction

• YouTube Livestream & New Production Tactics

  • [06:22] Taran praises the choice to reveal the BB28 cast via YouTube, making it a communal viewing event:

    “They've kind of opened up the YouTube channel. They're doing the cast reveal as a live stream... It made it an event much more so than it has been before.”

  • Big Brother will also offer free live feed streams on YouTube after episodes air, which is seen as a significant step towards modernizing the franchise and capturing a newer audience.

    “[They're] also going to be streaming live feeds for brief periods of time after the episodes on YouTube. This is just such a great decision…” — Taran (07:09)

• Time Travel Theme & Season Structure

  • The theme is confirmed as "time travel" with visual nods (dinosaur bones, time periods on the walls).
  • Hosts note that only 14 houseguests were revealed, strongly suspecting additional cast (possibly returnees or reality TV crossovers) will be added, based on Julie Chen-Moonves’ teasing of "who or what’s coming."

    “We have not had a cast less than 16 people since...I don't even know what [season].” — Rob (04:53)

2. Player-by-Player First Impressions

Presented in alphabetical order as revealed by the show—see sample breakdowns below:

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Ashley Trail (24, longtime fan)

• “Started it off pretty strong...there to play the game, and actually participate in the strategy.” — Taran (10:06)
• Open to a showmance (“a theme for many”).
• Hosts debate the “live feeder” label and Ashley’s actual show knowledge.
• Comparison: Young Rachel Reilly, overtly strategic underneath a bubbly personality.

Barrett (27, Jumbotron engineer, true superfan)

• Clearly a genuine BB superfan, online since age 8.

  “He’s unhealthily into the show.” — Taran (15:52)

• Plans to hide being a superfan; tall (6'6"), possibly great with macho types, parallels to Michael Bruner.
• Chat notes: Allegedly a BB podcaster, possibly “discovered Raven from BB19.”

Chuck (supply chain analyst, Texas, “cowboy”)

• Charismatic, “bro-y” appearance but claims to connect with women.
• Stiff intro, might fare better socially than on camera (20:13).
• Unique angle: cuts his own and others’ hair—sees this as a social advantage (“You can ask anything when you’re cutting someone’s hair!”).
• Hosts joke about how mundane intro videos are in this new format.

Drew Campbell (22, surgical dental assistant, reality circuit regular)

• Familiar face from Beast Games and Jubilee; young, possibly struggles to relate to older cast.
• “He looks like the kid from Stranger Things with the hair,” says Rob (24:45).
• Claims to have watched since age 8, but host skepticism on strategic depth (“Could write a book on the show—‘I’d like to see end him,’” — Taran 25:29).

Haley Thog Martin (29, telemedicine executive)

• Low-key intro, not much energy or detail.
• “Go ahead girl, give us nothing” — referenced by the audience and hosts on social media (27:01).
• Not a longtime fan, but could be a loyal ally and physical competitor. Tall (5’9”).

Jason (Selina S. Titties, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, Drag Name: Selena S. Titties)

• Veteran of RuPaul’s Drag Race S15 & All Stars S11; immediate standout.

  “You don’t get the sense that Jason came here to play small.” — Rob (32:02)

• Known for strategic “alliancing” on Drag Race, intends to play hard and make good TV.
• Plans to keep Drag Race background secret initially.

...Further brief breakdowns for Lyric, Mallory, Melody, Rome, Taylor, Yash, and others ensue, highlighting personality quirks and gameplay intentions.

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3. Themes Across the BB28 Cast

• Showmance Potential
  • Nearly all are single and “ready to mingle.”

    “I don’t think a single person said they were closed off…we might have gone 14 for 14 today.” — Rob (13:18)

• Actual Fans vs. Recruits
  • Higher-than-average “real fans”—especially in first half of reveal—impress Taran (“the more people I see that are familiar with the show, the more I’m inclined to be a little more optimistic.” — Taran, 14:19).

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4. Speculation on Additional Cast / Crossover

• Returnees/Crossovers Inevitable
  • Hosts confirm heavy rumors that the cast will expand, probably with at least two more, referencing last season’s trend of high-profile crossovers.
  • Name-drops and speculation:
    • Angela (previous legal eagle, “a wild choice for solo BB returnee but could ‘make good TV.’” — Taran, 68:53).
    • D (Survivor 45 winner, known for dominating alliances)—rumored to join, hosts discuss her skillset and potential BB impact (73:59).
    • Trend: Players from Drag Race, The Amazing Race, Survivor, and even American Idol (Lyric rumored as a past contestant).
    • “Is that the twist? Has everybody been on another reality show?” — Rob (46:25).

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5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 06:22 | Taran | “They've…opened up the YouTube channel...It made it an event much more so than before.” | | 08:13 | Taran | “Borrowing some ideas from The Traitors…let's include a little more of the reality sphere.” | | 15:52 | Taran | “He’s unhealthily into the show” (On Barrett). | | 18:01 | Taran | “A few people said this, that they wear their emotions on their sleeve…” | | 27:15 | Social tweet | “She was the go ahead girl, give us nothing” (on Haley Thog Martin). | | 29:34 | Taran | “Selena S. Titties—Why are you laughing? I didn't say it wrong!” | | 32:02 | Rob | “You don’t get the sense that Jason came here to play small.” | | 46:25 | Rob | “Is that the twist? Has everybody been on another reality show?” | | 55:26 | Taran | “You might look at [Rome] and see an alpha, but really he's a beta. He's a nerd beta.” | | 59:04 | Rob | “Could you follow the strategy? That will be the big B blowout.” (On Taylor’s convoluted plan) |

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6. Predictions & Hopes

• Hosts optimistic about the energy and makeup of the cast; Taran finds hope in a higher density of actual fans and quirky personalities.
  • “If she's winning comps, we could see her stick around for quite a while.” — Taran on Haley (29:04)
  • “I think people will enjoy Ashley [because] she’s overtly strategic.” — Taran (12:30)
• Heavy anticipation for returning players and crossovers broadening the strategic field and gameplay diversity.

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IMPORTANT TIMESTAMPS & SEGMENTS

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------|-----------| | YouTube Cast Reveal Strategy | 06:22 | | House Theme/Format | 05:43 | | Ashley Trail Intro | 10:06 | | Barrett Intro | 15:13 | | Chuck & Showmance Trends | 19:17 | | Jason (Drag Race) | 29:34 | | Cross-Show Crossover Talk | 68:09 | | D From Survivor Speculation | 73:59 | | Big Brother 28 Draft Preview | 77:09 |

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Production Modernization: BB shifting to YouTube for reveals and select live feeds is seen as a big, necessary leap to engage a digital audience; hosts applaud apparent new blood in production.
• Strong Speculation: Both hosts expect more houseguests, probably returnees/cameos, with heavy Survivor and “reality expanded universe” overlap this summer.
• Recurring In-Jokes:
  • Showmances: Everyone’s open—a running gag.
  • Past Reality Appearances: “Is everyone a crossover?”
  • Rome and Nerd Discourse: Running joke on alpha/beta dynamics.

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CONCLUSION

Main Takeaway:
RHAP’s cast reveal special for BB28 was brimming with cautious optimism as hosts dissected the fresh format, bold production choices, and a cast that—while not free of “recruits”—featured more actual fans and quirky standouts than usual. Audience anticipation is high, especially for likely surprise returnees and crossovers from Survivor and Drag Race. The robust discussion, memorable one-liners, and deep-dive into each houseguest offer newcomers a full, spirited window into what may be a notably dynamic season.

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Next episode: BB28 Cast Draft (Wednesday, July 8, 8pm ET), with more insiders and potentially more cast revealed.
Live Feeds: To launch after Friday’s Big Brother: Unlocked episode, with simultaneous YouTube streams post-episode.

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Transcript

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[Rob Cicerono]

Hey everybody, what's going on? Rob Cicerono back with you. Happy Big Brother 28 cast release day and here we are. The reason for the season to talk about what we just watched a big bro veal and I'm so happy to hear be back here with the voice of summer. It's Taran Armstrong. Taran, how are you?

[Taran Armstrong]

I'm so good Rob. Yes, it's good to be back. We've got a cast. Happy bro. We've got a terrible name for it.

[Rob Cicerono]

Terrible name.

[Taran Armstrong]

We couldn't be more back.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes. Everybody's like, what is it? What? It's all. It's all bros. No, it's like big bro.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's. No. What's. What's even worse is it's the Big Brother bro.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's not even like the big bro. Veal.

[Rob Cicerono]

We're not great at naming things still here, 28 seasons in, but we're ready to talk about what we just watched. We're about maybe 10 minutes after they had the first ever YouTube cast announcement and first of, I guess, many things coming to YouTube from Big Brother this summer. And we're going to talk about everything we know here at this hour. Very excited to be back here live with you and Taryn. The live chat is chatting and everybody's very excited. How, how excited are you? I'm.

[Taran Armstrong]

I'm pumped. I mean, it's been a long off season. It's been a good one for me. I, I feel, I talked about this a little bit when we did the, the returnee draft, but I feel like I am, I am the most ready for. Because season 27, that was a big season. There was a lot going on. It, it, it took a toll. And so I really dedicated myself in the off season to making sure I was prepped and ready.

[Rob Cicerono]

Seem fresh. You seem ready. I want people to screen grab you today and then maybe at the end of the season we'll get a side by side. We'll see how you hold up.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's going to be like Survivor before or a presidential before and after, you know, because they're pretty similar.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay, so we'll get into all of it here. We have now the identities of 14 house guests. We highly suspect there will be more house guests. I mean, we did a returnee draft on this very podcast only three weeks ago. We have to believe that there are going to be more than 14 people in this cast of Big Brother 28. Is that fair to say?

[Taran Armstrong]

I think it's very fair to say at this point that there will be. I would, I would be willing to put money down. At least two more people added to this cast.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes.

[Taran Armstrong]

At least.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes. Because we have not had a cast less than 16 people since I don't even know what big brother was.

[Taran Armstrong]

4.

[Rob Cicerono]

14. Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

14 had the coaches, so that wasn't technically true. And then 16 or 13 had a lot of. Maybe 12.

[Rob Cicerono]

Maybe. Okay, so we have. That would be very, very unlikely that we'll have less than this. We don't know when Julie did end this brovial by saying that who or what's coming, she said,

[Taran Armstrong]

which. I mean, I guess, I guess. What could that mean, Ainsley? It could mean, I don't know, aliens. I don't. What is a what. What does that mean? Dinosaurs.

[Rob Cicerono]

There were dinosaur bones. We learned about the theme for the season is time travel. Does that mean anything for you?

[Taran Armstrong]

I mean, apart from just like, you know, a list of places on the, or time periods on the wall? Not really.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Let me then just go back to big picture in terms of the Broville, which started with a house tour and then we got the longer form versions of the cast intros for everybody. What do you think about the 45 minute big brother, bro? Veal.

[Taran Armstrong]

Okay, I want to say this. I think that there's there's either like somebody new or, or maybe like they're listening to people. There's a, there's a direction that this season has been headed in, heading in that I think is very promising. And granted, I kind of said that last year too because I was like, oh, look at them like dressing up the house like the traders. And then, you know, but they're doing this thing. They've, they've kind of like opened up the YouTube channel. They're doing the cast reveal as a live stream on YouTube. That's, that's such a no brainer to have been doing. It's such a great idea to do. It made it an event much more so than it has been before. Everyone was watching at exactly the same time. It wasn't like this mishmash of like, have you checked out this person? Have you checked out this person? Everyone was watching in sync. And on top of this, Rob, there's more information that this is not the only thing they're doing with the YouTube channel. Yeah. They are also going to be streaming live feeds for brief periods of time after the episodes on YouTube. And again, this is just such a great decision that they should be doing and, and I feel like we've got some, some promising things happening.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. We don't know a lot about the behind the scenes workings of Big Brother, but I think it's reasonable to assume here we are 26 years into this thing. I think that there are younger people who have come to work in the production and with working at Paramount, people that are a little bit more inclined to know how people consume media. So it is nice to see Big Brother keeping up with the times and adopting some of these other successful ideas that other shows have used.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah. 100. I think in terms of marketing, it's a Step forward for the show. And, and in general, this idea of these extra house guests potentially being not only returning Big Brother players, but as we'll probably talk about potentially players from other shows, which they've technically done before. You know, Jackie and Jeff from Amazing Race.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. I mean, yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

But like, again, borrowing some ideas from the Traders and from their own show last year, which did very well when they brought back Rachel, let's bring in a little more talent. Let's, let's, you know, include a little more of the reality sphere as a whole. That's doing really well right now. So it, it feels like there's a good push happening and I like what I'm seeing.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay, so let's, let's talk about what we know at this hour. We have the identities of 14 players. We will be doing a Big Brother draft coming up on Wednesday night, the night before the Big Brother 28 premiere. I believe that's going to be at 8pm Eastern. And so have you gotten pet peeves yet for the Big Brother cast or. That's only for Survivor.

[Taran Armstrong]

Nobody asks pet peeves for Big Brother. Doesn't. Doesn't happen.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay. Well, either way, it's working for you. Winner of the Big Brother 27 draft and the Survivor 50 draft. But we will talk about that more to tomorrow night. You want to just go through these folks here in alphabetical order and let's talk about what we have at this hour. It might have been a little bit different than what we had about two hours ago. And so here we go. Let's talk about the first person we met today. It's Ashley Trail.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes, Ashley. She started off the, the video. I think they just went in alphabetical order, which makes a lot of sense. I assume we will do the same. And I gotta say, started it off pretty strong. She's 24 years old and live feeder, like longtime watcher of the show, has watched the live feeds. Is somebody who is definitely, from what we saw in her video, like there to play the game and, and like actually participate in the strategy.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

Which is something that we always love from cast members. And so I really, I got a good sense from Ashley.

[Rob Cicerono]

How much do you take it with a grain of salt to people that say that they are live feed watchers? I think there's a couple of people that I say, okay, I buy it. But if somebody watches live feeds one time, are they a live feeder?

[Taran Armstrong]

No, but they might say they are. And famously, people do lie about the amount of things that they watch. And so she Certainly could be that when in, in looking at Mike Bloom's bios that he posted, she said, I've watched Big Brother for oh, so very many years now. Whenever I was a little girly girl, me and my fam would make special dinners to view it. Total live feed watcher. All of the shebang.

[Rob Cicerono]

So if it's all of the shebang,

[Taran Armstrong]

I think what it, I think what it means is like, not, not much of a dedicated live feed watcher.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

She says as she got older, she started doom scrolling more and she watched a little less. But she recently got her head back in the game, meaning when she was cast, she went back and watched some. So, you know, when I say live feeder, I don't think, I don't think she's like actively watching the live. That doesn't seem to be the case. But she very clearly kind of, I think understands enough about the show to talk about being a live feeder. Maybe was loosely aware of the live feeds at one point. And also, just like in my head, it's hard to like, GRASP what a 20. Okay, so at 24, you went to college and stopped, which means you were probably watching. It's, you know, it's, I can't keep track of these things.

[Rob Cicerono]

Big character. I think that she is a bubbly personality. Could be like a young Rachel Riley, maybe.

[Taran Armstrong]

It could be in the sense that what I will say is that Rachel Riley, I think was overtly strategic. And I think the same will be true of Ashley. I think that like, she, and she kind of gives off this vibe, maybe even says it a little bit that she doesn't maybe seem like she's very strategic from the, from the outside. But, but I think she is there to play and, and if people don't see that coming, that, that'd be great for her. But I think that just the way that her whole vibe to me so sort of seemed aimed and strategic and I think that will come off. I think that will come off well, to be honest. I think people will enjoy that. I think she'll get along with the more strategic players in the house and, and I think she'll be able to get in with them pretty easily.

[Rob Cicerono]

I think this is a theme today. Taryn, she is open to a showmance. I'm not. Was there anybody who was even married or like, in a relationship?

[Taran Armstrong]

I don't think a single person said they were closed off, that they, that they were not pulling for chats.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, I think we went, I, I, we might have gone 14 for 14 today.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's very possible.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay, so we're. It's a cast that's single and ready to mingle. Okay. Anything else, you guys, about Ashley?

[Taran Armstrong]

No, just. Again, you know, just the. Like, I think that it's important to set the standard. What we're very used to, especially in. In modern Big brother, is like, 95 of the cast being completely oblivious to what the show even was a few months ago. And so to start off with somebody who is pretty familiar with the show was. Was interesting.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, I. I'm getting the sense you seem rather high on this cast.

[Taran Armstrong]

I don't. Listen, it's hard. It's always hard to know. It's always hard to know. But the more people I see that are, like, familiar with the show, the more I'm inclined to be a little more optimistic. Also, I think there are some. Some genuinely intriguing personalities, some charisma. So I have a little bit of hope. But. But honestly, like, sometimes that's a bad thing. Sometimes, like, good on paper, it can sometimes be a. Be a worse season. I just.

[Rob Cicerono]

I've done enough of these with you that I could tell that you seem. You seem a little bit of, like, bit of a. A spring in your step.

[Taran Armstrong]

A little bit. Yeah. You know, hopefully. Hopefully. I don't get let down, but.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right, let's go.

[Taran Armstrong]

I'm optimistic.

[Rob Cicerono]

Let's talk about Barrett now. Now, I believe Barrett was watching the live feeds.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So Barrett is genuinely a live feeder as well. And this is. This is probably where the optimism came from. Like, two people in a row. The first two people were people who said they were live features, who said they were big fans of the show. Barrett is a very interesting character here. He's 27 years old. He's a Jumbotron engineer, which, sure, they break. I mean, you know what? I think I get it because he's also 6 foot 6, so he. He. I guess he can just reach back.

[Rob Cicerono]

He can reach up.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. But he says he is chronically online with Big Brother. He watched. He's watched the live feed since he was 8 years old, which if he's 27, that means he's technically been watching since for, what, 19 years? He says he literally watched Keisha's birthday play out in his living room on Big Brother After Dark. He's unhealthily into the show. And this tracks very much so. He seems like somebody who is very, very deeply into the lore of the show. And he's, as I said, six foot six. He seems like a Charming enough guy. He says he's a bit of a flirt, and I. I feel very good about. About Bear. I feel like this is. There's a lot of potential here. At the very least, we like a

[Rob Cicerono]

tall in the Big Brother house. Is he too tall?

[Taran Armstrong]

He could be too tall. I. I always think about, like, Michael Bruner when I think about, like, these, like, taller, tall, kind of, like, slimmer guys. Michael obviously was very good at competitions, and Barrett should similarly have a lot of knowledge when it comes to the competitions. He does plan to hide the fact that he is a super fan, which I think is a. A decent strategy here. I think you don't need to oversell how much, you know, so, you know, we'll see how that goes. But. But I think his height will help him in many of the competitions, and that's a long goal. Not. Well, yeah, maybe. And I think also that it helps him get in with, like, some of the. More, like, macho dudes, potentially, if, you know, the fact that he's got some height, you know, helps I think, sell the. The more bro y angle that he might otherwise not have.

[Rob Cicerono]

But.

[Taran Armstrong]

But who knows?

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. He knows what he's doing. He wants to showmance the house. We'll see what he's able to do. He says he's not able to hide his reactiveness, though.

[Taran Armstrong]

A few people said this, that they wear their emotions on their sleeve, that he. That he says he's a very reactive person. I actually, I don't hate that. I think that if you're too stoic, people don't know how to read you, and that gets a little scary. But. But obviously you need to be able to hide some things, right? So who knows?

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. The chat's saying that he is a Big Brother podcaster himself. Does somebody say that he discovered Raven for Big Brother 19?

[Taran Armstrong]

Wait, what does that mean?

[Rob Cicerono]

I don't know. I guess, but maybe she's in sequester.

[Taran Armstrong]

He discovered her.

[Rob Cicerono]

I don't know. Maybe he broke the news that she was going to be on. Oh, maybe we'll find out on the live feeds that story.

[Taran Armstrong]

Old enough.

[Rob Cicerono]

How old is he?

[Taran Armstrong]

He's 27. So big brother 19 was what, like, nine years ago? He would have been 18.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay, so we'll get the story straight. Eventually we'll find out. All right, let's talk about somebody who's not a live feeder. Let's talk about. Here's Chuck. Chuck is a supply chain analyst.

[Taran Armstrong]

Supply chain analyst is. Yeah.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

What.

[Taran Armstrong]

What was. What was said there? He does he says he's a casual viewer, meaning of course, he hasn't really watched. He. He seems very charismatic though. Like, he genuinely. He says he's gonna have a great social game and I believe him. He's a very handsome guy. He's got the cowboy hat, he's from Texas. He's. He's jacked. And I think that very easily he is going to fit in with the bros. But he says he actually, despite looking like he. He's a bro, he actually likes women a lot, which is very unusual for bros, obviously. And so he's actually going to try and make sure he gets in with the women first.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

Which, you know, I guess we'll go well for it.

[Rob Cicerono]

I thought he seemed kind of stiff on this. I think that there's some people that this is not necessarily a great barometer of how they're going to be in the house. I thought he was kind of bad at the like standing up and he seems like he didn't really know what to do. And that doesn't mean anything in terms of how he's going to actually be in the house. But I think that this was very unnatural for him just to be standing up there and talking about himself.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, I agree. I think that was true of all of these video. Most of these videos though, to be fair, if. If people did not watch these videos, it was, it was like they saw the intros of like A Love island or A Circle where, you know, it's like big camera movements, flashy, lots of editing, very fast paced, and they were like, let's do something like that. And so they got a really colorful background, but then just had one static shot of like their full torso.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

And would occasionally like zoom in a little.

[Rob Cicerono]

And what if we didn't have a lot of edits?

[Taran Armstrong]

Exactly, that's. That's what I'm saying. Like they did not match that. Like, it felt like they were trying to visually go for that style, but did not match that energy whatsoever. It was very awkward, I think for a lot of these people who are just kind of standing there and it looks like they were told you can't move from you. You have to stay on your mark. And so they were like, yeah, very like stiff.

[Rob Cicerono]

Do you think that we will just see a replay of a lot of this on premiere night or do you think that we'll see a much more cut down version of this?

[Taran Armstrong]

We usually do see a decent amount of repeat stuff in the premiere. There's usually more B roll footage from like the Kidnapping and stuff like that. And it's usually, I would say, if anything, like, a little bit cut down, they also love to do their smash cuts of, like, you know, as they're packing. Like, I love a cowboy Chuck with his cowboy hat. I'm open to a showmance. You know, stuff like that. They love that.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay, here's Chuck. I like that he's going to cut the guy's hair. I don't know. We've had that before.

[Taran Armstrong]

He says he's great at cutting now. He said he's great at cutting his own hair, which is going to give him a great advantage. And I was thinking great advantage because he's going to look better than everyone else, because he's going to be able to keep his hair nice and trim. But no, he meant because he's going to be able to cut all of the other guy's hair. And that's gonna, you know, because you can ask anything when you're cutting somebody's hair.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

So now I'm just imagining him with some scissors and maybe a razor blade that they definitely wouldn't allow him to have, being like, so who's your untouchable?

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, that could come out you, I guess. Yeah. So, all right, there's. There's Chuck.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Rob Cicerono]

Well, let's talk about Drew. Here's Drew and Drew Campbell. Young guy, surgical dental assistant.

[Taran Armstrong]

Okay, I need to say about. I have seen this. This person.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

I. I swear I've seen this person at some point in my life, and I need the audience to tell me where, because I swear I've seen him

[Rob Cicerono]

before, talked about his haircut is going to be the new haircut on Tick Tock. Have you been looking up Tick Tock haircuts?

[Taran Armstrong]

I have not.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

They are confirming in the chat he was on Beast Games. I thought that might be where I saw him.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes, yes. Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

Okay. So he has been on. Look, this is our first reverse transfer.

[Rob Cicerono]

Was he the guy that screwed over Sue Smay?

[Taran Armstrong]

No. No, I don't think so.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

Also, Drew, he apparently is. Has also been on Jubilee.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay, There you go.

[Taran Armstrong]

So he makes the rounds on the. The Internet shows.

[Rob Cicerono]

Wow. Okay. They should have held announcing this guy.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. He is 22 years old. He also, I think, looks to me a lot like the kid from Stranger Things.

[Rob Cicerono]

The.

[Taran Armstrong]

The one with the hair.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

Gives me that vibe as well. 22. He's a dental assistant up into Mecula. He's actually pretty close to me.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

But he's. He says he's a. A fan of the show. He says that he's been watching since he was 8. Similarly 8. Which is weird because that's also when I. Why is everyone 8 when they watch the show? And he says he's been kind of a hybrid fan. He watches the episodes. He does like the dabble in the live feeds, but he's his hybrid fan. He does say, though, that he could write a book on the show.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Now, were you a little bit like, listen, we think anybody could write a book about the show.

[Taran Armstrong]

This guy. All right, thinks he can write a book on this show. I'd like to see end him.

[Rob Cicerono]

Taran. Give him a one on the stock watch. Write a book about these games. My guy.

[Taran Armstrong]

Exactly, exactly. This is very interesting. He is, yeah, I think one of the youngest people on the cast, if not the youngest. And he certainly looks it. I would be a little concerned. Concerned for him in terms of just like how young he looks and seems. Yeah, I don't know that he's going to be able to fit in super well with some of the older, slightly older cast here, especially if we're getting some returning people who tend to also be older. If that's where a lot of the strategic, like, stuff is gravitating toward. I would be a little concerned.

[Rob Cicerono]

Was he on the most recent Beast Games or Beast Games 1?

[Taran Armstrong]

I couldn't tell you, but I would. I would guess the most recent just based on how familiar he looks to me.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay. All right. We'll find out more about Drew, I'm sure. How about Haley Thog Martin? What a last name?

[Taran Armstrong]

There's some. There's some last names here. She's 29, telemedicine executive, which I'm. She kind of talked about her job, but I still don't fully understand. Exactly.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, yeah, this was the one. I was kind of zoning out. I saw a tweet while this was on and somebody said that she was the go ahead girl, give us nothing.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, there. There was not much here. Now, as you mentioned, that doesn't necessarily mean that she won't be. Yeah, a big character on the show, but she definitely does not give a great interview. She. She was very low energy here. She says also that she has not been a long term fan of Big Brother.

[Rob Cicerono]

Not encouraging, but yeah, yeah. To echo your point, you know, you can get in the house and just be a really good listener and be like, oh, my God, I love Haley. Which is the best.

[Taran Armstrong]

Absolutely. And she also, like, it's hard to judge, and I haven't, like, fully been able to scan her bio here. She looks strong, so I think she

[Rob Cicerono]

said she's tall also.

[Taran Armstrong]

She also kind of looks tall, but who knows?

[Rob Cicerono]

I think she said she was five.

[Taran Armstrong]

She's five' nine. She's five' nine. And she did mention that. So I. I think that in terms of competitions, that's. That's very. If she's strong and tall, that's gonna do a lot for her, both in competitions and socially, because if you're good at competitions, that helps you socially. So. So I think. I think, yes, she gave us not much here in this. In this interview, but I would be curious to see where she lands. I. It would. It would not surprise me if she's kind of, like, a deep run kind of player. She also mentioned that she's very loyal and that she would absolutely, like, she. If she finds, like, her people, she will just stick to them and be loyal, which is kind of, like, maybe some, like, Casey vibes here. If she's good at competitions.

[Rob Cicerono]

Let's go.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah. Like, if. If a team just pulls her in and she's winning, comps for them, like, we could see her stick around for quite a while.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right, let's talk about somebody who is one of the people that we recognize. It's Jason. Jason, of course, a star of RuPaul's Drag Race. Taryn, did you. Did you catch the. The drag name for Jason?

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes, I believe it's Salinas or, Sorry, Selena. S. Titties. Why are you laughing? What's so funny? It's. I didn't. I didn't say it wrong.

[Rob Cicerono]

I think. I think he did right.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes. In the 28 jersey

[Taran Armstrong]

from Drag. Yes. From RuPaul's Drag Race. He was on season 15.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Yes.

[Taran Armstrong]

And All Stars season 11, which I believe is very recent. I think the season is still airing, actually. The. The All Star Season 11. Wow. So, I don't know.

[Rob Cicerono]

Was on Candy Crush.

[Taran Armstrong]

Right. I don't know a ton about. About Drag Race. I did actually watch an episode of it to get a sense of.

[Rob Cicerono]

Of we're newer fans.

[Taran Armstrong]

Exactly. So I do have some. Some kind of. Some. Some Cliff Notes here. So spoilers for Drag Race, I guess, will be inevitable. But he made it pretty far. Finish in sixth place on his original season, and then Went on All Stars and kind of, I think went out relatively early. I actually read the interview that, that Selena did for, for. For All Stars where they talked about basically how they were a super fan of Survivor and Big Brother. They actually called out Big Brother specifically in the interview and how they were trying to play Drag Race like it was Big Brother and making alliances and basically had that kind of interview where they were like, yeah, I had all these alliances and I had set everything up correctly, but. But nobody else wanted to play strategically. They were all too stupid. And so it fell. It fell short and I. And I went home and that seemed, that wasn't like a contested statement as far as I was aware. So I think definitely somebody that seems suited to playing Big Brother and might actually go. Go like really hard here in the pain.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. You don't get the sense that Jason came here to play small. I think that being a reality TV veteran, I think really wants to make good tv, give us moments. I think that especially in Drag Race, you're judged off of your performances. So I don't think that Jason wants to just lurk in the shadows.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes, 100%. And I think this is, this is such a great. Again, without knowing a ton about Jason, it seems like a great fit and a great get for the show because they know how to be entertaining and they know how to be strategic and play hard. Again. Just feels like a no brainer. Feels like this is going to be very, very fun, I would hope.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right. Anything else about Jason, who I do believe was not planning to reveal the Drag Race background?

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, so I was a little confused about that because they did mention a little bit about, like, I might have to bring it out at some point and say, like, oh, but I didn't win. They did say, by the way, that they have watched Live Feeds before and have been watching since season 16. I've heard that this is potentially a friend of mine, Frankie Grande. So starting to watch at 16.

[Rob Cicerono]

Frankie Grande, I, I believe, has a new book out also.

[Taran Armstrong]

There you go.

[Rob Cicerono]

I, I sent you a picture at the bookstore the other day of that. That my book and your book were on the same shelf, but they had. Frankie Grande's book was in the window.

[Taran Armstrong]

That's very funny because I didn't even see that part.

[Rob Cicerono]

No, I. It wasn't in the picture I sent you. I'm just saying at the store. Frankie Grande has a. Has a new book which is out, which I think had a super gay A memoir.

[Taran Armstrong]

There you go. I wonder if there's Any big brother in it from Frankie Grande. So, yes, very, very excited for Jason. I feel like this is. There's some. There's some serious potential here.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right, so let's go to our next person here, and let's talk about Camus Kamu. Yes, he's a MMA fighter I've seen, but also, he described himself as MMA coach.

[Taran Armstrong]

Well, that could make sense. He could be. He's 32. He could be kind of, like, retired from fighting or like, it doesn't maybe fight much anymore.

[Rob Cicerono]

Once you're an MMA fighter, you're always an MMA fighter.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, and he's. It was hard to tell. I couldn't really see super well, but he says he's even got, like, the cauliflower years. He's clearly, you know, expanded experience fighting realm. He has fought in the ufc, he says, but does not plan to reveal that much. He says he does not want to tell people that he fought in the ufc, just that he's, like, a fighter, which I. I think is a good call. I think that, like, you know, we're living in a weird time where UFC has some attachments to things that maybe you don't want to have out there at the moment. So much simpler to just say you're a fighter. And he has also been watching the show for a long time. The first season he watched was season 14. He was basically introduced to the show with Dan's funeral, and he said he calls himself somewhere between a casual fan and a super fan. He sees all of the episodes, but does not watch, as he calls the live streams.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, okay, maybe I'm going to get duped here, but I kind of liked his approach. I kind of liked that he talked about that He. You would think that as a fighter, he could be a hothead, but he seemed very measured, and he talked about not wanting to get into conflict with people and knowing how to handle conflict.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes, it was, I think, an interesting sort of video for him. He does seem pretty charismatic. He does seem like. And. And I think a lot of people, it's. It's a very good place to be, I think, to have a somewhat intimidating look while having a charismatic and inviting personality. It's a good contrast, because people sort of appreciate that you are inviting and charismatic even more if they have a little bit of that intimidation factor before. He says he's a little too trusting, even that. That he. He trusts people a little too much, and he's gonna have to be careful of that in the house. But. But I think, you know, at at 32 years old as well. He's a pretty, pretty good age here, I think, to be able to get along with, you know, older people and younger people. And, and I think that. I think people will be intrigued by his background. I think they will be very intimidated by him physically in terms of competitions. But, but I think he'll. I think he'll be able to get in with a group early on, but I think he will also be a big target early on.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, interesting. I'm not gonna target him. I'm not gonna say that he's boring. And if he gets in a showmance, I'm not gonna say it's schmoopy. How about that?

[Taran Armstrong]

Be very careful.

[Rob Cicerono]

Very careful. I'm gonna be very careful.

[Taran Armstrong]

I would say definitely watch out for him in competitions. Fighters are gonna have a lot of good characteristics for winning the kinds of physical competitions on Big Brother. Between cardio, strength, etc, I think he's gonna be definitely one to watch out for.

[Rob Cicerono]

There were some fighters that we've had. We had certainly had Austin, AKA also known as Judas, the. He was a wrestler in BB11.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yep. I think mostly like Misha Tate as well, who, who crushed obviously her. Her competition wasn't like the most physical,

[Rob Cicerono]

but yeah, he did bad.

[Taran Armstrong]

That's true. That's fair. Chuck, you know, Chuck was a little on the older side, I think by the time he came on days. So, yeah, I mean, we'll see.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay,

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[Rob Cicerono]

Speaking of later days, let's talk about, I believe our oldest house guest of the season here is Latrice.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. AKA Lala. She was infectious. She was. She was maybe probably my favorite interview. Just such good energy from her. She is, I think, as you said, 50. She's. I think she's 57. Turning 58. Or maybe has recently turned 58. But she's a boutique salesperson. She's clear. She's got to be great at her job because she just radiates great vibes and I think that that is huge. She's also been a, a very long time viewer. She's been watching since Big Brother 2. She says I was really hot, heavy and hot into it for many, many years. She used to watch the overnights, the live feeds she means as she fell off for a little bit and now for the last couple years has been back into it. Either way, she clearly has a lot of a sort of history with the show. She also says she's very physical, especially for her age and that like don't count her out of any of these competitions. We hear claims of this a lot. How true it is is. Is going to be sort of yet to be determined, but it's, it's a reason for optimism, especially considering how phenomenal she might be socially. I think she absolutely seems to have the energy of somebody that could fit in with all kinds.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, the one thing with the older house guests is just that when are they going to go to bed? Is the one concern that I have. And sometimes you have these older house guests and they're night owls and they can hang and they want to be up late and then you have where like Ms. Felicia wanted to go to bed at what, 9 o' clock and that's what I want to go to bed.

[Taran Armstrong]

So I get is a problem. It is a problem. Again, I think that, I actually think that like returning players again who might be a little bit on the older side generally, although who knows, is a. Is a plus is a positive for her because it means the average age will likely be pushed up a little bit. But yes, that is, I think the biggest issue that players who fall outside of the average range of ages get into is that it's harder to relate to the younger crowd. It's harder to stay up with the younger crowd. So, you know, we'll. We'll see. We'll see.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. She said her uncle is cool from Cool in the Gang.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. And I believe she said she was in the Sounds of Blackness. She was in a musical artist and has, you know, basically like lived a very cool life so far and I think has a lot to talk about. Somebody's saying she has multiple Grammys. I don't know if that's true, but it sounds like it could be. So, you know, the Sounds of Blackness are a Grammy Award winning ensemble. So if she was a part of them when that was happening, then, then she likely would be. So seems like again, just such a very cool person in general and I think has a lot of potential if, especially if she is actually winning some competitions here or there.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. And she's not snooty.

[Taran Armstrong]

Definitely not snooty.

[Rob Cicerono]

Not snooty. Okay. If she wants to talk about music, maybe she can talk with lyrics. Who is a secret lawyer but also a musician.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. An attorney slash musician. Slash singer. She's from Hawaii. She's 25 years old. She says she is very physical as well, that she's actually very athletic. She wants to be a competition beast. She works out like twice a day. She's got a lot of that going for. She does seem like on the smaller side, but, but obviously with enough physicality that that doesn't really, that doesn't have to matter as much. And just in general seemed very charming. In fact, called it out, says I'm very charming. And you know, I didn't disagree with her. She seemed really friendly and bubbly. I think absolutely will be included with any initial group. They would want to have her because she's like, just got a great personality for it. It seems she's also open to a showmance, but like, not in the sense that she wants it to affect her strategic game, which a lot of people say. But like she said it in a way that sort of was a little more understanding of what, what it actually means to potentially have a showmance. And so, you know, she says she has been a fan for a couple of years. She's watched with her grandmother, but, or because of her grandmother at the very, at the very least.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

But I think there's a lot of reason to be optimistic about, about Lyric here too.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. She also has a dad who was a one hit wonder.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes, the song. No, Nothing's gonna change my love for you.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes, Yes. A banger.

[Taran Armstrong]

I, I, I was hoping, I was hoping you would, you would have a sense of this. I, you know what?

[Rob Cicerono]

I, I was like, that sounds familiar. And I did YouTube it and I feel like that they should have done it on Love island karaoke. But yes, I did know the song when I heard it.

[Taran Armstrong]

There you go. I have not googled it yet, so maybe I will also know it. Who knows?

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, so there you go. I, but she talked about like, I didn't when, when that song was out, like, I wasn't like, oh, this is like a kid who's singing this song?

[Taran Armstrong]

Was it a kid?

[Rob Cicerono]

It seemed like to me as a kid, it seemed like this is an adult. It wasn't like, it wasn't like a teeny bopper song.

[Taran Armstrong]

I wouldn't, I wouldn't have assumed it was.

[Rob Cicerono]

Well, I got the impression that she was saying that her dad was, had, like, was a, a young musician who

[Taran Armstrong]

had a hit I mean, maybe. I mean, if it was, it seemed a little adult contemporary, maybe, who knows? I'm also seeing. I've seen this around as well, so it might be true, but, you know, I, I have not confirmed this. People are saying that she was on American Idol.

[Rob Cicerono]

The chat is running with it. Whether it's true. Where's Brandon?

[Taran Armstrong]

A quick Google search does immediately bring up a video and a wiki page, and it does look like her. So I'm gonna say that, yes, Lyric has been on American Idol season 21.

[Rob Cicerono]

Is that the twist? Has everybody been on another reality show?

[Taran Armstrong]

Perhaps.

[Rob Cicerono]

Perhaps everybody's like, I have a secret. I'm not going to tell anybody. I was on another show.

[Taran Armstrong]

I forget how American Idol works, but she, she went to at least a Hollywood Week, which I think is one stage in. Right.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. You go and they say you're going to Hollywood, and then I think they take the people from Hollywood. I think there's like, top 50 is Hollywood.

[Taran Armstrong]

That's pretty good.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay. All right. There is Lyric. Let's talk about. We've had so many survivor rocket scientists, I believe. Is this our first big brother rocket scientist? Mallory.

[Taran Armstrong]

Mallory here, yes. Rocket scientist. She's 24 years old and, you know, definitely, you know, I would say she was very stiff in the interview, but seems like. Seems personable enough. Like, again, this is like one of those instances where, you know, maybe doesn't give the. The most bombastic interview, but. But may have a bit more sort of energy in the house. She even says she has a bit of a temper, obviously. I think what, I mean, what I'm seeing in the chat and what I've seen already is like a lot of quick Kelly comparisons. I don't think she will be personality wise similar to Kelly.

[Rob Cicerono]

Well, who is Taryn? That's like.

[Taran Armstrong]

Right, exactly.

[Rob Cicerono]

A 1 of 1. The personality of Kelly, who last we saw her in the Big Brother house, I think was hiding dead bugs and offering people a thousand dollars if they could find them.

[Taran Armstrong]

And crucially, this is very different from Kelly. She has been watching Big Brother for pretty much as long as she can remember. She says her whole life she's been watching it. She, although she is a little bit more of a casual viewer than somebody who watches the live streams. Sure.

[Rob Cicerono]

So, yeah, she's got a lot going on. She's a rocket scientist. Okay. She does say that her power superpower is she can make friends anywhere.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. Which I believe. I think that what you might typically see from, From, From a player like this maybe is a Little bit like the Nicole Anthony track of maybe not included in the. The initial big alliances, but is able to make some good individual connections that could give her some. Some room to maneuver elsewhere. Though I would love to be proven wrong there. Especially again, if there are returning players or players from other shows. The. The typical cool kid grouping may not be how the season flows functions. So, you know, so I actually think that there's a bit more potential here, especially for her to get in with a group of people, maybe some of whom she recognizes and. And that she could get along well with them and it could. Could work out very, very well for her.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay, anything else on Mallory?

[Taran Armstrong]

She's one of. She. She did say she is hopefully not open to a showmance but not completely closed off.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay, well, they wouldn't put her on if she said completely closed off. She has to say she has to leave the door open or. Or she won't get in. Okay. All right. Now this is why maybe the big brother casting hates us. Wants to make it hard for Taryn. The first couple of weeks we have a Mallory and add to Mallory a Melody. Melory and Melody. I can't. I'm Melody and Mallory.

[Taran Armstrong]

Lyric Melody and Mallory. Right in a row.

[Rob Cicerono]

All in a row.

[Taran Armstrong]

24 years old. She. Go ahead, Go ahead. She is a corporate game show host.

[Rob Cicerono]

Corporate game show host. Which, you know, and it looked like the name of the. The game show that she is a host of is like, what's that cost? Which it seems to me is. Is. Is not a show. She is a game host. It does not appear to be that this is a show that you could watch.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah. I mean, what the thing that came to my mind was like when you work for a company and they do like a company event and as part of the event, they hire somebody like Melody to run a. A fun little team bonding game show exercise where you play a game show hosted by Melody at this corporate event.

[Rob Cicerono]

And for a corporate game show host, I also thought she was very bad at this. I thought that she was very stiff and very not charismatic as a host.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah, I mean, you know, to be fair, you know, I think hosting is one thing. Being interviewed is another thing. But, yeah, you might expect her to maybe have a little bit more of. Of a little bit more energy with the interview. But, you know, it can be tough. It can be tough.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right. How do you think Melody is going to fare as a player?

[Taran Armstrong]

Well, importantly, she says that her mom will tell you that she's been watching Big Brother since she Was in her womb.

[Rob Cicerono]

Wow.

[Taran Armstrong]

And then after she came out of the womb, she also started watching Big Brother.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay, well, that's good.

[Taran Armstrong]

She's been watching it for a very long time.

[Rob Cicerono]

That's encouraging.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's encouraging. Though weirdly specific and not specific at the same time. Yeah, yeah, it's. It's interesting, I think, that she says. Okay. She also says she wants people to underestimate her. Very, very much the classic, like, people think I'm a dumb blonde, but actually I'm super smart. And says crucially also that she's very sensitive, that she's. She, like, really tends to. To really feel it. If she feels like people in the room are, like, avoiding her or not including her, she's very sensitive to that kind of thing. And that's a concern because that is, like, that is Big Brother all the time. And if she is really as sensitive as she is, saying she is and is going to be reactive to that kind of thing a lot, I could see that going very poorly for her.

[Rob Cicerono]

I saw Lauren in the chat, had asked what was with the Kill Bill stuff in her intro.

[Taran Armstrong]

I mean, she kind of. She kind of looked the part. There's cosplay.

[Rob Cicerono]

But what does that have to do with her?

[Taran Armstrong]

She's. She's gonna kill Bill.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Is there. Is there a William? Is there anybody? So I guess, is she the bride? She's gonna take everybody out?

[Taran Armstrong]

I assume so, yeah.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. She's not into Mar, by the way.

[Taran Armstrong]

She's not open to showmances. In her bio, she says they're a bad idea, especially for a little blonde girl like me. I'll get caught up. I'll catch too many feelings, and then game over. I'm here to win money, so. Yeah, but probably will be in a showman's.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. The fact that she's saying that she will catch feelings makes me think that she knows it's a bad idea, but might be unable to resist.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Rob Cicerono]

Mm. I hope they play what's that Cost on the live feeds.

[Taran Armstrong]

Oh, no, you're a game show host. Oh, let's play your game show.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, but I think she was not going to tell people, right?

[Taran Armstrong]

I don't. I don't remember. Yeah, I don't remember. I didn't. I didn't track that one.

[Rob Cicerono]

Wait, are you the woman from what's that Cost? The corporate game show?

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

Oh, boy.

[Rob Cicerono]

Let's talk about Rome. Rome? The pickleball coach?

[Taran Armstrong]

Rome?

[Rob Cicerono]

Everybody loves Rome on reality tv.

[Taran Armstrong]

Well, his name isn't really Rome. It's Jack. His real name is Jack.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

His friends just call him Rome. But why he didn't explain that. This guy had the wildest interview in, in, in about 90 seconds, he managed to give so much content.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes, he's a.

[Taran Armstrong]

He's a 28 year old pickleball coach whose name is not really Rome, but Jack. And listen, Rob, you might look at him and see in alpha. Yeah, but really he's a beta. He's a nerd beta. And he's going to get along with the submissives of the house.

[Rob Cicerono]

So I got the sense that he said that you might see an alpha, but he's going to get along with the nerd. With the, with the betas and the nerds. You're right.

[Taran Armstrong]

He said he. He said he is a nerd.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

And will get along with the betas and submissives. And, and Rob, if you might think, oh, you couldn't roam. You couldn't possibly be a nerd. Look at you. Don't worry, he has proof. He collects trading cards.

[Rob Cicerono]

Trading cards.

[Taran Armstrong]

So if you thought I wasn't a nerd. There you go.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Did he say what kind of trading cards?

[Taran Armstrong]

He did not as far as I'm aware.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, he's going to talk a lot of trash.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. He says he's a big trash talker. He's very competitive. He says. He says he's great at conflict resolution. Sure. Because he knows when to talk softly and when to be more expressive, which sounds like great conflict resolution.

[Rob Cicerono]

I think he said he's bashful also.

[Taran Armstrong]

He's bashful. I don't know if I caught that one.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. And then he said that his new friends are going to call him Rome, but his mom is. Will only call him Jack.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yep, his mom will call him. He says he's open to a showmance. He's been single for a long time now and it's hard finding love in the real world.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

Maybe we could give him some advice.

[Rob Cicerono]

The chat is kind of down on this guy and I just don't feel like that that's the best way to start off with the person that the chat is going to get in the draft. So give him a chance. Chat. Come on.

[Taran Armstrong]

I just can't believe that he came out of the gates with betas and submissives. Yeah, like that's further than even Cody went in 19. Like he, he talked about betas. I don't think he went as far as submissives.

[Rob Cicerono]

And, and what he's saying, like the actual sentence is like, okay, well, that's, that's kind of. He's saying that these are the people he wants to work with. But it is a little red flaggy that, that, that's what he's coming out with in his intro.

[Taran Armstrong]

Hugely. Red flag. It's literally like, oh, those nerds. Yeah, I get along with them. I can relate. I like collect trading cards.

[Rob Cicerono]

He's going to be there.

[Taran Armstrong]

Like I'm basically one of them.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. So there you go. That's Rome.

[Taran Armstrong]

Okay, man. Somebody needs to revitalize the name.

[Rob Cicerono]

Bring it back. Oh, we have a Taylor.

[Taran Armstrong]

Taylor. Yes. 24 year old elementary school counselor. She is another one, I will say I thought gave a very kind of like professional interview. She was very like, like selling herself mode. And I feel like I have not gotten a sense of what she will be like in the house, but I do think there's a lot of promise here. Yeah, yeah.

[Rob Cicerono]

Could you follow the strategy? That will be the big B blowout.

[Taran Armstrong]

So first of all, she is a big fan of the show. She says she was a casual viewer as a young girl, fell off for a bit in college, but then binged it after a bad breakup in college. Not a live streamer though, she says. So her strategy, having been a big fan of the show, is to come into the game with the big B blowout strategy, which is she says this weird game plan that she, she does clarify makes sense only in her head where she has a three part team. Where there's a team captain for the floaters is one of the three. Right. And then there's a team captain for the two tethered teams.

[Rob Cicerono]

The bait is in the submissives.

[Taran Armstrong]

Right. So there's a floater, there's a floater team, and then there's two tethered teams and there's a captain of the floater team. There's one captain for the two tethered teams. And with that we're gonna use each other where there's gonna be a final three. But now. So now there's a third person. I don't know where that third person came from, except maybe she meant there's a team captain for each of the two tethered teams. And I. She didn't really explain describe what the tethered teams meant, but I think what she's hoping for is a team of three who each have their own group and then the those three groups consist of a larger mega group.

[Rob Cicerono]

Right. Sounds promising. For the big B blowout.

[Taran Armstrong]

You know, it's, it's weirdly not that far off of dominant strategy, but it's not quite there yet either.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, yeah. Hey, Some people just over complicate this. I feel like Will last season was gonna have like the, the basketball team, that everybody's gonna have all these roles. It's like you, you can't really draw this up before you go in.

[Taran Armstrong]

And here's the thing. I think that as long as she's not too rigid, the mentality that she's going in to want something like this could be beneficial to her. Because again, this kind of setup. No, what she's describing doesn't quite work exactly the way she's describing it. But if she's willing to get into a situation where, hey, we do have a secret big alliance, but we have a smaller secret inner alliance that's a bit simpler and generally works a lot better and she's probably a lot more willing to propose that kind of thing, which is a. I would say an overall good thing.

[Rob Cicerono]

She said that she's also going to kill them with kindness but also kill them with strategy.

[Taran Armstrong]

Which is. Which are two ways to kill people.

[Rob Cicerono]

I guess so. Anything else about Taylor Brown?

[Taran Armstrong]

I don't think so. I mean, again, I think that, you know, there, there's something here I'm, I'm curious to see. Seems fine. How she operates.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay. All right. And then let's talk about a person that we got to know maybe a little bit later than some of the other people because that we have Yash, who apparently was an alternate. We had somebody dropped from the cast.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Rob Cicerono]

At some point today. And then here comes Yash.

[Taran Armstrong]

Pretty classic last minute replacement kind of thing.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yash is 24 years old, financial analyst, but he's probably gonna lie about his job because he doesn't want people to be intimidated by a financial analyst.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah, listen, it worked for Emily Flippin.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah. He says he's a casual viewer, but recently he's become a big brother Merchant. Merchant every night, five hours a day, you name it, I'm watching. AKA I've been binging since being contacted for the show.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. Look better than the alternative. Although, as he was an alternative.

[Taran Armstrong]

What's his strategy, Rob? Well, he's not going to tell you. It's a secret.

[Rob Cicerono]

Hmm. He's good at mazes.

[Taran Armstrong]

He's very good at mazes. His weakness, and this is very relevant, his weakness. Hairdressers.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes, it's specifically a five, four brunette.

[Taran Armstrong]

Do we have quite Chuck?

[Rob Cicerono]

Yes, but yeah, Chuck does. Is a hair stylist. In terms of five, four brunettes. Do we have do we have any of those?

[Taran Armstrong]

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe Lyric. I don't know how tall lyric is.

[Rob Cicerono]

Lyric, Possibly.

[Taran Armstrong]

Here's the thing about Yash. The further his video went, the more I was like. He talked about being open to a showmance, but the way he talked about it was, yeah, I'd love to find a wife. Get me a wife on this show. Which is kind of a weird way to say it. He also started talking about, like, every morning, cold shower. It's what you got to do. It's going to impact your, you know, metabolism, all that. Not like he's giving, like, crypto, bro.

[Rob Cicerono]

I thought that they asked him, would you rather go back, throw back to the Big Jeff days, cold showers or slope? And I felt like that he answered, cold showers over slop. But I don't think that that's a choice you get. I think as a have not. I think it's both. I don't think you get to pick one.

[Taran Armstrong]

No, I don't think you get to pick one.

[Rob Cicerono]

But it seemed like he was answering a question that was cold showers or slop.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's very possible. Very possible.

[Rob Cicerono]

And he would rather do the cold shower because it's good for you and slop. He's got a, you know, his, like, is diet's got to stay on point.

[Taran Armstrong]

Sure, yeah. Yeah, it does. It does. I have a. I have a small conspiracy theory about Yash. I think Yash is potentially somebody that it's possible we managed to catch him with the how to Win Big Brother videos because the way he talked about the competitions, he was like, hey, I've. I've got the competitions. I'm really physical. I really hope that I get unfair competitions that benefit me physically. Don't put me in a booth and give everyone fair chances. I don't want that. Which is a very strange thing to say if you don't know the show that well, in my opinion. So I. It's, it's. It's possible that he's heard some talk about it.

[Rob Cicerono]

So you think that maybe in his five hours a night, he was watching the video series that you just did of how to win Big Brother?

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes.

[Rob Cicerono]

Takeaway.

[Taran Armstrong]

I did. Well, to be fair. It's not the wrong takeaway. Physical comps.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

Yes.

[Rob Cicerono]

He's like, I'm gonna cop out at the end because the competitions are not fair.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. But I did. We put out a four part series, how to Win Big Brother, with some of the most recent Big Brother winners. I believe that the people who went into Sequester would have been able to see at least Chelsea and Xavier's and Chelsea's in particular. I think I really talked about competitions and fairness of competitions and. And such. So it's possible.

[Rob Cicerono]

Crushed it.

[Taran Armstrong]

It's possible. Okay.

[Rob Cicerono]

And then, Taryn, what'd you think of Yasha's idea for a punishment? What do you think about the inside out punishment where you wear your underwear on the outside of your clothes and you wear your socks on the outside of your shoes?

[Taran Armstrong]

I mean, it just screams frat bro now. Like, where does that even come from?

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. The socks on the outside of your shoes. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what that's doing.

[Taran Armstrong]

That just kill. Like, how do you. Your stocks aren't going to fit on the outside of your shoes. And if even if they did, that's. You can't wear them again.

[Rob Cicerono]

I don't know.

[Taran Armstrong]

Why you do that to your socks.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Wear your undershirt outside of your top shirt.

[Commercial Narrator]

I don't know.

[Taran Armstrong]

They could do it.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

I feel like Yash might get along with Rome. Yeah, I'm getting.

[Rob Cicerono]

I could see it. Although.

[Taran Armstrong]

Might not be enough of a nerd.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Ro might think he's a beta.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah. I'm saying Yash might be too much of an Alpha for.

[Commercial Narrator 2]

For.

[Taran Armstrong]

For Rome. Gotta find the betas and these submissives.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right, well, look, they gave us something to talk about here today. 14 cast members.

[Taran Armstrong]

We do.

[Rob Cicerono]

We do expect more. We expect people that maybe we've seen before.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. I mean, should we talk about it? Should we talk about who we. We. We as in really like the general population at this point? Kind of expect. I think there are two names at least that are very heavily suspected.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

One. One of which, Angela, I took her in the draft. I think you might win the draft. So she's the only Big Brother attorney. All right.

[Rob Cicerono]

You want to talk about hypothetically how Angela would fit in here?

[Taran Armstrong]

I think we should.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

I think first of all, Angela and I think I mentioned this on the draft, is a wild choice for the solo Big Brother returnees.

[Rob Cicerono]

The Rachel Riley spot.

[Taran Armstrong]

Exactly. But I don't hate it because, you know, the big. The returnee Big Brother spot is a little opinion. And so getting Angela in there, who we know is going to make good tv, who we know might like, isn't going to at least dominate the competitions. I think is. Is interesting. Put her in a position of power early on.

[Rob Cicerono]

Hoh again, because I could.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yeah. I mean, I, I feel like it's. It's a very interesting choice and I think one that could actually work.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. You know who's gonna really hate Rome,

[Taran Armstrong]

Angela? You know what, Rome, even your name is fake.

[Rob Cicerono]

I've seen better acting in a low budget movie. I could see it. I could see it. So, yeah, yeah, we'll see. We'll see here. I think that, you know, certainly maybe a friend in Latrice maybe. Could you give us just the, the primer on Angela as a player from what you remember?

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. So Angela, as we just alluded to, she won the HOH in the first week, which was phenomenal. She was approached with a majority alliance and was genuinely in with them, but suspected she wasn't, got paranoid, accused them of lying to her with acting that was good for a low budget movie, and then additionally went after the biggest alpha male in the house who she deemed was Crazy Eyes and. And successfully managed to take him out. But her game in social capital, in the house completely crumbled afterward. Spent the rest of her time as somebody, you know, just kind of skirting around the, the outskirts of the game. She famously was like, I want to be, I want to be with you guys. Can, can I, can I be in your alliance? Like, she'd spot people making alliances and just be like, can I, can I be a part of, part of this? And the, the funny thing was every time somebody did think, oh, wow, Angela completely on her own, I can pick her up, it backfired on them. She'd either betray them intentionally or unintentionally and, you know, was just never ceased to be an entertaining character, even when she had no power for most of the game. So it'll be very, very interesting to see her as a returnee with theoretically some amount of like, social capital.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah.

[Taran Armstrong]

Having experience and probably included in some kind of returning player group, potentially Angela with power again is just, is just an interesting thought.

[Rob Cicerono]

Do you feel like that she could be potentially changed and for the better as a returning player? Hypothetically?

[Taran Armstrong]

Usually that's the case. I think it would be surprising if she hasn't changed for the better. It's just has. Is that enough? Like, I think she'll potentially start in a position of power. How long will that last? Until we get back to other Angela is maybe the question that I would be asking, and I think that's an interesting one.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Going back to Julie's comments, did she confirm a person from the Survivor cinematic universe?

[Taran Armstrong]

I don't think Julie did, but I think we've gotten confirmation from other reporters in the field. I Think Sharon was maybe the first person to say at least one Survivor. I think Hamster Watch has now confirmed it as well that we have at least one Survivor player and the heavy suspicion is that it is D survivor winner from 45. Was it 40? 45, yeah. Known as being one of the more dominant winners of the new era. She basically had a locked in alliance that she managed to drive to the end of the game and. And sort of was able to use her individual relationships with some of the players in that alliance to stay on top and kind of like dominate that season. Recently also played on 50 where things did not go quite as well for her, but definitely like a strong personality and. And heavy game player, big personality.

[Rob Cicerono]

I think that she is going to ride for her people. Really good in the challenges as well. Also just came off of a appearance in the challenge 41, I believe. And so she certainly has a lot of experience on these shows and I think. I think would be open to a showmance.

[Taran Armstrong]

She. Yes, she had a showmance on her original season and. And in fact I think has a little bit of drama outside of that as well. But. But definitely somebody I would be interested to see again, like somebody known as a very strong Survivor player coming on to Big Brother. We've seen that with Surrey already who had a very, very fast paced method of playing. I'm interested to see if. If this is true, whether it's D or not really if we see that same level of fast paced play. Play. And also D is very physical, somebody who's very capable of winning competitions which obviously gives her a massive leg up on somebody like Siree who struggled in competitions in Big Brother and competitions are a lot more important in Big Brother than they are in Survivor. So that would be very interesting to see for sure.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Okay.

[Taran Armstrong]

She's also 29 years old, so not super old in terms of like, you know, again, usually you get like returning people, they're a bit older because they're removed from their first appearance. But she's still pretty young.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. And her Alliance in season 45 she was with Julia who was the mom and also Austin and Drew. So she was with the mom and the guys. But in season 50 she played and she was really close with Tiffany and Camila. So she was really doing a little bit more of a girl's thing in season 50. So I think that she's open for business with all types of people.

[Taran Armstrong]

You would kind of expect her to. To kind of take charge early on. I think. I think people will. Will gravitate toward her. She'll seem impressive physically. Competition, threat, very social, lots of experience. It would not surprise me if, if she's on the cast that the live feeds open up to D at the head of a majority alliance early.

[Rob Cicerono]

I do not believe she is a longtime Big Brother fan, but I do believe that she probably would have done some homework.

[Taran Armstrong]

You would assume. You would assume. Yeah.

[Rob Cicerono]

Hypothetically. Okay. All right, Tara, we're going to come back for the draft in Tomorrow night about 8pm we will be back with Melissa and Puya and Aman to do our big brother 28 draft. Maybe we will even know more information than we know now.

[Taran Armstrong]

Maybe. It seems like at this point they are waiting for the. Any official announcement till at least the premiere. And given the fact that Unlocked is Friday, it's theoretically possible. They even wait until then for some of the reveals. But. But I would. I would expect it on premiere night. That's what we've got in the past with siree and with Rachel. So, you know, hopefully. Hopefully we get there.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Last season's premiere, if I remember correctly, ended with Rachel walking into the house.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes.

[Rob Cicerono]

And maybe that's what we get coming up on Thursday night. Then Friday night will be a Big Brother Unlocked episode. And then speaking of Unlocked, the Big Brother live feeds get Unlocked, I believe, after the west coast airing of Big Brother Unlocked.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. Actually, I don't remember if it is east coast or west coast, but it would make more sense that it's west coast because they usually do that. But either way, yeah, Friday night live feeds, which means Saturday morning, first live feed update, 11am Eastern. It's gonna be fun.

[Rob Cicerono]

Very exciting. Do you know with the YouTube live feeds on after episodes are. Is that gonna be on after East Coast?

[Taran Armstrong]

People are saying it's east coast, it's East Coast. Yeah, that. I think that's what I remember as well for Friday, that the live feeds will start after the east coast airing of Unlocked. So, of course, by the way, I'll be streaming for the start of the live feeds. And. And that'll be very fun. But. But, you know, and that might be precedent as well if they're doing. So basically this announcement is that they are doing free live feeds on YouTube after the episodes air. To me, it doesn't really make sense to do that after the west coast airing because so many people are watching East Coast. They're not gonna wait three hours to like it. You completely negate the entire purpose of doing it after an episode. So to me, it would make sense if they start the live feeds after the east coast airing and then potentially just keep it going until like an hour after the west coast airing. So like a good like three to four hour chunk of live feeds on YouTube post episode. And it's not like, oh, four hour. That's so much they're giving away because the, if you get hooked on live feeds, you4 hours is not nearly enough. So I think the point is get it up there on YouTube where people are and they watch live streams. You can put ads on the YouTube channel. They're going to be in the chat, they're going to be doing all kinds of stuff. You're going to attack, you're going to attract a lot of viewers that way. They're going to watch an episode and go, oh, I can go on to. I'm not going to go on to Paramount plus and pay a subscription, but I might go on to YouTube and check out what's happening. I want to find out what happened after this thing happened in the episode. And then boom, you've all of a sudden, you know, kind of attracted a new hardcore fan.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. It seems a little more weird on like the Sunday night and Wednesday night episodes when the live feeds are not caught up to where things are in the episod. But we'll see what they do.

[Taran Armstrong]

That's part of the attraction though, because you get on there and it's like, wait a minute there, they've already played the veto. Wait, what's happening? Who's going up now? And that's how they get you.

[Rob Cicerono]

So they get you good. Okay. All right. So that's what's coming up for the next couple of days. So we will have for Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night here on our. I know you got a lot of things cooking up on your end. Yes.

[Taran Armstrong]

So obviously tons of Big Brother podcasts heading your way. We got the draft, we got the premiere recap, we got the live feed updates coming Saturday. Of course, I will be live every single morning talking about the live feeds, giving you an update on what happened over the course of the previous day. In addition to that, I stream on Twitch, on YouTube and on Patreon. I have been doing a Love island watch this season. I am 30 episodes deep into Love Island. That's all on my Patreon. If you have any interest in watching me. Number one, be uncomfortable watching 20 year olds making out with each other constantly and getting slimed for some reason. Number two, constantly analyzing the relationships happening on Villa in on Love island with a bunch of 20 year olds. So if you're interested in any of that, check out my Patreon. And in addition to that, of course, thank you to everyone who bought my book behind the Mirror. It, it released the pre orders released last year. It, it was published after the season ended. It became a national bestseller. So thank you all so much. It's, it's been very, very appreciated and I just wanted to make sure I got the thank you in here because couldn't have, couldn't have gone anywhere without all of you.

[Rob Cicerono]

Yeah. Audiobook as well. I've been listening to it as we've been working up closer to the season so check it out there too.

[Taran Armstrong]

Yes. Had very fun. Had a lot of fun recording the audiobook.

[Rob Cicerono]

Okay. All right. So that's gonna do it for us here today. We'll be back tomorrow night for the draft so join us then.

[Taran Armstrong]

Take care everybody.

[Rob Cicerono]

Have a good one.

[Taran Armstrong]

Bye.