Big Brother Season 28 kicks off Thursday, and we supposedly got the full cast announcement from Julie Chen Moonves on the weirdly named YouTube Broveal, but doing the math, it was easy to see that that was not the end of it.
Clearly, 14 house guests is way too few. Starting with Big Brother 14 back in 2012, there’s always been 16 or 17 house guests to start with. So, obviously doing the math there are at least two confirmed additions, but now we know there are three on top of the newbies.
Plus, it looks like they’re taking this time trip thing seriously because reportedly there’s already an HOH and nominees. Let’s catch up on what is happening in the BB28 house because game play is underway.
Big Brother 28: Who is Playing in Summer 2026?
First, let’s talk about who all is playing. We got 13 younger players and one older player from the Broveal. 57-year-old outlier LaTrice “Lala” Verrett is pushing 60. And she looks good. I want to know her skincare regimen.
On the other end of the scale is Drew Campbell, the 22-year-old dental surgical assistant guy. I love that he talked about being good with people and chatting while the oral surgeon is working on them. You ever try talking at the dentist office with a dam in your mouth?
Then there’s the guy giving Weird Al Yankovic vibes. That’s Barrett Pfeiffer, the jumbotron engineer, AKA an AV nerd on steroids. Then there’s Rocket scientist Mallory Aurichio in her big glasses and red t-shirt looking like someone from The Big Bang Theory.
But on her Insta, she’s a partying sorority chick. She’s more likely to be showing her booty in a thong than dressed like they had her in that broveal. It’s production nonsense.
BB 28: More New Players on the Roster
We also have corporate game show host Melody Morris. She’s actually a graduate from journalism school. But she works at one of those places where you can go play a simulated game show. There’s one on the boardwalk near me. They’re cute. She works for the brand Game Show Battle.
We also have Lyric Medeiros, the lawyer, who’s going to lie and say she’s a singer for tourists. Then we have Kamu Kirk, the MMA dude and Jason de Puy, the drag queen. By the way, the Broveal thing that CBS did seems to be a hat tip to RuPaul’s Drag Race that also announces their cast on YouTube on a live stream reveal called the “Ruveal”.
Chuk Anyanwu, the cute cowboy from Dallas is interesting. He went to Texas Women’s University which despite the name is co-ed. I have much higher hopes for Chuk than Big Brother 27‘s creeper cowboy Riley. We’ve also got Ashley Trail the bartender.
There’s Haley Thogmartin the telemedicine chick and Rome Seymour, pickle ball coach. I enjoy pickle ball, but would never hire a coach. I can figure out how to hit a whiffle ball on my own thanks.
Taylor Brown is a school counselor from Deerfield Beach. It’s a nice area by Boca Raton. I like her vibe. And Yash Patel from Jersey is hoping to go home with a wife. It felt like almost everybody they cast is looking for a showmance.
Big Brother 28: A Few Familiar Faces from CBS Shows
Okay, so those are the newbies. Then we’re getting one Big Brother alum and two Survivor alums. On the plus side, the Big Brother returning player is not Paul Abrahamian. Instead, it’s the charcuterie queen herself, Angela Murray. Hope they waterproofed the Diary Room in preparation for her deluge of tears.
And from Survivor, we got two coming fresh off Survivor 50. One is Rick Devens. He’s fun. If you don’t watch Survivor, he pulled a baller move in the recent season hiding a fake community idol near the fire pit at the tribal council set.
And then a couple of tribal councils later, Devens was about to be voted out, and faked like he found it from a clue. He also risked his game on the Mr. Beast twist. He flipped a coin that risked his ejection but instead, he doubled the Survivor 50 winners pot to 2 million bucks.
The other Survivor alum we’ve heard is playing is Dee Valladares. She won Survivor 45 and played Survivor 50, but was ousted without a win. Dee has also played on The Challenge. She’s a good physical competitor.
Dee’s 29, Rick is 42, and Angela is 53. So, that brings us to three middle-aged players, a couple in their 30s, and the bulk of the house guests in their 20s, all looking to get lucky in the house. So, this could be the showmanciest season we’ve ever had of Big Brother.
Major Changes and Shakeups on BB28
Now, let’s talk about some things they’re changing up. Usually, we get photos and bios ahead, but this Broveal was something new. And Julie Chen did say they’re shaking up things. We’ll see the milestone 1,000th episode soon. They’re at 975 episodes going into the season.
And with 90-minute episodes on Wednesdays throughout the season, there is plenty to see in BB28. The debut on Thursday, July 9th is also 90 minutes. Unlocked is back this Friday with Jerry O’Connell as a regular.
The Big Brother Blockbuster is back in play again in BB28. And it looks like the houseguests are already inside and playing the game. So, Thursday’s episode will be pre-taped material since the move-in that already happened.
Unlocked on Friday is supposed to dive into the Survivor Castaway reveals and the Big Brother alum playing the game. And the live feeds are up Friday night right after Unlocked. There are some fan voting features that affect gameplay that CBS is clearly using to drive viewers to this bonus content.
Big Brother 28: HOH and Nominees Already Locked?
They’re also using YouTube more heavily this season with free but limited post-show live feeds access. Just enough to drive people to subscribe to Paramount Plus. As for some early leaked info, take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt.
Supposedly, the first HOH and nominees may already be locked in. Word is that Mallory Aurichio, the sorority party girl/rocket scientist, is the first HOH winner. And the chatter is that she nominated MMA fighter Kamu Kirk and pickle baller Rome Seymour.
The HOH and nominations stuff is somewhat speculative, but hey, I like sharing leaks, so do with that what you will. Don’t miss the BB28 premiere on Thursday! Wouldn’t be summer without Big Brother.
Leave a Reply