Summer has officially begun, as new host guests have entered the Big Brother house located on the CBS lot in Los Angeles for a summer of fun. Leading up to the season 28 premiere, the network had dropped clues about the season’s theme being time travel. The speculation on the internet ran wild that time travel would mean many (potentially up to half) houseguests would be returning this season. 

Two days before the premiere, Big Brother’s YouTube channel would stream a house reveal, as well as introduce 14 new houseguests as part of the first-ever Broveal, but as houseguest Drew figures out pretty quickly, there’s going to be returnees entering the house once again this season.

To find out who those returnees would be (even though Big Brother did spoil their returns on the internet), players had to find tonium power reactors hidden throughout the game. These reactors each had numbers on them, with the correct reactors adding up to 28. Only 12 people would find the correct reactors, the other two sitting out. 

Host Julie Chen Mooves revealed the 12 houseguests would separate into three groups of four to compete in challenges based on different eras, but not for the first head of household (HOH), for safety and the opportunity to let a reality legend in the house for good. The three reality legends would be the ones competing to be the first HOH.

Rome won an 80s mall themed challenge where you had to balance different weighted objects on a machine, letting in Big Brother 26 houseguest Angela into the house for the second time in three years. Chux won a jungle challenge based in Fuji where players had to use two different sized planks to across a bridge. Winning this challenge opened up a cameo to Survivor host Jeff Probst, allowing Survivor 38 and Survivor 50 player Rick Devens to enter the BB world for the first time. Jason would win a memory challenge inspired by a 2010 Las Vegas strip to let Big Brother 12, Big Brother 13, and Big Brother 27 houseguest Rachel Reilly into the house.

With the three reality legends in the BB house, it was time to head to the backyard for a jurassic-based challenge for the first HOH. As Mrs. Reilly was making a point that she will not be eliminated by the White Locus again, a giant T-rex came out of nowhere and pushed her into lava, ending her game, but before the episode was over, another date appeared on the time machine in the dining room: Dec. 20, 2023, the same date Dee won Survivor 45. 

Over the years, Big Brother has certainly gotten more outlandish and cartoonish with some of its stunts, and the season 28 premiere was no exception. The show’s motto is to “expect the unexpected”, and I would say Reilly falling into a pit of lava and not competing this season is the definition of “expect the unexpected.”

As a Survivor fan, it was awesome to see a cameo from Probst and definitely not expected. It’ll be interesting to see how Rick and Dee navigate the game together, as they become only the second and third Survivor players to enter the BB house, following in the footsteps of fellow Survivor 50 castaway Cirie in 2023 during BB25 when she played with her son, Jarrett.

Will Angela change her game from BB26 or will more CRAZY EYES men be after her? Which newbie will take their place in Big Brother lure? Who will have the first showmance of the season? All these questions still need to be answered after a premiere that touched the heartstrings of what this crazy 87-day experience is about.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the opening tribute to Mickey, a BB27 houseguest who passed away on Christmas Day last year after just participating in the game less than six months before her death due to flu complications. Life is short, and Mickey’s legacy will carry on forever.

In terms of what these recaps will look like moving forward, I am a live feed watcher, but not all the time. I will try to provide insight where I can and where I think the show lacks. For instance, I already know who won the first HOH, but we will talk about that on Monday’s recap once the full details of the three nominations are known. 

On Monday's recap, I'm sure you'll hear my takes on the new houseguests, as I (hopefully for my own enjoyment) will have stronger takes on who I like and dislike. These recaps, like my Survivor recaps, will not only include a recap of the episodes, but my opinion on the show as well. They will not include BB Unlocked episodes, just the main Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday episodes and any special episodes in-between.