Big Brother, everyone’s favorite summer guilty pleasure, returned to CBS on August 2 for it’s 25th season with 16 new houseguests battling for the $750,000 grand prize. This time around, the competition will last a whopping 100 days, and it’s all thanks to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, which are responsible for networks relying more on unscripted fare. So how did the 90-minute premiere play out on Wednesday night?
Below, read on for our minute-by-minute Big Brother season 25, Episode 1 recap to find out what happened on Wednesday, August 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite BB25 houseguests on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the Big Brother winners list.
Here are the 16 houseguests competing this summer: America Lopez, Blue Kim, Bowie Jane, Cameron Hardin, Cory Wurtenberger, Felicia Cannon, Hisam Goueli, Izzy Gleicher, Jag Bains, Jared Fields, Kirsten Elwin, Luke Valentine, Matthew “Matt” Klotz, Mecole Hayes, Red Utley and Reilly Smedley.
Update: Confirmed! Cirie Fields is the 17th HG of BB25!
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Big Brother’!”In last season’s “BB24” finale, Taylor Hale made history by becoming the first Black woman to win the show, beating Monte Taylor by an 8-to-1 jury vote. Taylor also was the first winner to be additionally named “America’s Favorite Houseguest.” But enough chit-chat about last summer — it’s time to dive into Season 25. Let’s go!
8:03 p.m. – Referring to last night as the kick-off of BB’s “25th anniversary,” the night began with a montage of iconic clips from the show’s first 25 seasons and Julie promising a season that will not disappoint with its “unimaginable twists and turns.” In her biggest clue, Julie said that “just because there’s 16 houseguests competing, doesn’t mean there can’t be more.”
8:05 p.m. – In our first introductions to the first eight houseguests, we met: Blue, a brand strategist from New York City that is single and expects to get along with everyone; Red from the Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee who values family more than anything; Jared, a basketball coach and son of “Survivor” legend Cirie Fields who told him to “always keep your doors open for more alliances;” Mecole, a married political consultant from Washington D.C. who expects it to be tough being away from her husband; Matt, a Deaf Olympics gold medalist swimmer that will use the “dumb jock” perception to his advantage; Izzy, another New Yorker who is proudly queer and a BB superfan; Jag from Washington who is the first Sikh player in BB history and hopes to keep his three college majors under a veil of secrecy; and Reilly, who isn’t shy about being open to a showmance with a “muscular brunette” man.
8:14 p.m. – Before letting the first group of eight houseguests in the house, Julie teased them about this season’s “most unexpected twist” and then revealed that she can’t tell them about it until all the houseguests are with them on stage.
8:18 p.m. – The next houseguests we were introduced to were: Luke, the Floridian fitness -obsessed starving artist that is also open to a showmance despite knowing it’s not a great strategic move; realtor Felicia from Atlanta who says “age is just a number” and is an admitted superfan; Hisam, a doctor from Seattle who also dances burlesque; Cory, a public speaking champion that thinks he’s more suited for the competition than any of the taller, stronger “bro” contestants; Bowie Jane, an Australian attorney, tennis player and DJ that says all her talents will “come in handy” in the game; America, a first generation American from a Mexican background who sees her resilience as an asset in the game; Cameron from Eastern Georgia who is a proud country boy and military veteran with hair he’s named Bertha; and Kirsten, a swimwear designer from Texas who also holds a degree in microbiology that calls herself “the baddie with brains.”
8:27 p.m. – With all 16 houseguests on stage outside the BB house, Julie disclosed that there was a “break-in in the Big Brother house a few nights ago” that “completely changed” the BB universe. She emphasized to the audience that “three Big Brother legends entered the house with game-changing consequences.”
8:31 p.m. – To fully reveal the “unsettling news” to the houseguests, Julie showed footage of Frankie Grande, Britney Haynes and Danielle Reyes “breaking in” to the house to execute a plan to reset time so that they can claim the wins they think they deserved. Using a “time laser,” the trio unknowingly changed the decor of the house and “the Big Brother multiverse cracked open.” Julie clarified that they’ve “changed the game, creating the most unpredictable season of Big Brother ever.” She said that the BB Comicverse, Humiliverse, Scaryverse, and Scrambleverse have been opened with the potential to open and “twist up the game.”
8:40 p.m. – At long last, Julie finally moved the houseguests in as groups of four and directed them to the backyard where they found four competitions representing the four universes of the multiverse. Each group had to allocate someone to one of the four competitions. In the first group: Felicia went to the Comicverse, Red went to the Scaryverse, America went to the Scrambleverse, and Matt went to the Humiliverse on the pink mats. In the second group: Cory went to the Scaryverse, Blue went to the Humiliverse, Jared went to the Scrambleverse, and Izzy went to the Comicverse on the green mats. In the third group: Kirsten went to the Humiliverse, Luke went to the Scaryverse, Bowie Jane went to the Scrambleverse, and Jag went to the Comicverse on the yellow mats. In the fourth and final group: Hisam went to the Humiliverse, Mecole went to the Scrambleverse, Cameron went to the Comicverse, and Reilly went to the Scaryverse on the blue mats.
8:55 p.m. – The first competition was in the Scramble-verse and Julie warned that “this is not a Head of Household competition, it’s a nomination competition.” She explained that the losers of each competition will all be nominated for eviction. In the first competition, the players had to disassemble a completed puzzle and then place them back in a box so that they fit perfectly. America was the first to finish, Bowie Jane was the second to finish, and Mecole was the third. That result left Jared as the first nominee.
9:03 p.m. – The second competition was in the Humili-verse where the players were kicked in the butt by a giant boot behind them in order to be among the first three to do it 100 times. Both Matt and Hisam used their arm strength to get out to strong leads with Blue only a short distance behind them. Kirsten could not coordinate her movement well enough to ever get on pace with the leaders and so she ultimately was the left in last and became the second nominee.
9:11 p.m. – The third competition was in the Comic-verse where the players had to avoid being bombed by goo by successfully connecting the correct wires to a goo-bot faster than everyone else. Jag was the first to detonate his goo bomb, followed by Izzy second and Cameron third. That left Felicia in last place as the third nominee.
9:18 p.m. – The fourth and final competition was in the Scary-verse where the players had to prevent monster hands from dragging them away from their perch with the person dragged out first becoming the final nominee and “disappearing into the nether region” for an undisclosed amount of time. After a strong showing from all four, Cory let go first and disappeared into the nether region as the fourth nominee.
9:24 p.m. – Julie advised all the houseguests to “be prepared for anything” because what is in store for them is “far from over” and then hinted to the audience that there’s one more surprise to come.
9:27 p.m. – Julie returned to the intercom with the houseguests to reveal the final twist which was to meet Jared’s mom Cirie inside the house, greeting them with champagne. Though it was unclear to them at the time, Julie told us that Cirie would in fact be playing the game as a 17th houseguest alongside her son!
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