The new season of “Big Brother” is just days away — it premieres Wednesday, July 7 on CBS. But before we meet the all-new houseguests for “BB23,” let’s flashback to one of the reality TV show’s most cringe-inducing moments ever. Last season, “BB22” started off with a whimper when Julie Chen Moonves instructed the first four Have-Nots on live television to walk upstairs and enter their new room. Unfortunately, the small door they were supposed to crawl through was stuck. “Do they slide or push the door?” Julie was heard asking her producers off-camera. “It’s still locked.”
Ian Terry, Nicole Anthony, Kevin Campbell and Memphis Garrett did all they could to try to open the door, but it wasn’t budging. “All right, then just stay in the hall for seven days,” Julie quipped awkwardly before adding, “I’m kidding.” The moment aired live on August 5, 2020.
Ever the professional, Julie turned to the camera and apologized to the viewers at home. “As we work out our technical difficulties, I will say, it’s only gonna be seven days that they have to live in this room. We promise you at home we will show it. No one ever said winning half a million dollars would be easy.”
“Big Brother” then cut to an early commercial break. When it returned, Julie addressed the 16 All-Stars in the living room. “First off, we have to apologize that you couldn’t get into the Have-Not room, but it doesn’t get you out of having to live there. You’re gonna see it later tonight.”
Being a Have-Not means you have to take cold showers for the week and eat nothing but slop, aka “Big Brother’s” disgusting food dish that resembles bland oatmeal. The winner of Season 22 ended up being Cody Calafiore. He beat runner-up Vincenzo “Enzo” Palumbo by a unanimous 9-to-0 vote during the October 28, 2020 finale.
Looking ahead to the Season 23 premiere, “Big Brother” will once again stage a live move-in for the new houseguests. But this time the players will be split into teams. “As people move in and they’re in that first competition, they’re going to be vying to be a team captain, and also to be able to compete for HOH [Head of Household],” explained executive producer Rich Meehan. “That team captain competition is going to be how they’re selecting their team. If you’re a team captain, you’re going to get a snapshot of some of the houseguests, then you’re going to have to decide who you want to add on your team. It should be a fun way to build the teams. It’s always interesting to see how it plays out with that element because the team dynamic changes the game a bit.”
