Julie Chen Moonves is back, back, back again with a whole flock of famous faces. The one-hour season premiere of “Celebrity Big Brother 3” aired on Wednesday night with 11 new houseguests entering the house for a three-week competition. They are: Carson Kressley (TV personality, actor and designer), Chris Kattan (actor and comedian), Chris Kirkpatrick (NSYNC singer), Cynthia Bailey (model and TV personality), Lamar Odom (former NBA forward), Miesha Tate (UFC mixed martial artist), Mirai Nagasu (Olympic figure skater), Shanna Moakler (model, actress and TV personality), Teddi Mellencamp (TV personality), Todd Bridges (actor) and Todrick Hall (singer, dancer and YouTuber).
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Celebrity Big Brother” recap of Season 3, Episode 1 to find out what happened Wednesday, February 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite “CBB” houseguests on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Big Brother” winners list.
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8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’!” In the Season 2 finale (which aired way back in 2019), singer and TV personality Tamar Braxton ended up winning the $250,000 grand prize against former NFL running back Ricky Williams. That made Tamar the first (and so far only) Black woman to prevail in any of the American seasons. Who will follow in the footsteps of Tamar and Season 1 winner Marissa Jaret Winokur? Let’s get this house party started!
8:02 p.m. – Julie kicked off the episode by explaining that none of the celebrities knew who would be joining them this month before they entered the house. They made their way into the house one by one cut with a pre-taped featurette about why they wanted to play. First to enter was Carson, describing himself as a competitor that plans to play to win. He was followed by someone he already knows and was excited to see, Cynthia. She entered worried that no one would want to be in an alliance with her, and her daughter suggested that based on her physical abilities no one probably will. Next to enter was Chris Kirkpatrick, but Cynthia did not immediately recognize him. Chris sees the game as chess, as many players before him have, and seeks to play the houseguests against each other in order to win.
8:07 p.m. – The fourth celeb to enter was yet another person Carson already knows, Shanna. She claimed to be a superfan that will do anything to win the game. Based on their instant rapport, Carson, Cynthia and Shanna all chose beds in the same room. Unlike with Kirkpatrick, Cynthia recognized Todd when he entered next and was at the door to greet Mirai when she entered after him. As an Olympian, Mirai believes that competing under pressure is something she can do and plans to win “with as little blood on [her] hands as possible.” Chris Kattan arrived next with the disclaimer that he’s “not the best game player.” He described being a terrible poker player because he’s bad at bluffing — something that isn’t going to help him here. Instead, he hopes to remain likable and entertain everyone.
8:16 p.m. – The next person to enter was another one of Carson’s celebrity friends, Todrick. He’s also a superfan and hopes to play the sort of game that Dan Gheesling and Derrick Levasseur did, and he won’t be afraid to stir the pot. Finally Kirkpatrick found a houseguest he knew already when Miesha entered. As a fighter, Miesha is determined to win using her physical, mental and emotional capability. She immediately recognized that she comes off as intimidating at first, but was prepared for that. Her entrance was followed by Teddi’s and Lamar’s, the final two houseguests to enter. Lamar described his own personal hardships and how they will have prepared him for a game like CBB.
8:27 p.m. – After their champagne toast, Teddi and Cynthia were already testing Kattan by seeing if he could remember their names. Not a great start for the comedian, but also a bad look for the housewives who will already have the stigma of getting involved in petty fights. Later, Carson brought Cynthia in to their room with Shanna and Todrick in a “gays and girls” alliance. Everyone in the room agreed to it, but let’s see how long that lasts!
8:30 p.m. – Julie came on the TV screen to call the houseguests into the living room to formally begin the game. She told them that tonight they’d have the first Head of Household competition along with the standard rules: safety for themselves and the responsibility of nominating two for eviction. She elaborated that this process will happen twice a week until only one of them remains.
8:36 p.m. – Ahead of their first HOH comp, the celebs walked a runway in “fashionable” outfits made in homage to the Met Gala. “But first,” Julie asked for one of them to volunteer as the Master of Ceremonies, a role that could make them ineligible to win and vulnerable to elimination. Seeing the stirrups hanging from the ceiling in front of him, Todd stepped forward as volunteer knowing that it wouldn’t be a challenge he’d win anyway. For the other 10, Julie had each of them grab a pair of stirrups and some hanging bottles of champagne as they rose in the air, set to hang on until only one of them remains.
8:40 p.m. – While Teddi said she did not want to win the first comp, Kattan was eager to actually win. Unfortunately he became the first to fall followed quickly by Cynthia, both within the first two minutes. Both Miesha and Mirai looked to one another as the stiffest competition among the group and both of them looked sturdy on the ropes. After some fizzy “snow” fell from the sky, Shanna and Lamar were the next players to drop. That’s when Todd hit another button, dropping “golden caviar” on them, but this delicacy looked more like golden vomit and it hit them hard. So hard that just shy of the 6.5 minute mark, Kirkpatrick fell. Not wanting to be a “show off” and to stay under the radar, Carson threw the comp by falling next.
8:50 p.m. – With four remaining, Todrick realized that he could actually surprise himself and win the comp. Still, Miesha and Mirai were eyeing each other as competitors, but after almost 14 minutes Mirai had enough and fell. Knowing that he was close to falling, Todrick leaned in to Miesha for a potential deal. Once she said she won’t put him up, he willingly fell. Seeing Miesha make the deal with Todrick, Teddi asked for the same deal, but Miesha declined. Even without the deal, Teddi dropped and gave Miesha power for the week.
8:56 p.m. – Though Miesha just won safety for herself as HOH, Julie dropped the bomb on the houseguests that there will be another power up for grabs this week. While she didn’t say what the power is, she said it’s inside the “gala gift” box and called it “a blessing to one and a curse to another.”
NEXT TIME: The houseguests learn what’s in the “gala gift” box and Miesha announces the first two houseguests nominated for eviction.
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