‘Celebrity Big Brother’: Inside The Vast Reality TV Past Of The Season 2 Cast

It looks like the biggest prerequisite to being cast on Celebrity Big Brother is to have a reality TV resumé. Just one week ahead of the premiere episode of the celebrity edition of the voyeuristic CBS reality show, the cast for the second season has been announced. And just like last winter’s inaugural season, the new Celebrity Big Brother cast includes plenty of familiar faces, especially for reality TV fans.

The first season of Celebrity Big Brother featured Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville, three Dancing with the Stars alumni (NBA star Metta World Peace, actor/singer James Maslow, and American Pie star Shannon Elizabeth), and the queen bee of reality TV, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, the original villain on Donald Trump’s former reality show The Apprentice.

For Season 2, Celebrity Big Brother fans will be given 24/7 access to the cast that includes momager Dina Lohan, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, singer Tamar Braxton, actor Joey Lawrence, Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett, Olympic bobsledder Lolo Jones, ex-NFL running back Ricky Williams, WWE star Natalie Eva Marie, Real Housewives veteran Kandi Burruss, former O.J. Simpson houseguest Kato Kaelin, comedian Tom Green, and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, as previously shared by the Inquisitr. Only the latter doesn’t have a previous reality TV resume.

'Celebrity Big Brother' cast includes Anthony Scaramucci, Dina Lohan, Ryan Lochte https://t.co/s9jnmlOQ4H pic.twitter.com/skywIEZaGI

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 13, 2019

Dina Lohan, who is rumored to be receiving a minimum of $100,000 for her short stint on Celebrity Big Brother, previously starred on the 2008 reality show Living Lohan with her daughter Ali. The mom of actress/entrepreneur Lindsay Lohan also appeared on the reality show Family Therapy With Dr. Jenn.

Ryan Lochte may be known for his mad swimming skills, but he was also followed by a camera crew for the 2013 E! reality show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? Lochte went on to compete on the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars in 2016, where he landed in seventh place.

Grammy nominee Tamar Braxton has been a reality TV star since 2011. The singer has long starred on the WEtv hit Braxton Family Values, with sisters Toni, Traci, Towanda, and Trina. In 2015, Tamar was also a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and that same year she landed as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

Speaking of Dancing with the Stars, Joey Lawrence competed on the show in 2006 and made it to the finals, finishing in third place. Lawrence was also a runner-up on the reality competition Cupcake Wars in 2016.

Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett is also a DWTS alum. In 2014, he landed in ninth place in the ABC celebrity ballroom competition. Bennett went on to host the reality show Cake Wars in 2015.

Olympic track athlete and bobsledder Lolo Jones also competed on DWTS in 2014, but she was the first star eliminated on the show. In 2017, Jones competed on MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros where she was axed in the sixth episode.

Former NFL running back Ricky Williams appeared on the third season of the Spike TV’s reality game show Pros vs. Joes, while former WWE wrestler Natalie Eva Marie headlined the reality show Total Divas from 2013 to 2017 as the show gave an inside look at the lives of female wrestling stars.

Singer and reality star Kandi Burruss has an extensive reality TV resume. Not only did she star on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, but Burruss launched the spinoff series The Kandi Factory. Bravo later gave Burruss a spinoff special, Kandi’s Wedding, that followed her wedding planning with husband Todd Tucker, in 2014. A third reality special, Kandi’s Ski Trip, solidified Burruss as a Bravo superstar.

Kato Kaelin first made headlines in 1994 as a witness in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. The infamous houseguest went on to star in Celebrity Boot Camp in 2002. He later appeared on the E! reality series Sunset Tan, where he famously asked for a “farmer’s tan.” Kaelin also competed on Fox’s Gimme My Reality Show in 2008.

And Tom Green, best known for his controversial self-titled TV series in which he was a contestant in the ABC reality show Wanna Bet? Green also competed on the 2009 season of Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice, where he was fired by the future president after showing up late after a night of partying with Dennis Rodman. Green also appeared on Hell’s Kitchen and as a judge on the reality show For the Love of Ray J.

Amid all of the reality TV veterans, the Celebrity Big Brother promo describes Anthony Scaramucci as the show’s “big surprise.” CBS host Julie Chen previously told the Hollywood Reporter that The Mooch was actually approached to compete on Big Brother last year, but turned it down.

Of course, this season’s reality-heavy cast shouldn’t be a big surprise to Big Brother fans. Ahead of last year’s inaugural season of Celebrity Big Brother, Julie Chen warned fans that they wouldn’t be seeing Academy Award-winning stars on the CBS reality show, which follows 11 celebrity houseguests and their every move 24/7.

“It’s not going to be all Oscar winners,” Chen admitted to the Hollywood Reporter of the Celebrity Big Brother cast. “But maybe we’ll have someone who won Oscar decades ago. Whoever casts Dancing with the Stars does an amazing job. They don’t always get all household names, but some people kind of reinvent themselves and suddenly I see that person all over the tabloids.”

You can see the promo for Celebrity Big Brother below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTXh2nvikZQ

The second season of Celebrity Big Brother premieres Monday, January 21 at 8 p.m. on CBS.