Big Brother producers have reportedly sequestered a group of all-star contestants as well as alternates ahead of the show’s 20 th anniversary season. The cast for the delayed CBS reality show has arrived in Los Angeles, where they will be tested for COVID-19 as their first challenge this summer, TMZ reported.
Production sources told the outlet that a list of potential contestants arrived in Los Angeles, where they’re being sequestered and tested for coronavirus before being allowed to enter the Big Brother house in two weeks. In addition to a main cast of returning players, there is reportedly an alternate list that will be used should anyone test positive for the virus.
As for which “all-stars” are reportedly in sequester right now, there’s a mix of fan favorites and polarizing past players.
TMZ reported that the reality star-studded lineup includes Tyler Crispen (BB20 runner-up), Bayleigh Dayton (BB20), Josh Martinez (BB19 winner), Paulie Calafiore (BB18), Nicole Franzel (BB18 winner), Ian Terry (BB14 champ), Hayden Moss (BB12 winner), Daniele Donato (BB8 runner-up), and legendary player Janelle Pierzina, who first competed on the show in 2005 and was on the first all-star season. This would mark Janelle’s fourth stint in the Big Brother house.
The show usually kicks off with 16 houseguests. Other names that have been floating around include Paul Abrahamian, Da’Vonne Rogers, and champion player Derrick Levasseur.
In addition, last month, Big Brother 21 alum Kemi Fakunle posted a cryptic tweet about taking “once in a lifetime ” opportunities, which caused buzz among fans who thought she was also headed back to the CBS summertime house.
The alumni cast has not been confirmed by the network, but fans know that longtime host Julie Chen Moonves has long been pushing for such a lineup for years. In a past interview with Entertainment Tonight , Chen even said she’d like to see a season that featured all of Big Brother’s past winners dating back to the long-running reality competition’s inaugural round in 2000, when Eddie McGee won the very first grand prize.
With the perfect storm of a 20th-anniversary milestone and COVID-19, the time was right for Big Brother All-Stars . Now it’s just a waiting game, as fans watch for more names to leak and producers receive the results of the coronavirus tests.
The list of potential all-star players comes days after photos of all-stars merch appeared online in the CBS store, before being quickly taken down. In addition to the houseguests, Big Brother’s behind-the-scenes crew will reportedly live on-site in RVs, making the entire production one big bubble.