Big Brother 18 is here. Before the craziness begins and consumes your entire summer, here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know to prepare, including information about the house, HGs, twists, schedule and what you can expect from us here at BuddyTV.

It’s the Longest Summer Ever

This season the HGs will have to survive longer than ever before, a record 99 days inside the house. (WHAT DOES A 99-DAY SEASON MEAN?)

There Are 12 New HGs with Two Relatives

So far CBS has only officially released the names and bios of 12 new houseguests, which includes Paulie, the brother of season 16 runner-up Cody Calafiore and Tiffany, the sister of season 17’s Vanessa Rousso. (MEET THE NEW BB18 HGS)

There Will Be 4 Mystery Guests

Promos from CBS have teased that this season will feature four mystery guests in the house, likely joining the cast as players. The most common spoilers, which are generally regarded as true in the fan community, suggests that they will be four returning players from the past four seasons. (BB18 SPOILERS: WHO ARE THE RETURNING PLAYERS?)

There’s No Battle of the Block

The Battle of the Block twist with two HoHs from the past two seasons will not return. Instead, there will be a new competition and ceremony that takes place between the nominations and the Power of Veto for the Sunday episodes. (BB18 REPLACES BOB WITH NEW COMP)

The House Has a Working Phone

The new house has a summer vacation theme, but perhaps most interesting is a phone booth between the two bedrooms that actually connects to the HoH room upstairs. Will people use it to talk to each other and will it come into play with a twist? (BB18 HOUSE PHOTOS)

When Does Everything Start?

As always, the show will have three weekly episodes: Wednesdays at 8pm, Thursdays at 9pm and Sundays at 8pm. The 24/7 live feeds will turn on after the West Coast airing of the second part of the premiere, Thursday, June 23 at 10pm PT / 1am ET.

What to Expect from BuddyTV?

I’ll be here all summer with every update you could possibly need. We’ll have recaps for the three episodes each week as well as spoiler articles about the various competitions from the live feeds (look for nominations and the new competition spoilers to come Fridays, Power of Veto spoilers on Saturdays and spoilers for the PoV ceremony on Mondays). We’ll also have daily updates and op-eds about the HGs and any alliances or big moves taking place on the live feeds. For the latest on Big Brother 18, be sure to come back to BuddyTV every single day.

Big Brother 18 premieres Wednesday, June 22 at 8pm on CBS.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.