Big Brother 16 is less than one week away and “the most twisted season ever” features 16 brand-new houseguests. That’s right, there are no returning players and, just as importantly, no relatives of former players.
Watch Videos of the Big Brother 16 Women>>
The new season will be quite complicated for the crop of newbies as there will be two HoHs every week, each nominating two people, as well as a Team America twist and a new competition, the Battle of the Block, which means HoHs aren’t necessarily safe. All of those will be explained in the two-night Move-In event, with eight HGs moving in on Wednesday’s premiere and the other eight on Thursday’s episode.
Big Brother 16 Twists: Two HoHs and More>>
See Photos from the Big Brother 16 House>>
First up, let’s look at the eight new male HGs, including the groundskeeper of American Idol star Kellie Pickler’s old high school, Ariana Grande’s YouTube sensation brother and a former MLB player.
Caleb Reynolds
He’s a 26-year-old Kentucky adventure guide with a very convoluted strategy of being a “bobber.” I don’t expect much from him.
Cody Calafiore
He’s a 23-year-old New Jersey guy. He seems kind of sweet and innocent, which reminds me a lot of Dominic Briones from season 13.
Derrick Levasseur
He’s a police sergeant and one of the four HGs not in their 20s. He also plans on lying about his job, which never ends well. His undercover work might come in handy, but he comes across as one of the least interesting from these video interviews.
Devin Shepherd
He’s a former pro baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s also a big muscular dude who seems sweet, but will inevitably be an easy target because of his physical appearance.
Donny Thompson
At 42, Donny is by far the oldest person in the house (the next oldest is 33). He’s a high school groundskeeper from North Carolina and is the token “hick” (imagine if Judd and Spencer from last season had a baby).
Frankie Grande
This 31-year-old YouTube personality is also pop star Ariana Grande’s brother. I instantly dislike him because “YouTube personality” is not a career. As far as I’m concerned, it’s one step below the Kardashians. And that pink hair is going to be tough to maintain.
Hayden Voss
He’s a 21-year-old California surfer dude. He’s basically cut from the same mold as first-evicted HGs like season 15’s David Girton and season 11’s Braden Bacha. And the fact that his name is one letter away from season 12’s Hayden Moss is kind of distracting.
Zach Rance
Zach is a cute, cocky, unemployed 23-year-old from Palm Beach, Florida who’s only here for the money. He’s also a grade-A d-bag, as evidenced by his claims that “my social game is through the roof” and “all the ladies are gonna try to get me.” I also get shades of season 15’s Nick Uhas from him.
What I find interesting is that, when Jeff Schroeder asked almost all of them if they’d rather win and be hated or lose and be loved, Zach is the only one who chose win and be hated. Despite his generally high-level of douchebaggery, that probably makes him my early favorite, followed by Cody.
As for which guys I don’t like, Frankie strikes me as someone always desperate to be the center of attention, which drives me crazy. Hayden is too laidback, and I’m not feeling Donny’s “gee, I’ve never been on an airplane” backwoods charm.
Big Brother 16 premieres with a two-night Move-In event on Wednesday, June 25 at 8pm and Thursday, June 26 at 9pm on CBS.
(Image and videos courtesy of CBS)
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.
