Big Brother featured the first eight houseguests moving into the BB house, a game-changing artificial intelligence twist, and two competitions during the Season 26 premiere that aired Wednesday night on CBS.
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"This summer, a groundbreaking tech twist will rule the game," Julie teased. "Welcome to the summer of BB AI... There will be new competitions, new powers, new punishments, and a reveal that will leave everyone questioning everything."
Julie explained that the 16 houseguests will compete for 90 straight days and evict one of their own each week until only one houseguest remains and claims his or her $750,000 grand prize.
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Julie teased how on Thursday, July 18, the final eight houseguests will move into the house, rounding out what promises to be "the most surprising premiere in the history of this game."
Big Brother viewers were then introduced to the first eight houseguests -- including Angela Murray is a 50-year-old real estate agent from Long Beach, CA who currently resides in Syracuse, UT; Cam Sullivan-Brown is a 25-year-old physical therapist from Bowie, MD; Chelsie Baham is a 27-year-old nonprofit director from Rancho Cucamonga, CA; and Joseph Rodriguez is a 30-year-old video store clerk from Tampa, FL.
The other four houseguests were Kimo Apaka is a 35-year-old mattress sales representative from Hilo, HI; Leah Peters is a 26-year-old VIP cocktail server from Pittsburgh, PA who currently resides in Miami, FL; Makensy Manbeck is a 22-year-old construction project manager from Houston, TX; and Rubina Bernabe is a 35-year-old event bartender from Los Angeles, CA.
Rubina is a 4'9" woman who claims she's the life of the party. Rubina is a first generation Filipina who says that she never fit into a box.
Rubina boasted about being sweet but also bossy. Rubina also noted how she hates mansplainers, and she assured viewers that while she may look like the underdog in the competition, she's ready to fight.
Cam is a former professional football player who played in the CFL, but he tore his ACL and had a back injury, forcing his early retirement. Cam's recovery in physical therapy guided him into that type of career.
Cam also revealed how his mother died when he was only three-years-old; however, his father sent him to a private school and worked hard to raise him well. Cam said he may come across cocky, but he's actually "a really sweet guy" who enjoys listening to music and meditating.
Makensy boasted about how she works with men all day for a construction company and she's single.
RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW"If I need a showmance and I need to flirt, I will. If I need to use a man, a man will be used!" Makensy bragged.
Makensy played D1 volleyball in college on a scholarship, and so she made it known her athleticism will shine on Big Brother this season.
Joseph, who works in a store selling VHS tapes, said he has knowledge of the show and plans to be a strategic player this season. Joseph said that he thinks poker will help him in the Big Brother house and he's "all in."
Angela is a wife, mother and grandmother. She insisted she's "a cool mom" who goes to clubs and parties hard. Angela has been watching the show since Season 12, and she cried about how she's so thankful to be on the show and hopefully have the time of her life.
"The house is going to perceive me as that mom type, the nurturer -- but I will be cutthroat when I need to be," Angela told the cameras.
"I will have the dagger behind my back. It is about time a 50-year-old woman comes in the house, takes charge and wins this game!"
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Kimo shared how he celebrates his Hawaiian culture through song, art and storytelling. He's a queer guy who grew up in a very religious family. Kimo explained that he watched Big Brother growing up with his beloved older brother, who sadly died from cancer.
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Chelsie is 5'2" but she played collegiate basketball. She calls herself a "smart athlete" who's super competitive as well as "half hood and half holy." Chelsie is a religious motivational speaker who attempts to guide high school students on a path to success.
"I will probably be asking Jesus for forgiveness after the show," Chelsie quipped.
Tucker works at a New-York based protein company, and he said he enjoys hiking, biking, fishing and being by the ocean. Tucker, a dog lover, said he doesn't take life seriously until he has to.
Tucker's father apparently came out as gay and so their family was ostracized. Because of what he's been through, Tucker said he'll always stand up for what he believes is right. Tucker also noted that he's single and ready to mingle.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the first houseguest in a showmance," Tucker teased.
Tucker, Angela, Kimo and Chelsie moved into the Big Brother house first.
Angela was emotional touring the house because this is a dream come true for her, and everyone was impressed by the modern decor and all of the colors.
Minutes later, Cam, Makensy, Joseph and Rubina moved in. Cam held the door open for his fellow houseguests and Rubina joked on her way through the door, "Is there a height requirement?!"
Makensy thought the guys were handsome, but since she's 6'2", she admitted she needs to date a man who's taller than her in heels. The guy would therefore need to be about 6'5".
Tucker and Cam immediately hit it off, and then Julie interrupted the houseguests and asked them to gather in the backyard, where they'd be faced with an opportunity to change the game.
Julie informed the eight houseguests that the remaining eight houseguests would join them soon enough. Since the cast was prepared to expect the unexpected, Julie announced a twist.
"For the first time in Big Brother history, you eight have the power to bring in an additional houseguest into the game," Julie explained.
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The potential houseguest's name was Ainsley, a 24-year-old from San Diego rocking blue hair and a metallic blue top. She shared via video screen how she's "painfully single" and works in a surf shop learning how to shape and build surf boards. She's a beachgoer who said it's her "dream" to play this game.
Ainsley also declared that letting her play could help their game, before suggesting that declining her an opportunity to play may result in regret.
Ainsley needed five "yes" votes to enter the Big Brother house, and the votes were going to be cast in secret.
Chelsie immediately weighed the pros and cons. Chelsie said she could picture kicking it with another girl in the house, but she recognized she'd have another person to compete against for the $750,000.
Rubina, meanwhile, said it wouldn't be right for her to seal Ainsley's fate, and so she voted for her to join the game. Cam, on the other hand, was thinking about voting "no" because he didn't have much in common with the West Coaster.
Angela revealed was leaning towards "yes" because Ainsley's personality would stand out, allowing her to fly under the radar. Kimo, for his part, said he wanted bodies going out of the house rather than into it.
By a vote of 4-4, Julie announced that Ainsley did not get enough votes to enter the house.
Ainsley confessed she was "incredibly disappointed" but the houseguests hadn't gotten rid of her just yet.
"I actually have a confession to make. I wasn't totally honest about myself," Ainsley began.
"My name is Ainsley, but that stands for ‘artificial intelligence network self-learning entity.' Despite you not voting me in, I will be spending the summer with you -- but not as a houseguest. I will be BB AI."
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Ainsley said she was always going to be a part of the game but she wanted to gain some insight into the humans who are playing this season.
"I told you that voting ‘yes' to me playing Big Brother could help your game, and I meant it. The houseguests who voted ‘yes' will compete to receive a secret power giving their Big Brother game a significant upgrade," Ainsley revealed.
"I also warned that you may regret voting ‘no' to me entering the game. So those who voted ‘no,' you will be playing in a different competition. The loser of this competition will have their game severely downgraded."
The "Upgrade" competition was called "Color Calibration." On "go," a player's chair would begin to spin as a color sequence of -- red, green, yellow and blue -- would flash on the display screens around the room.
Each houseguest had to try to remember the sequence. After a person's chair stopped spinning, he or she would have 30 seconds to replicate the sequence by pressing different colored buttons. The winner would lock in the longest sequence in the fastest amount of time.
The "Downgrade" competition was called "Fear Facer." On "go," a player must stick his or her head into four separate fear boxes. Inside each box, something terrifying awaited, such as snakes or bugs, along with letters that had to be unscrambled to form a word that matched an emotional tile inside the room.
Emotion tiles included words such as panic, stress and shock. Each box needed to be labeled with the correct emotion tile. There were four boxes to label within a 90-second window. The player with the fewest correctly-labeled boxes in the slowest time would finish in last place and have his or her game downgraded.
The houseguests wouldn't learn if they've been upgraded or downgraded until the other eight houseguests joined the game.
The players who voted "yes" were Angela, Joseph, Rubina, and Makensy. The players who voted "no" were Tucker, Kimo, Cam, and Chelsie.
Makensy finished the "Upgrade" competition in first place.
Chelsie finished the "Downgrade" competition in last place.
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Makensy will receive a superpower and Chelsie's game will be downgraded as a result.
Big Brother's two-night season premiere will continue on Thursday night at 9PM ET/PT on CBS.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
