Looking for a three-week TV event that’s less “Olympics” and more “famous-ish people playing lawn games”? Enter Celebrity Big Brother.
CBS’ reality staple returned on Wednesday for a third season of its truncated, (kinda) star-studded edition, which will air nearly every weeknight until its Feb. 23 finale. To refresh your memory on this year’s cast, the Season 3 houseguests include: Real Housewives stars Cynthia Bailey-Hill and Teddi Mellencamp; Diff’rent Strokes actor Todd Bridges; singer/choreographer Todrick Hall; SNL alum Chris Kattan; Queer Eye for the Straight Guy personality Carson Kressley, former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu, former NBA player Lamar Odom; former UFC champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate; and onetime NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick. (Full disclosure: Your recapper was a ’90s baby, and I’m obligated to throw my support behind any NSYNC member in his post-boy band career. Them’s the rules.)
Wednesday’s premiere only spanned an hour, half of which was spent on introducing the contestants. The highlights: Chris Kirkpatrick and Todrick are among this season’s Big Brother superfans, though Chris attempted to hide his BB knowledge for the time being. Upon seeing Lamar enter the house, Shanna regretted that time she publicly called his ex-wife Khloe Kardashian a donkey. (Ah, 2009. Simpler times.) And Carson somehow seemed to know or have a previous working relationship with… everybody?
To that end, Carson quickly tried to get an alliance going with Todrick, Shanna and Cynthia, all of whom have collaborated with Carson on previous TV shows. But before much scheming could get underway, Julie Chen Moonves interrupted to begin the first Head of Household competition, an endurance challenge that required houseguests to be hoisted in the air and remain upright as long as possible, all while gross (but colorful!) slimes rained down on them. Todd, however, chose to sit out the competition and serve as its master of ceremonies, meaning he’s not guaranteed any safety from eviction this week.
After a rough start to the competition — Chris Kattan fell out of his stirrups in less than two minutes — it came down to Todrick, Teddi and Miesha. Todrick asked Miesha if she would nominate him for eviction if she won, and she quickly said she wouldn’t, prompting Todrick to drop. But when Teddi asked Miesha the same question, Miesha bluntly responded that she couldn’t promise anything, essentially telling Teddi that she really likes Todrick and isn’t quite so sure how she feels about any Real Housewives just yet. Teddi respected the honesty, though, and ended up falling seconds later.
Following Miesha’s HOH victory, Julie turned everyone’s attention to a nearby box labeled The Gala Gift, which holds a “game-changing power” that will be “a blessing for one person, and a curse for another.” But the houseguests were left in the dark for now about what that gift entails, and Julie wouldn’t even tell us at home; for that reveal, and Miesha’s nominations for eviction, we’ll have to watch Thursday’s episode, airing at 9/8c.
What did you think of Celebrity Big Brother‘s return? And how are you feeling about Miesha as Head of Household? Hit the comments below!
