Welcome to Reality Derby, Gold Derby’s deep dive into all things reality TV, hosted by senior editors Marcus James Dixon and Denton Davidson. Watch the latest episode above.
Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves joins us to talk about the first week of Season 28, from Rachel Reilly’s untimely demise to the inclusion of several reality TV icons: Angela Murray from Big Brother, and Rick Devens and Dee Valladares from Survivor.
Julie reveals that she was initially “against former Survivor players coming in this season” because there “wasn’t really a Big Brother hook.” She explains that when Cirie Fields joined BB25, the hook was that she was “secretly playing with her son,” Jared Fields. However, those thoughts all went out the window as soon as Julie met Dee: “I fell in love with her sense of humor and zest for life.”
The host dug into Rick’s background and realized she had a lot in common with him, being that he’s a former morning news anchor. But once she saw the Survivor fan-fave in action inside the Big Brother house, she was turned off.
“Rick Devens lost me because he can’t stop talking and he’s overplaying,” Julie readily admits. “In my view, he went into business for himself. He revealed to Dee that he exposed the other phony alliance, and you saw her going, ‘No, why’d you do that?’ I thought, ‘OK, he doesn’t get this game. She does.’ My money is on her right now. But the question is: can these others figure out you’ve got to get her out? Because if you don’t, she’s going to be on finale night with the confetti.”
Julie mentions the Big Brother crew’s office pool, where “someone from the sound department collects $5 or $10 per pick, but it has to be done on premiere night.” She ended up putting money on Dee, LaTrice Verrett, and Drew Campbell because she liked all of their stories.
Later this summer, Big Brother will become the first primetime TV series in American history to reach 1,000 episodes. While the producers are “still planning it,” Julie hopes the landmark achievement will honor all of the past houseguests.
“We probably won’t all fit on the stage, but wouldn’t it be amazing if we got everyone who’s ever played the game before on that episode? If we had a tip of the hat to every single person who ever walked through that door — somehow, someway — even if it’s, like, you bump out to commercial and you see the whole Season 1 cast, and you bump in from commercial to Season 2. Whatever it is, I want to honor all the past houseguests: the ones you didn’t like, and the ones you loved. We’re all humans, and we all need redemption and forgiveness. Let’s give people the chance. I would love that.”
Season 28 opened with a tribute to Mickey Lee, the Season 27 houseguest who passed away on Christmas. Julie thought it was “the right thing to do,” explaining, “It was, like, pow. We’re going to own it up front.”
Julie attributes the show’s five-year high in the ratings to both “the power of prayer” and hiring “an outside PR firm” to help get the word out. “We’re firing on cylinders that never even existed before,” she explains. “I think the success of Love Island and people craving more showmances also helps. And, let’s face it, this cast is pretty hot!”
The clip of Julie declaring that “Rachel was thrown into a volcano by a velociraptor” went viral, so how is she able to ground the show’s more ridiculous moments? “Oh, I’m serious,” she says about her on-screen persona. “I originally got into TV news because I pictured myself on 60 Minutes one day. And then I was assigned to take this show.
“The fact that we make fun of ourselves, and for me to say it straight? I love comedy. I never thought my journalistic background would take me there, but I get that we make fun of ourselves, and I love it. My secret desire was to one day — I’m too old for this now — be a cast member on SNL. I’m a pretty good mimic.”
The first live eviction episode of Big Brother 28 will air Thursday night on CBS, and Julie is already getting the tissues ready. “It’ll be sad to say goodbye to my first child,” she says with sniffle.
‘Big Brother 28’ cast: Meet the 17 houseguests including a ‘BB’ icon, 2 ‘Survivor’ legends, and a ‘Drag Race’ All Star
