Big Brothers Cast Revealed!

Today was the big day on CBS, Big Brother Press Day.  CBS invites BB reporters in for a sneak peak at the new season.  Big Brother 12’s cast has been revealed, along with some other juicy pieces of information.

First, we get a look at the new Big Brother digs.  The house has a Florida feel to it, complete with palm trees and "Golden Girls" style furnishings.  The first bedroom is known as the Palm Room.  It has four beds and of course, a palm tree theme.  The second bedroom is the Sunset Room.  This room has two twin beds and one queen size bed.  This means that on the first night in the Big Brother house, two contestants will have to share a bed.  The third bedroom was locked and off limits.  It’s known as the Have Nots room.  This is the room that the contestants have to sleep in if they lose certain challenges.  As you can imagine, it will not be comfortable.  Julie Chen described it as "hell".  The extra room is the Cabana Room.  In previous seasons, this has been the spa room, workout room, etc.  It has one large bed where the contestants can lay around and strategize.  The BB bathroom is similar to past seasons.  There is one shower for the "haves" and one shower for the "have nots".  The "have nots" shower has only cold water.  The HOH bedroom is plush, large and similar to past seasons.  It once again has a huge bathroom, a table and chairs, a king-size bed and a spy TV.

Let’s meet the new houseguests! 

Ragan Fox is a 34 year-old male from West Hollywood, California.  His occupation is listed as college professor.  Ragan has his own podcast.  When asked about what types of people he would choose NOT to live with he says, "Homophobes, 18-23 year-olds (the ages of his students) and ultra Conservatives."  Need I say more?

Rachel Reilly is a 26 year-old Chemistry graduate student from Las Vegas Nevada.  Her current occupation is cocktail waitress.  When asked about her strategy for winning Big Brother, she says, "I would hustle like I do at work when I get men to buy me champagne."

Monet Stunson is a 24 year-old model from Glen Carbon, Illinois.  She mentions in her bio that she has appeared on "The Young and the Restless" and that she doesn’t like guys who think they are "all that".  We’ll see.

Matt Hoffman is a 32 year-old web designer.  He hails from Elgin, Illinois.  Notice that there are two contestants from Illinois so far.  Coincidence?  He will leave his personal life at the front door of the BB house and be "100% game" inside.  His life motto, "I don’t want the world, I just want your half."  Do you like him so far?

Next we have Lane Elenburg from Decatur, Texas.  He’s 24 years-old and an oil rig salesman.  He mentions that he played football at Texas Tech University.  I imagine that he’s quite athletic and very competitive.  When asked what his strategy for winning is, he said he’d rather not say.  Good for you, Lane!

Kristen Bitting is a 24 year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She lists boutique manager as her occupation.  I found it interesting that she says she has been living on her own since she was 18.  She describes herself as a "quiet storm" and says "there is no one on reality TV like me". 

Now here’s an interesting woman.  Kathy Hillis is a 40 year-old Deputy Sheriff from Texarkana, Arkansas.  She’s an ovarian cancer survivor and I have a feeling she’s a lot tougher than she looks!  She mentions that she will miss her family, but her bio doesn’t say if she has a husband and/or children.

Hayden Moss is a 24 year-old, college student from Tempe Arizona.  He plays baseball for Arizona State.  He seems to be a jock.  He’s a weightlifter and says he just likes to "hang loose". 

Up next is an Italian from Bayonne, New Jersey.  Enzo Palumbo (now there’s a name!) is a 32 year-old insurance adjuster.  He says "I’m Italian and I already think I’m a celebrity."  Okay Jersey boy, prove it!

Britney Haynes is a 22 year-old hotel sales manager from Huntington, Arkansas.  That’s two from Arkansas and two from Illinois so far.  She lists her strategy for winning Big Brother as "pretending to be nice and always a bit elusive – people want what they can’t have."  Britney is the youngest cast member on this season’s show.

Brendon Villegas is a 30 year-old from Riverside, California.  His occupation is listed as a high school swim coach.  Is that an occupation?  He’s the second contestant from California.  He lists his proudest accomplishment as receiving a free ride to UCLA for a PhD in Biom. Physics and he’s a swim coach?  What’s that all about?

Annie Whittington is a 27 year-old bartender from Tampa, Florida.  She says, "It is my destiny to be on Big Brother. My brother is a lawyer, my sister is a CPA and I will be the winner of Big Brother!" 

"I’m a tall, cute, Jewish, single, doctor, father that’s very competitive and ready to stir the pot in the Big Brother house."  Are you intrigued?  Last, but certainly not least, we have Andrew Gordon a 39 year-old podiatrist from Miami Beach, Florida.  That brings the count to two contestants from Florida.  I’m just summarizing; I have no idea if it’s just coincidence.  Andrew says he is afraid of "beauty" because it can control him.  He might be in a bit of trouble in this Big Brother house. 

There you have it!  Twelve contestants (so far?) will be entering the Big Brother house on July 8th.  Oh, but wait, of course we have our first twist.  One of the contestants will be a saboteur.  On July 15th, Big Brother will reveal which houseguest is the saboteur.  Then, America will get to make suggestions of how this contestant should sabotage the game and we’ll watch this HG wreak havoc in the Big Brother house. 

Are you already picking your favorites?  I always think the jock-types have an advantage due to their physical strengths, but we shall see, hmm?  One thing I noticed is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of diversity in this year’s cast.  Could that mean that some (or all) the contestants are related to each other or connected to each other in some way?  You never know on Big Brother do you?  So stay tuned, as Julie Chen always says, "It’s going to be a bumpy ride."