Big Brother winner Rick Devens earned that title every step of the way this season and his steadfast approach of “win it to the end” paid off to the tune of over EIGHT hundred thousand dollars, the largest single season payout for any Houseguest. Wowza and congratulations to Devens! Rick also managed to be the oldest winner since Big Brother 8’s Evel Dick, which clearly isn’t easy to do with a twenty season gap between these events.

Devens definitely had some advantages and he didn’t deny those in his Jury speech, but he was also quick to point out that a trip to the Time Capsule wasn’t a guaranteed reward. Fair point. But working together closely with his Survivor ally Dee created some very strong positions in the game that gave him the opportunity to reach the end stages before winning comp after comp to keep his game safe and pushing on to the win. Devens did end up with the highest win count of the season and that’s impressive on its own.

So now with a reality TV victory finally under his belt I imagine Rick is ready to head back home to Georgia with his family and enjoy some well-earned time off. I won’t be surprised though if we see him again around the CBS halls though. Maybe a little Amazing Race trip with Drew? We’ll have to wait and see.

Sharon Tharp’s “The Exclusive” Interview with Devens:

Mike Bloom’s Parade interview with Devens: – read the full interview here

Mike: So we gotta start with where things ended. As you were answering the jury’s questions and they were casting their votes, how confident were you that you had this in the bag?

Devens: I could see Angela and Dee going, “Yeah, that was a good answer. Yeah, he’s crushing it.” [Nods.] And I was like, “Am I crushing it? Is this good?” The one who made me the most confident was seeing Melody go, “Oh yeah, he’s really doing good.” Melody is not a vote I was counting on. If I get Melody’s vote, that could be enough.

Mike: Speaking of Survivor, it’s appropriate that, in the premiere, the houseguests went back to when you lost the Edge of Extinction, considering you were one firemaking challenge away from assumingly getting the win. And I know, when you came into the house, you wanted to play with your head rather than your heart, as you mentioned. So how does it feel to finally take home first place, nearly ten years after you got so close?

Devens: Mike, it’s emotional. And I’ve been so closed off emotionally this whole season. Honestly, I’m gonna watch a sad dog commercial and just break down at some point. I have not let emotions come into my game very much. But I was so scared that my story is going to be Sisyphus. I’m going to be the guy who comes up short every time. And if my story was that I got fourth and then seventh and then third, that’s a pretty good story. And I kept telling myself that, like, “You should be really proud of doing that well in these games.”

And the fact that it went my way this time, my heart is full. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity. Like I said when I was eliminated from Survivor 50, I’m the luckiest guy in the world, and it’s true. Because everything I have back home, because I’ve had these opportunities that people would kill for. But the fact that I got another opportunity and I made the most of it, and it’s going to change our lives.

Dalton Ross’s EW interview with Devens: – read the full interview here

Dalton: You never had any intention of going on this show, and now you are the biggest single season winner in franchise history. How does that compute for you?

Devens: Dude, life is weird. I would not have gone on this show if Becca Devens hadn’t said, “You have to go on. This is the only time you’re ever gonna be asked because it’s Survivor 50. You have to do it.” And I said, “Oh, okay. All right. I guess I’ll do it.” And things worked out pretty well, man. It was a wild adventure. It was tough. But I’m happy it’s worked out the way it has.

Dalton: The first person you went to when you walked out of the house was not Julie Chen Moonves and was not your family, but was Drew. Tell me about that and what was said there?

Devens: I really love Drew. I hope he’s a part of my life for a long, long time. Like, I can’t wait to see what happens in Drew’s life, because dude, he is special. Like, there is an it factor about Drew, and he’s got big things coming his way. And I just needed him to know how much I appreciated him. I didn’t even know how he voted at that point, because his key hadn’t come out. He did end up voting for me, as Julie shared with us. But I would not be here without Drew.

Huge congratulations to Devens. He played an amazing game and there were so many times where we knew even if he didn’t that one misstep was sending him to Jury. He walked the razor’s edge to secure the win and fully deserved it when he stood there before the Jury. And I’m relieved they saw that too.

Taylor Brown pulled off a mighty feat within Big Brother 28 at the finale when an 11th hour pitch moved her from third place to second after being defeated by Rick Devens in the third and final round of the Final HOH. Despite losing the comp she was still able to hang on to a Final 2 chair by tricking Devens into fearing another “losing late” as he put it. Now with the votes counted and her 6-1 runner-up spot against Devens it’s interesting to hear from Taylor discuss her move and what she would have done.

It was a longshot for Taylor to have pulled off a win in either combination of her F3 HGs, likely losing to Drew as well, but she managed to keep herself in the game and net that $75K second place prize money which is pretty impressive. Gotta be happy with that! So read on to see what Taylor had to say about her season and game moves on Big Brother.

Sharon Tharp’s “The Exclusive” Interview with Taylor:

Mike Bloom’s Parade interview with Taylor: – read the full interview here

Mike: The big reason why you got to the Final Two was this eleventh-hour pitch you made to Devens, saying if he took you out, you and Lala wouldn’t have voted for him, which would have cost him the win. How were you able to convince him to take you?

Taylor: Well, the first thing was I was kind of being stubborn at first. I was gonna let it go. I was gonna let it be. But I decided to use what he did to me, and throw it right back at him. And I decided to do it the night before. So it will be a rash decision, an emotional decision, a decision that he made because he was so frantic at being so close and not winning.

Mike: You told Devens after he voted to evict Drew that, if you won the final HoH, you would have honored the deal and taken him to the end. Is that true?

Taylor: No, I was lying! [laughs.] I was still lying. I don’t know why I was still lying. Just lying. You be in the house so long, you start to lie. You don’t even know why you lie. Just lying.

Dalton Ross’s EW interview with Taylor: – read the full interview here

Dalton: Would you have voted for Drew and tried to convince Lala and Yash to do the same, or was the whole thing a bluff?

Taylor: So the funny thing is when he said it to me, I knew it was a bluff because I watched the show. You go straight out on that stage, and you start voting. There’s no time to tell somebody not to vote for somebody. So I knew I was bluffing, but I don’t know if he knew that he really wouldn’t have that opportunity to do that if it was me and Drew. So I was definitely bluffing.

Dalton: After Rick cut Drew, the decision’s already made, it’s you two sitting there, and you told him you would’ve done the same thing. So you’re still just lying there.

Taylor: Still lying. Just still lying. Just still in the game. “Yeah, good choice.” I guess maybe just to make him feel better about what he had just did. I think I was just trying to comfort him a little bit.

Congratulations to Taylor on her runner-up spot. That was a smart move there getting Devens to keep her and she pulled it off smoothly. And you know if she had won that third round that she would not have returned the favor to Devens so it all worked out for her in the end.

Drew Campbell made a fantastic run through the Big Brother 28 season before being cut short just one seat shy of the Final 2 at the finale on Thursday. While he likely wouldn’t have won the $750K over Rick Devens, he of course would have walked away with $75K so you know that stings. But even with Devens betraying his promise, Drew admitted it was the right move likely because of his own admitted plans to cut Devens at this same moment if he had the opportunity.

Despite being sent out the door as the last Juror of BB28, Drew managed to dry his tears and keep his chin up to cast a non-bitter vote for his Big Brother “dad” Devens as one of the six votes in support of Devens’s big win.

Sharon Tharp’s “The Exclusive” Interview with Drew:

Mike Bloom’s Parade interview with Drew: – read the full interview here

Mike: How valid do you think Taylor’s claim was? If he had taken you, would you have those four votes to win?

Drew: I don’t entirely know. I could see a world where I definitely get Melody and Barrett. I could see Taylor being butthurt that she got out and voting for me. And if Taylor’s going that way, maybe Lala would have, and maybe Yash would have. It would have been close. So I think Devens made the right move.

Mike: And, when you left, were you always going to vote for Devens to win?

Drew: I could never vote Taylor. She didn’t do much in this game besides sit on the block. I’m sorry. She did win that HoH at the end that put us in a tough position with the Crossover. But Devens played a really great game, and I was not going to be a bitter juror. He beat me fair and square. He gets my vote. He deserves to win.

Dalton Ross’s EW interview with Drew: – read the full interview here

Dalton: You were the very first person he came to, even before his family, when he walked out of the house. What was said there between the two of you?

Drew: He just said, “I’m so sorry, but I love you so much.” And I love him so much. Even after he did that to me, it is what it is, man. It’s a game at the end of the day. I love that guy so much. I’m glad he was in there. But yeah, it is a bummer to get cut.

Dalton: It’s a great perspective to have and be able to separate the game and the personal. Look, you kept Devens because you thought he would bring you to the final two and Dee wouldn’t. So how is that decision sitting with you now?

Drew: Looking back on it, if I brought De, I would’ve had… It seems like either keeping Devens or Dee, the only way I would be able to get to that final seat is I would’ve had to win part three of HOH. I think either one of them would’ve cut me. I thought bringing Devens, I would have a chance that he would take me. But knowing Taylor, I kind of forced her hand to choose me over Devens. But, you know, looking back on it, I think I still would’ve made the same decision.

I imagine we haven’t seen the last of Drew Campbell. He might not be back for more Big Brother but this guy is shooting for the stars with his pursuit of Reality TV appearances so let’s see where he lands next. And congratulations to Drew on making it to the F3. There were a lot of wins involved there and a lot of hard work, so this was not an easy passage for him.

Welcome to the season finale of Big Brother 28 with the upcoming reveal of who won the crown and which HG earns the title of America’s Favorite Player! CBS has us lined up with a 90-minute finale event featuring our season’s Final 3 HGs: Devens, Drew, and Taylor. One of these three will win it all and one of them will walk out to third place. Let’s get ready to find out who won Big Brother tonight!

The season started with 17 Houseguests and now after fourteen evictions just one remains between us and the Final 2 before they stand in front of the Jury. Speaking of the Jury, we’re about to see them back along with all the pre-Jurors too. All the HGs should be back at the studio even though we don’t usually hear much at all from the pre-Jury boots. With just 90 minutes this year (last year was 2 hours) and a LOT to get through we are going to have to hustle tonight!

Spoilers are available for the Final HOH with Round 1 and Round 2 already completed, but we haven’t seen but a few minutes of Round 1 so far. We’ll need to get through that part before the Jury’s Round Table hosted by BB26 winner Chelsie Baham. Then we’ll head into Round 2 and finally Round 3 to lead into the final eviction of the season.

Big Brother 28 – Final HOH Round 1:

First competition is yet again the Endurance battle. All three of the F3 will get a chance at this competition and the winner here moves on to Round 3 while the two losers come back for Round 2 and a second chance at making it to R3. The HGs here will have to keep their balance on the rolling lot while also holding on to the handle above them. Last HG standing wins!

After just 15m21s, Drew is down! This was not part of his big plan where he wanted to win the first round with Devens throwing it to him. So much for that idea! Now it’s down to Devens and Taylor… At 50m08s Devens trips and slides off the log!

• Winner of Round 1: Taylor

Big Brother 28 – Final HOH Round 2:

Round two of the last HOH has also already been completed and we’ll see what all is involved here as the two HGs who didn’t win in the first comp return for another face-off. The winner here moves on to the third round while the loser has to hope and pray for a chance to be dragged to F2.

Here Drew and Devens have to read clues about which HGs were involved in certain topics (Veto winners, renoms, etc.). They’ll then have to race to be the first to knock down all the appropriate HGs. Get the wrong one in there and they’ll have to reset to try again from the start.

Stage 1: Drew
Stage 2: Devens
Stage 3: Devens
Stage 4: Devens

• Winner of Round 2: Devens

Big Brother 28 Finale – Jury Round Table

Chelsie Baham returns to the Big Brother studio to host the Round Table and help the Jurors decide how they will be voting. Keep in mind that these pre-recorded segments are often misleading, leaving you to think a certain Juror will vote one way or the other when it’s just designed to set up hype for the vote ahead.

Big Brother 28 Final HOH Round 3 – “Back In My Day”:

The third and final round will be Q&A. Last few years these have been multiple choice questions with a few true statements and one false in the mix. I won’t be surprised for a repeat here with the same format. Winner here gets to decide who moves on to with him or her to the Final 2 and there’s been a lot of discussion in the past day on that very decision.

• Round 1: both get a point
• Round 2: Devens gets a point
• Round 3: both get a point
• Round 4: Devens gets a point
• Round 5: both get a point
• that’s enough points!
• Round 6: …

• Winner of Round 3: Devens!

Big Brother 28 Finale – Final Eviction:

One vote and it’s done. Who will stand before the Jury? We are about to find out!

In a tearful declaration, Devens explains that his only true alliance could be to his family. He explains to Drew that Taylor revealed that he would lose to Drew in the F2 and would have to vote him out. Drew says it was the right move for Devens. He comes outside and says it hurts, but it was the right move for Devens. Sounds like he’ll still vote for Devens to win, right?

• Final Evicted HG: Drew

With the final eviction done the last two Houseguests will have a brief minute or so to sum up their entire three months of play and campaign for the vote to be crowned the winner this summer.

Winner of Big Brother 28 – Jury Votes:

• LaLa votes for: Taylor
• Angela votes for: Devens
• Barrett votes for: Devens
• Yash votes for: Devens
• Melody votes for: Devens
• Dee votes for: Devens
• Drew votes for: Devens

By a vote of 6-1 over Taylor, Devens is the winner this season. Congratulations!

• Winner of BB28: Rick Devens!

Big Brother 28 – America’s Favorite HG:

Viewers have been voting for days now to award their Favorite Houseguest a bonus prize of $50,000. We’ll find out who are the Top 3 in the poll and who wins the cash.

• America’s Favorite Houseguest is… Devens!

Also in the Top 3 for AFP: Drew & Yash. Yep! Just like our poll projected. Nice work, readers!

Julie reveals that CBS has ordered TWO more seasons of Big Brother, taking us at least through Big Brother 30 in 2028. Mercy!

CBS is already working on casting for Big Brother 29 so get ready for more fun next summer! And if you think you’ve got what it takes then get out there and apply for Big Brother. Never know if we’ll get a special winter season or something in between now and next summer, but I’d be thrilled for that surprise and we’ll let you know if anything is coming along for that.

Find us on Facebook, Bluesky, & Twitter for more fun with other Big Brother fans and follow along with our group next season too!

One Big Brother 28 Houseguest is set to walk away with $750,000 in the next few hours as the Final 3 await their opportunity in the spotlight. Who will win Big Brother? And who gets the America’s Favorite Player bonus $50,000? We are so close to finding out but for now let’s run through some predictions.

Final 3 Cut:
Just like last year, we got thrown for a loop as the finale neared while I fully expected Devens to be a lock for taking Drew to the end. Taylor hasn’t swayed on her plans to cut Devens if she wins Round 3 tonight, but she did manage to get Devens seriously questioning his thoughts on taking Drew to the end.

Will she be successful? Tough call, especially with the Feeds cutting this morning with no opportunity for us to hear more talks from Devens on the matter.

My firm expectation here is that Taylor will cut Devens. Done. If she wins R3 then Devens is out in 3rd place and off to join the Jury to vote for Drew. I have no doubt.

Less certain though now is what Devens will opt to do. Taylor has (had?) Devens worried that Drew would beat him in the F2 but I don’t see that happening. And it seems quite likely that Devens could come back around to keeping Drew. So while I think maybe Devens is tempted to swap his plans and take Taylor over Drew to F2, I wasn’t convinced last night that he’d do it. Devens will likely go over the votes and headcount to make his decision. In the end, I think he moves ahead with Drew if he wins R3.

Winner & Runner-Up:
Holding to my original expectation that we’d have Devens & Drew or Taylor & Drew, let’s look at the matchups for the F2 Jury votes. And as a reminder, here is your Jury so far: LaLa, Angela, Barrett, Yash, Melody, and Dee. That last spot will be filled tonight.

If Taylor wins Round 3 then she cuts Devens and goes to stand before the Jury of 7 next to Drew. Taylor will most likely draw the votes of LaLa and hmm. In this situation Drew will get Dee and Melody for sure. I also expect Barrett will stick to FAP and vote for Drew as well. Would Angela vote for her Crossovers ally? Yeah, I think so too. Yash could either be bitter at Drew for that Veto situation but since Drew didn’t betray the agreement of nom/renom maybe he’ll let it go and say he respects Drew for helping to get him out. And then if it’s Taylor & Drew we know that means Devens in in the Jury and he is definitely a vote for Drew.

With that matchup we could be looking at 6-1, Drew over Taylor. It’s entirely possible that Yash and Barrett reward Taylor for her clutch wins and sending out Devens so they could be moved to the other column, but even then we’re talking 4-3 for Drew.

Now if Taylor did win her way to the end with three major comp victories here at the end while Drew just couldn’t find a W, then that’s extremely respectable and I wouldn’t blame Jurors for supporting her. But I don’t see Dee, Devens, and Melody turning on Drew. And with the two other Vets going for Drew I expect Angela would follow suit to give Drew the win.

So what about Devens & Drew at the F2? Well this should be a strong performance for Devens, but just as with Taylor & Drew, we could see some HGs cross the aisle. While Taylor threatened that she’d sway LaLa to vote against Devens if he doesn’t keep Taylor for F2, I don’t think LaLa would do that. I expect Devens will have secured votes of support from LaLa, Angela, Dee, and hmm, Yash feels right for Devens. That’s getting narrow, but don’t forget that Taylor would be at Jury in this case and from all her statements about Devens being the one she needs out this round then she must see he’s the leader for the win. So I’d put Taylor in the Devens column too.

We’ve heard Barrett say he doesn’t want this season to be about the Survivors/Vets so I think he will want to support Drew in a bid to make that happen. Melody will happily vote for Drew over Devens. That would be two for Drew and even if Yash flips back over to support Drew then it’s still enough for Devens to win 4-3 over Drew.

Hmm, maybe Taylor does have an argument that could make Devens worried about the F2 against Drew. In that case, what if it is Taylor versus Devens? Then Yash probably swings back harder to support Devens while LaLa switches over to voting for Taylor. But now Drew would be in the Jury at the hands of Devens’s betrayal. Ohh, tough call here. Does Drew go for Taylor out of spite and bitterness? Or does he stick with Devens? I’ve got to imagine he’ll swallow his pride and stick with Devens, but it might be tough for him in the moment. Barrett will probably yield to Devens at that point based on game play. Melody? Ehh, she doesn’t like the Vets because they betrayed her and Mallory, but would she follow with Drew and support Devens?

Ehh, it wouldn’t matter. Devens is winning against either Taylor or Drew. But it’d sure be dramatic if Devens cuts Drew because of paranoia instilled by Taylor. And if she has him worried enough to cut Drew then kudos to her on winning $75K with that move.

And even before all that, there is of course the big question of who wins Round 3. It’s such a crapshoot, but sorry Drew, it can be studied for in preparation. Last season I thought Morgan would beat Ashley here but it was a 4-3 score that knocked Morgan out completely. Anything is possible but geez could you imagine playing for 3 months and then getting one question wrong that defeats your entire game. It could happen and it does regularly!

Both Devens and Taylor have been studying, even after Drew tried to convince Devens there was no point to it. I think both have a solid chance at winning the third and final round so I can’t make a call on that front.

So what do you think will happen tonight?

America’s Favorite Player:
Our polling tends to hold true when the final results are revealed, but we’ve seen some anomalies along the way. Right now our AFP polling shows Drew over Devens by about 4% with the pair in first and second place. That’s out of more than twenty thousand votes.

If Devens doesn’t win AFP then I will be shocked. Devens has held the top spot in our weekly Favorite HG poll for so many weeks this season that I find it hard to believe he’ll fall below Drew in the last week. So my prediction is Devens wins AFP while Drew is up there and Yash or Barrett could round out the Top 3.

Angela and Dee arrived with built-in fanbases but dropped down in the numbers over the weeks and here they’ve got Dee in 5th and Angela at 9th for the final vote of the season. They’re not making it to the Top 3. Barrett was a late arrival to the popularity poll top rankings and with his big attempt to oust the Vets I’m sure he picked up many fans and new attention, but his game and personality was much more subdued than the loud and outspoken Yash. That makes me expect Yash is more likely to reach the Top 3 for fan favorites.

Well I think that wraps up our predictions for the season so here’s my TLDR:

• Most likely to win Big Brother 28: Devens over Drew/Taylor; Drew over Taylor
• Most likely to be cut at F3: Devens cut if Taylor wins R3; Taylor cut if Devens wins R3
• Most likely to win AFP: Devens

If Devens loses R3 and gets cut then the AFP could be a nice consolation prize, but we also know that a season winner can win both prizes, just as Taylor showed us in BB24.

Just a few more hours to go before we know for sure! Congrats to all three of the remaining HGs on making it this far. Now let’s see who wins!

Yesterday I felt extremely confident on our Final 2 pairings for Big Brother 28. There were just two options to consider and no surprises expected… well Julie needs to break out the Big Brother tagline because here comes the unexpected.

Last night we watched on the Feeds as Taylor took an 11th hour pitch to Devens that surprisingly wasn’t flat out rejected and instead really got him thinking hard over a possible upcoming decision. Did Taylor just change who will get cut at the Final 3?

Talking with Devens last night, Taylor pitched that instead of the two of them playing against each other, jockeying for either first place or a dud third place, they could work together to make sure one of the two would get first and the other second. Taylor was proposing that they both promise to take each other to F2.

There was discussion on how Drew is a vote for Devens, but not if he’s sitting next to Devens. And then what about Barrett’s vote? Taylor suggested that if Drew is next to Devens at F2 then Barrett could be tempted to vote against the Vet and instead of his FAP ally. Okay, that’s reasonable. But does Devens need either of those votes to reach the threshold of four?

Devens will have Angela and Dee for sure which only gets him halfway there. Taylor threatened her vote would go to Drew if she gets to the end and suggested LaLa would follow suit. From there Devens is likely fearful that Melody and Barrett would both also vote for Drew. Would Melody? Yep. Would Barrett? …Maybe.

A rational fear or not, Taylor’s pitch served its purpose and put Devens deep into thought on the situation. Just days ago he camtalked a promise to Drew’s family that he was taking “the kid” to Final 2 and I was certainly convinced of it. Now? Doesn’t sound like Devens thinks that’s the slam dunk he previously believed it to be.

Devens camtalked last night what has him really rattled here. “Losing late” he called it. Devens has had some bad burns in the past (no pun intended with that fire-making challenge) and he’s terrified of making the same mistake of trusting an ally too long and too late into the game. A fear of repeating a past mistake could lead him to swing far in the other direct and sending out Drew.

Now it seems there is a very reasonable chance that Devens cuts Drew at F2, should Devens win Round 3 tonight in the finale. That’d be brutal to Drew after he kept Devens instead of Dee, but of course Drew did then go on to lose the next two competitions and that’s no one’s fault but Drew’s.

I’m hoping we get to hear a little more from Devens this morning when he wakes up and before the Feeds cut this morning. Some talk from a clear mind might be revealing considering Big Brother had given them a few drinks to enjoy last night. But as of now, I will no longer be shocked if Devens wins R3 and cuts Drew. Oof, that’d be something!

And after all that about Devens, what about Taylor? Oh she’s going to cut Devens. I have no doubt. She’s a smart player too and knows that needs to happen. Taylor could end up losing to both Drew and Devens in F2 matchups, but I think she’d definitely lose to Devens. Her best chance is against Drew at Final 2 and she knows it. Now it’s just a question of if she could trick Devens into believing she’d honor the deal enough for him to keep up his half of it.

What do you think? Would Devens really cut his Crossovers ally who saved him? Is it just Devens feeling nervous in the moment but likely to return to his initial resolve to keep Drew? After days of the matter being settled this is certainly fun to question and have some mystery heading into tonight’s Big Brother finale!