The new season of Big Brother 28 casting is ramping up and underway as CBS’s team has announced online applications are open and reviews are said to begin in early February 2026.

Just like in recent years, your chance to be a Houseguest in the next season starts with an application through the official CBS Big Brother casting site. There you’ll find these steps on how to apply for Big Brother:

Step 1) Watch this video below from the casting director Jesse Tannenbaum:

Step 2) Record your video and get it ready to upload. You have the option to do it live instead of pretaped, but they recommend rehearsing and getting your submission video right. Your call.

Step 3) Make sure you have a recent photo of yourself along with the video so you can upload both.

Step 4) Fill out the official online application and then the anxiety-filled waiting begins!

Now if you are hoping for live, in-person casting call events then it’s entirely possible we will see some of those this year again. Ten years ago there would be a big stack of them waiting for you around the country but in recent years, for obvious reasons, things shifted away and never fully came back to open calls. If you never attended one it can be quite a fun time and even though I wasn’t applying myself I had a great time hanging around and seeing what all was involved years ago in a Washington DC open call.

And don’t forget, there are eligibility requirements to consider and the list is lengthy but make sure you are at least 21 years old and a US Citizen. Here’s a funny one, you can’t be running for public office, but I would guess because if you get picked it counts as airtime promotion that opens up a whole other nest of issues. Sooo, run for Congress next year instead, mkay?

We can’t wait to see who gets picked to be on Big Brother 28 so we can root for you this summer! Best of luck to everyone who applies and be sure to keep it quiet if you get selected for the next round of interviews.

Staying outside on the safe side of your TV screen for BB28? Then join us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Twitter to share the summer with other fans and friends!

Incredibly sad news in the Big Brother community as BB27 Houseguest Mickey Lee died on Christmas day following a series of cardiac arrests, a result of severe flu infection, per Mickey’s family announcement earlier this week.

Initial reports revealed Mickey was in the ICU after suffering multiple cardiac arrests and a GoFundMe page was set up by family and friends to support her care and hopeful recovery. Unfortunately just a few days later the news was announced by her family that Mickey had passed away at the young age of just 35.

Mickey Lee was the 8th evicted HG of Big Brother 27 and made big splashes in the game that season, notably taking over Rylie’s HOH with her secret power, and then turning on her ally Jimmy in a surprise move that same round of Week 4.

We also learned from comments made by host Julie Chen that Mickey had disclosed to Julie she health challenges after being born with a hole in her heart but no official word on how that may have been part of what led to her death.

The Big Brother community of her fellow HGs and past HGs came out in support of Mickey throughout the week and again in the news of her passing. Such a sad loss for Mickey’s family, friends, and the Big Brother fandom.

Mickey’s family had posted updates and messages through her Instagram page which you can follow @themickeyclee.

She’s back! Again. Rachel Reilly may have been eliminated from Big Brother 27 in the surprising White Locust twist but she is now set to return to The Bold & The Beautiful in an upcoming episode as a special appearance.

Reilly will once again be playing the appropriately named character, Rachel, as an “energy healer and spiritual cleanser.” The angle they’re joking with here is that she will be cleaning out a “toxic house.” I see what they did there.

Rachel will once again appear on CBS’s ‘The Bold & The Beautiful” in two episodes set to air on November 13th and 14th with filming happening now! As for anyone else from the Big Brother 27 cast? That hasn’t been reported just yet, so we’ll have to see what might be happening for the other HGs.

Reilly told EW, “I shook the Big Brother 27 house with boldness, beauty, and a touch of betrayal. So naturally, I’m stepping back into the Forrester world — where drama meets couture. As an icon, I serve both and couldn’t be more excited to be back.”

Amazingly, this will be Rachel’s 30th and 31st appearance on the series. She was previously on 29 earlier episodes between 2010 and 2014. Wow! Her husband, Brendon Villegas, appeared on ‘The Bold & The Beautiful’ 18 times and Elissa Reilly, Rachel’s younger sister and former Big Brother HG, has been on the series for 6 appearances.

If you got to pick two other HGs to join Rachel on B&B who would you pick? Okay, I said pick two because I know Keanu would be the leading choice so let’s hear another that you’d enjoy seeing back on the small screen.

Do you plan to watch Rachel’s return to CBS television this November? Set your DVRs!

source: Entertainment Weekly

Big Brother 27 has given us blindsides, bad decisions, bold moves, and plenty of chaos courtesy of the Mastermind. From shocking exits to strategic rebounds, this season has delivered a little bit of everything — and not always in the ways we expected. With the finale now behind us, let’s look back at the 10 biggest moments that defined the game.

1. Rachel’s Triumphant Return
Bringing back past players doesn’t always work, but Rachel Reilly’s return was the rare exception. Older, wiser, and a mom now, she’s not quite the firecracker of BB12 and BB13, but she’s still Rachel. Love her or hate her, she remains must-see TV, and her entrance set the tone for a season that needed her brand of chaos.

2. The Voting Chaos
The eviction result wasn’t particularly close, but the way it played out was pure entertainment. The Diary Room hallway strategy talk was wild, and the vote-changing fiasco will go down in BB lore. Ashley’s attempt to re-enter the Diary Room and change her vote (which, of course, was denied) made this one of the most chaotic and hilarious votes in recent memory.

3. The Double Blindside of Mickey
Mickey didn’t just lose her spot in the game, she lost her trust in her allies at the same time. Discovering her eviction and their betrayal in one blow was brutal. In today’s Big Brother world, blindsides are rare. Getting a double one? That was a genuine gift.

4. Ashley Wins the First Veto
Ashley may not have been the season’s boldest player, but her first big move was a satisfying one. As the early house target, she won veto and forced the house to look elsewhere, specifically at bigger, more legitimate threats. It was the perfect way to kick off the season and it sent her on that path to the win.

5. Morgan Talks Vince into Nominating Lauren
The specifics of how Morgan managed to sway Vince are a little messy, but the headline is simple: she got her way. Their relationship has been a season-long tug-of-war, each pulling the other in different directions. This round went to Morgan, and it was a reminder of just how much influence she has held all season.

6. Rachel Finally Gets Her HOH
For a while it looked like Rachel might return to Big Brother without ever tasting power. Luckily for her, and for the viewers, she pulled off a win. Once she had the key, she delivered a smart, strategic reign that felt unshaken and sharp. It was everything her fans were waiting for.

7. Morgan’s Bounce Back from the Block
Being nominated usually hurts a player’s game, but Morgan flipped the script. While Mickey’s stock tanked, Morgan used the week to rebuild her connections, separate herself from her closest ally, and even regain favor in the house. Few players in Big Brother history have improved their game while on the block, but Morgan did just that.

8. Will’s Unforgettable Diary Rooms
So many modern Diary Room sessions feel flat and forced. Will proved the exception. His DRs were witty, cutting, and refreshingly real. Whether he was shading his competitors or zoning out during house chatter, his commentary gave us some of the funniest, sharpest TV of the season.

9. Ava Targets Zach and Vince
Ava showed she wasn’t afraid to make a bold move when she put the house’s two strongest players, Zach and Vince, on the block. She almost wavered and made a questionable nomination choice, but ultimately she owned her decision and stood firm. For someone written off early, this was Ava stepping up and proving she wasn’t scared.

 10. Eric Stein, The Mastermind

For some reason I thought we’d never get any kind of answer to who the Mastermind actually was. But then we started getting hints that it actually was someone we might know. I was meh on seeing Jessie and Frankie. We see them all the time. But to see Eric again was a pleasant surprise. Seeing any player pre-BB 10 is always a pleasant surprise.

Honorable Mention: Adrian Survives the Block Buster
Adrian, the superfan who had literally built his own competition setups at home, got his big moment when he took down the Block Buster comp. It was far too early to see him leave the game, so this win gave him at least one shining moment to match his fandom before his untimely exit the following week.

She came. She saw. She played in the shadows. And in the end, Ashley Hollis won Big Brother 27 and took home the $750,000 prize over Vince after cutting her close ally Morgan! Congratulations to Ashley on a huge victory in a rollercoaster ride of a finale. It was a wild night of Big Brother when Ashley pulled off the clutch win at Round 3 of the Final HOH, giving her the opportunity to cut the widely-expected-but-didnt-happen Morgan.

We knew this was always a possibility but Ashley’s comp wins were few and far between that made this scenario truly feel like an outside chance entirely. In fact, Ashley is the first Big Brother US player to ever have his or her first HOH also be the last HOH of the season. That’s amazing! And that’s Ashley’s game. She turned it on when she needed to and that secured her the win.

Now Ashley has secured her spot as a Big Brother champion and another interesting tidbit, not since BB4 have we seen two seasons with back to back women winning their games. Wow, it’s been a minute, huh? So let’s check out what Ashley had to say about her game and the season.

Sharon Tharp’s ‘The Exclusive’ interview with Ashley:

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

Mike: When you evicted Morgan, you said you felt it was a toss-up next to Vince as opposed to her. And I can confirm to you that Morgan told Julie she would have taken you. So what did you think your chances were going into the jury deliberation?

Ashley: I actually thought my chances were really good. [Laughs.] I just didn’t want to say that publicly in front of Vinny. But I thought I could win the game next to Vinny. I did. I didn’t think it’d be 6-1, now. But I thought I could get four and he would maybe get three. I thought I had Rachel’s vote, Will’s vote, Ava’s vote, and then it was a toss-up between Keanu and Kelley. I thought maybe I could get one of their votes. But I wasn’t sure, because Keanu was really close with Vince in the house most of the game. But I also knew Keanu would respect a really big move, which was evicting Morgan, because he had been trying to do it himself for weeks, even trying to get her on that block. So I felt like my chances were really good next to Vinnie. But a landslide vote? I didn’t necessarily know that that was gonna happen.

Mike: I have to go back to the moment you tried to switch your vote during the live eviction. Tell me about everything that was going through your head during that moment.

Ashley: Oh my gosh. Okay, so in the moment, you guys probably saw I did want Jimmy to stay. I tried to work to get Ava’s vote and several other votes. And it wasn’t because I trusted Jimmy. I knew all the things he had said about me. But it was more about keeping a big target in the house. And I knew from Mickey making this move that he was going to go after other people that weren’t me, which is great for my game. And not only that, he was going to be a block spot every single week until he went home for everybody else in the house. Because even going on the block as a renom and that speech that Mickey gave, he was going to be one of the biggest targets in the house, and that would be a shield for me.

So I wanted him to stay. Couldn’t get the votes to make it happen. And Rachel, I swear she was yelling at me in the hallway with passion, like, “We gotta save Jimmy.” And I went in there knowing I need to evict Jimmy. And I’m telling you, it’s, “Lights, Camera, Action.” And I just I said the wrong name. And as soon as I walked out and talked to Will, I realized it, and I was like, “Oh, shoot!” And I tried to change it, and it didn’t work. But I thought, actually, when I initially heard the vote two to nine or something, I thought, “Oh my gosh, another person did it! Okay. I’m not the only one.” I thought the vote didn’t count. I didn’t hear Julie say, “No, no, no,” which now I know, because the door closed so fast, I basically said what I said, and walked out immediately.

Really an impressive win by Ashley. Just think about how many cringe-inducing finales we’ve seen where the buddy-ally wins that third round and takes the season’s champ to the end with them. Not this year! Ashley was keenly aware of how dangerous Morgan would be in a F2 matchup and that lead her to make the right choice: evict Morgan, take Vince, claim the win. Nicely done.

After controlling roughly a third of all the HOH wins of the Big Brother 27 season, Vince Panaro couldn’t win when he needed it the most. An ego-crushing loss in the second round of the Final HOH put Vince on the sidelines of finale night while he watched Morgan and Ashley battle it out. In the end, he got really lucky that Ashley was smart enough to see the threat in Morgan at the F2 and instead dragged Vince along to the Jury.

Standing before the Big Brother Jury, Vince’s game was pummeled by the Jurors’ Q&A with him even losing Lauren’s vote over his betrayal. Now that’s a vote that surprised me but ultimately didn’t shock me. Vince betrayed everyone he met in that House and it came back to bite him. Of course, even with only Morgan’s vote Vince still takes home $75,000 which isn’t too shabby.

But what does he think of his game, the season, and how the Jury ditched him for Ashley? We’ve got several of Vince’s major outlet interviews to answer those questions.

Sharon Tharp’s ‘The Exclusive’ interview with Vince:

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

Mike: Hey, Vince! I want to start by asking, I know it’s been a whirlwind. Are you ok?

Vince: Yeah, no, I’m good. I mean, it was a dream of mine to play Big Brother, and I got to do it. It’s funny, near the end of the last few days, I was getting more sad. I was like, “I don’t want this to end. I don’t want this to end. I don’t want to leave the house.” It became your safe space. So I’m good. I got the full experience, and that’s all I hoped for.

Mike: Were there any jury votes that surprised you one way or the other?

Vince: I was kind of surprised Lauren didn’t give me a vote. But I think because I put her on the block, she was probably pretty upset about that, so I don’t blame her.

Mike: Ashley told you that Morgan was planning to take you out if she won the final HoH. And I can confirm that she did say that to Julie as well.

Vince: Wait, so Morgan was planning on taking Ashley?

Come on, Vince! He had to know Morgan wasn’t going to take him anymore after that huge shift on Saturday in the house. Maybe Vince thought he had swayed Morgan back, but she made it really clear to Feedsters that Vince was toast at that point in her book for F2.

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

Dalton Ross: How did you feel about your Q&A answers and final speech and how Ashley did with her answers and speech?

Vince: She’s such a good public speaker. I am not. I’m an introverted person. I am not a public speaker. So the Q&A was hard on me. I felt like I stumbled quite a bit on that. And that’s when I started thinking like, “Oh, shoot. I might not be giving great answers.”

But I knew my final two speech, so I was like, “All right, you know what, forget those. They’re past, let me just say what I want to say. And hopefully they’ll understand and respect it as the Big Brother game, which is built around all of these elements of people lying and deceiving and ultimately outplaying each other.” Um, so I didn’t know where it stood. I thought it was a tossup.

Ross: We’ve seen you beat yourself up before in the house. Are you going to beat yourself up over this, or do you think you’ll be able to put it in a big picture perspective?

Vince: I think so, yeah. I mean, when you’re living it, it’s like the only reality you know, but then as soon as you’re outside of it, you could kind of look back with fresh eyes and look at the experience for what it was. I did the best I could and that feels good. I did the best I could in that moment.

Vince Panaro played hard and while it was a messy, ugly game, he still managed to find himself at F2 on Finale Night and that’s something. I don’t think Vince is someone they bring back because part of his “magic” in the season was his dynamic with Morgan and that’d be hard to recreate. Plus, I don’t know how many more sniffly, teary hours of Live Feeds with Vince I could take!