This week kicked off season 28 of Big Brother and the casting team surprised everyone by bringing in not just one past Survivor player, but two! And now, in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Big Brother’s executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan share why these two players were the perfect picks to join the latest season of their show.
The two confirmed that it was a group effort to bring in both players, with the Big Brother team, CBS, and Survivor’s casting director Jesse Tannenbaum all voicing opinions on the matter. They knew they wanted to do some more cross-promotion between CBS shows and after the success of having Cirie Fields on season 25—along with the fact Survivor 50 was airing as these discussions were happening—it felt like the right time to get some more fan-favorite Survivors in the Big Brother house.
“They could really mix it up in the Big Brother house.”
Starting with Rick Devens, the executive producers agree with fans that he’s just a super fun player to watch and he’ll bring that energy no matter which show he’s on. “He’s a strategist and he’s creative,” Grodner told EW. “If we’re looking for someone to stir things up, do some things unexpected, it felt like he was a really good fit.”
“And Dee…” Grodner continues, “has a terrific personality. She’s magnetic. People like her… She’s sort of the complete package in that way.” The EPs agree that while Devens and Dee have many similarities in how they approach the game, they couldn’t be more different. Yet their differences complement each other very well, which will make for some great mischief in the Big Brother house.
But the most important thing Big Brother was looking for when casting the season? “We want people that wanna come and play the game, and they’re not here just to be on TV,” Meehan reiterated. “Not every show puts people on with the same motivation, but when we’re looking at who we wanna put on, that’s first and foremost what we wanna do.”
Considering Devens was formerly a morning news anchor, sitting in front of cameras is definitely not something he would see as motivation. What he loves is the game. After competing on both Survivor: Edge of Extinction and most recently Survivor 50, he made it clear that it’s his love for the game that keeps him invested in the show. So there’s no doubt that he’ll bring that same energy to Big Brother.
And after becoming the Sole Survivor of Survivor 45, Dee went on to compete in season 41 of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats. She won two individual challenges—having also won three individual immunities and one individual reward on Survivor—before being eliminated on episode 12. But her drive to win is exactly why everyone in the Big Brother house better watch out for her.
“It’s amazing to be able to bring people from another huge CBS show and to see how they play the Big Brother game from a Survivor game,” Grodner explained with Meehan adding, “Obviously Devens and Dee are two amazing players—a little different, but both amazing and fun to watch.”
Unlike Survivor, you can tune in multiple times a week to cheer on the two fan-favorites as new episodes air on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream live on CBS and Paramount+.
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