UPDATE: This quitting post feels pretty ironic after The Mooch's Week 1 walkout. Celebrity Big Brother tried to spin that as a new twist, with The Mooch saying he wasn't a real houseguest, but that felt like a way for both Anthony Scaramucci and the show itself to avoid saying he quit.
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Celebrity Big Brother is back for Season 2 on CBS, with an insane cast that actually plans to stay in the dang house.
That was an issue last year, if you recall. The U.S. has had 20 summer seasons of Big Brother, but last year marked the first celebrity version. Even reducing the time period to four weeks was too much for two celebs -- Keshia Knight Pulliam and Metta World Peace, who asked to be voted out. They essentially quit. It was extremely frustrating to fans, and also to the producers. Two of those producers addressed how the 2019 cast was discouraged from quitting:
Allison Grodner: It's the reaction everyone had to [last year's quitters] doing that. This cast watched last year and they don't want to do that themselves.Rich Meehan: We talked a lot before the game about getting evicted the right way or winning as the two ways you can leave the house. We talked to all of them about that.
It's good to hear the producers put the fear of Grodner into the #BBCeleb cast on that front. Summer seasons of Big Brother keep adding days. This past summer's BB20 was 99 days. So for two celebs to not even be able to hack it for four weeks was insulting. But the first season was a success, overall -- even if not everyone was glad that Marissa Jaret Winokur won over strategist Ross Mathews. It's good to hear the #CBBUS2 cast watched last season and took note of the fan reactions.
Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan shared a lot on the new season with The Hollywood Reporter. Once the live feeds turn on, fans will be able to get addicted to the action once again.
There are 12 houseguests heading into the Celebrity Big Brother 2019 house. Asked about early standouts in the house, Allison Grodner said Tamar Braxton is a "superfan" of the show and in it to win it, which is a good start. Anthony Scaramucci has "such a presence," Grodner added. She also said Kato Kaelin came in and surprised everyone, apparently in a good way.
Allison Grodner said Tom Green is really funny and also did a lot of prep work before coming in. She also said Ryan Lochte has shown himself to be quite the competitor, which shouldn't shock anyone. I'm guessing she means in comps more than strategy, but we'll see.
Rich Meehan added that Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett comes out pretty hard playing a strong game, which sounds a bit like James Maslow last year. Even though Bennett and Dina Lohan have Lindsay Lohan in common, that may not bond them into an alliance.
No one wants to "Pull a Shannon" like Shannon Elizabeth last year, who played too hard too fast. But at least she played hard, which is what fans want to see. We don't want quitters.
Like last year, Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 will be a sprint, not a marathon. It all starts tonight, Monday, January 21 at 8 p.m. ET -- as hosted by Julie Chen-Moonves -- and continues nearly every day on CBS until the finale on February 13. Check out the full cast. It's going to be quite a ride. Here's what else is happening on TV in this busy midseason 2019.
