Celebrity Big Brother’s premiere date is right around the corner and, while we still haven’t seen the recently announced famous Houseguests play the game yet, there are already some obvious signs that this group will be a lot different than traditional casts. Host Julie Chen Moonves indicated as much in a recent interview and shared how the “more mature” cast changes the game.
For those unaware, the average modern Big Brother cast often consists of people in their 20s (as was the case with Season 23), with maybe an outlier HouseGuest that’s older. On Celebrity Big Brother Season 3, the average cast age is closer to their mid-40s, which obviously changes things quite a bit. Julie Chen Moonves explained this change to EW, and it sounds like the game will become a bit more cerebral:
The dynamic becomes much more complex. This game becomes much more of a battle of wills. Let's see who can rise to the occasion of mentally beating out the competition. You have to have a stronger social game than anything else in celebrity seasons. It's more about whose personality can take it to the end and win it.
The host believes the social game stands above all else in Celebrity Big Brother, which isn’t a wild take. While some celebrities (like this season’s Todrick Hall) are confirmed superfans of the show, some celebrities enter the game with little or no knowledge of how to play. In short, having a good social game can provide a shield from more erratic players making uncalculated moves against you because they’ll want to keep people they like.
Another thing that comes with age is experience, and Julie Chen Moonves expects fans will hear a lot about that while watching Season 3. Sure, we might hear about Lamar Odom’s past relationship with Khloé Kardashian, but we might also see and hear about a lot of things that people who have families and careers go through in their everyday lives:
You're going to hear more mature real-life struggles. With much of this cast being north of 40, they have a lot more miles on them in life. That should help, but it can also hurt. If they haven't learned many of life's lessons that have been thrown their way, then you probably won't make it far in the game. But it might win you a lot of attention with fans. What made someone famous in the past can help them or hurt them… it depends what they do with it.
Julie Chen Moonves also talked about who she believed had the best chance of winning this season. The host indicated she has a good feeling about actor Todd Bridges, who was almost in The Breakfast Club, though he'll mix it up with an even more interesting cast of people here. Chen Moonves (who pushed for the return of Celebrity Big Brother a year ago) has watched a lot of the show over the years and has a good sense of these things. But as most fans know, players can look good pregame and completely flip once things get going. We’ll see how Bridges, as well as the rest of the cast, perform once the season gets rolling.
Celebrity Big Brother premieres on CBS Wednesday, February 2nd at 8:00 p.m. ET. Keep up with what’s happening all season with a subscription to the live feeds, which comes with a lot of other Paramount+ shows worth checking out.
