‘Big Brother 26’ episode 1 recap: First group of 8 new houseguests enter the game [LIVE BLOG]

Everybody’s favorite guilty pleasure summer show returned to CBS on July 17 with 16 new houseguests battling for the $750,000 grand prize. “Big Brother 26” is scheduled to play out over the course of 90 days, concluding on October 13 — that’s down from last summer’s record of 100 days. So how did the season premiere play out on Wednesday night, and what twists were in store for the players?

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Big Brother” Season 26, Episode 1 recap/live blog to find out what happened Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite “BB26” houseguests on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Big Brother” winners list. Julie Chen Moonves once again hosts the series.

Here are the names of the 16 houseguests competing this summer: Angela Murray, Brooklyn Rivera, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Cedric Hodges, Chelsie Baham, Joseph Rodriguez, Kenney Kelley, Kimo Apaka, Leah Peters, Lisa Weintraub, Makensy Manbeck, Matt Hardeman, Quinn Martin, Rubina Bernabe, T’kor Clottey and Tucker Des Lauriers.

Keep refreshing/reloading this “Big Brother 26” live blog for the most recent updates.

9:00 p.m. — The episode is delayed on the West Coast due to the Republican National Convention. It will begin soon ….

9:27 p.m. — “Previously on ‘Big Brother’!” In last season’s “BB25” finale, Jag Bains won the show over his fellow “The Mafia” alliance member Matt Klotz by a 5-to-2 jury vote. Cameron Hardin was then named “America’s Favorite Houseguest” by viewers at home. But enough chit-chat about last summer — it’s time to dive into Season 26. Let’s go!

9:28 p.m. — Julie reminds viewers that the players are not allowed to use technology from the outside. Inside the house, 94 cameras and 113 microphones will record the houseguests’ every move. She says hello to a creepy blue A.I. bot before walking through the front door. A studio audience applauds as the Chen-Bot arrives on stage. Only eight players will be introduced tonight, while the remaining eight will say hello on Thursday night.

9:31 p.m. — Rubina is 4’9″ and reveals, “Good things come in small packages.” She is a first generation Filipina who became a bartender because she didn’t want to fit in any box. She’s “bossy” and doesn’t want to be “man-splained” to about anything, and threatens to evict anyone who tries it.

9:32 p.m. — Cam is 25 years old and played pro football before he hurt his ACL, which is when he became a physical therapist. He “still feels the effects” of his mother passing away when he was younger. He calls himself “empathetic” and that he’s a “very sweet guy.”

9:33 p.m. — Makensy works with men all day on the construction site, so she stands out a lot. She grew up in construction, with all of her family members also in that industry. She is 22 years old and from Houston, and stands tall at 6’2″.

9:34 p.m. — Joseph is 30 years old and hails from Tampa, FL. He works at a video store, which often surprises people because of how few there still are in the country. He knows all about “Big Brother” and he has everything he needs to win. He is an avid poker player and he loves “the strategy” of the game.

9:35 p.m. — Angela, age 50, is a real estate agent in Salt Lake City. She’s a wife, mom and nana, but she calls herself a “cool mom” because she loves going to clubs and “having a good time.” She has been a “Big Brother” fan since Season 12, and she tears up at having been asked to join the show this year.

9:36 p.m. — Kimo is a queer mattress salesperson from Hawaii. He loves to “celebrate” his Hawaiian culture as much as possible. He sings, he tells stories, he does art, etc. His own big brother saw him for who he was, and the family was devastated when he passed away of cancer.

9:37 p.m. — Chelsie is a nonprofit director who is only 5’2″ but still plays collegiate basketball. She is a “smart athlete” who adjusts and pivots when she can. She is “half hood, half holy” because of her work helping troubled students find God.

9:38 p.m. — Tucker works at a protein company in New York. He’s a big outdoorsman who can do anything and “be serious” when the time calls for it. His family supported his father when he came out as gay, even when others turned their backs on the family. He expects to be in a showmance at some point.

9:39 p.m. — The eight players are standing in front of Julie waiting to begin the game. Tucker, Angela, Kimo and Chelsie are the first four contestants to enter the house. Tucker mentions the curse about how the first person to enter never wins the game, but he can “beat this supposed curse.” Chelsie says Angela is “shaking in her boots” and worries she’ll pass out on day one. Angela has “dreamt of this for so long” and wants to be pinched because she thinks she’s dreaming. Kimo loves the set design and “can’t wait to use the bathroom.”

9:43 p.m. — Cam, Makensy, Joseph and Rubina walk into the house next. Makensy is “taller” than all of the guys in the house, which worries her for showmance reasons. Joseph’s mustache makes him look “villainous” and he hopes to come off as “playful and innocent.” Cam thinks that he and Tucker are “friends” but worries he may have some tricks up his sleeve. Julie tells everyone to “head to the backyard” because there’s an “opportunity to change the game.” Rubina is “wondering what it could possibly be” as we head to commercial break.

9:49 p.m. — It’s decision time for the houseguests. For the first time ever, these eight players will have the power to bring in a 17th contestant. The person is Ainsley. She has blue hair and her “dream” is literally in their hands. She is 24 years old and she works in a surf shop. The only thing she loves more than her friends is “Big Brother.” She is begging for them to vote her in. If at least five people vote for her, she will enter the game. The votes will remain a secret.

9:51 p.m. — Chelsie weighs the “pros and cons” of her vote. Rubina doesn’t want to “deny” someone the opportunity of doing what she’s doing. Cam doesn’t have a “lot in common” with Ainsley, so he’s leaning toward no. Angela likes her because she’ll be the “center of attention” with that blue hair. Kimo thinks she’s a “wonderful person,” but the point of the show is to kick people out. The votes have been cast.

9:57 p.m. — It’s a 4-4 tie! So Ainsley doesn’t get to come into the house. She calls it a “huge bummer” and she’s “incredibly disappointed.” However, she is not a human. She is “BBAI” and she’s been programmed to alter the game this summer. Her name is an acronym for “Artificial Intelligence Network Self Learning Entity.” The four houseguests who voted “yes” will compete for a secret power that will upgrade their game. The ones who voted “no” will be playing in a competition with the loser being “severely downgraded.”

9:59 p.m. — In the “upgrade competition,” the players will spin around in a chair and then they’ll have to replicate a sequence of colors. In the “downgrade competition,” the houseguests will stick their heads into four “fear boxes” and then they’ll have to identity scrambled letters that spell out emotional tiles.

10:06 p.m. — Angela is the first person to spin around in the upgrade competition. She is so dizzy she can hardly walk over to the colored buttons. She only gets one correct, womp womp. Next up is Tucker in the downgrade competition. He gets all four words correct: Panic (snake box), Anxiety (scorpion box), Dread (cockroach box) and Terror (spider box). Kimo also gets all four, but he beats Tucker’s time. Joseph is able to get four correct colors in the upgrade comp, besting Angela.

10:16 p.m. — Back to the comps. Rubina spins around in her chair and she starts laughing halfway through. She gags as she dizzily walks to the buttons, pushing four correct. Cam realizes that the first challenge always “sets the tone for the whole game,” so he needs to do good in the downgrade comp. He gets all four correct and has the best time so far. Chelsie is terrified of snakes and “creepy crawly things” and calls on God to “help a sister out.” Unfortunately, she forgets to plug in the cord, so she gets the worst time. Makensy wants to win the upgrade because it’ll be a “safety net” in the future. She correctly pushes four buttons.

10:22 p.m. — Julie confirms that the winner of the upgrade is Makensy, and that the loser of the downgrade is Chelsie. We’ll find out more of the specific details later on.

10:25 p.m. — That’s it for Night 1 of the “Big Brother” two-night premiere event. Julie gives us a sneak peek of the next eight houseguests who will be moving in on Thursday. See you then!

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