CBS knew they had a hit on their hands the minute that Celebrity Big Brother concluded last February. Despite a not-so thought out finale (adding Omarosa at the last minute threw the numbers off a bit) where we saw the final HoH having the power to evict TWO houseguests, ratings were high enough to take first place in the “Not Winter Olympics” division of television. At the time we were informed that CBB was CBS’s way of trying to jump ahead of Non-Olympics competition, so most of us were unsure whether or not we would officially get a CBB2.
It now seems as if Celebrity BB will be the official spin-off of the main thing. While that means we probably see less experimental spin-offs like Over the Top, it does mean that Big Brother is going to keep sailing along at full strength despite the network’s recent (necessary) turnover at the top. Since we now know that CBB2 is happening (we just don’t have a date), I wanted to setup a cast predictor/wishlist because….well….it’s fun. It’s one of many wishlists I’ll be doing for Big Brother this offseason as I have a few that I’ll be doing in conjunction with @BBTeamNorth so be sure to look out for those!
Anyway, let’s get started.
While CBB2 may not use the same casting formula as CBB1, I think we can get a realistic breakdown of what to expect by looking at the previous cast.
Former Child Stars: Keisha Knight-Pullam, James Maslow
Model: Ariadna Guiterrez
Actress: Shannon Elizabeth (could make a sub-category of 90s Actress), Marissa Jaret-Winokur
Retired Athletes: Chuck Liddel, Metta World Peace
Reality TV Star: Brandi Gladville, Omarosa*
Musician outside of their popularity peak: Mark McGrath, James Maslow
TV Personality: Ross Matthews
- you could add a subcategory for Omarosa as a “bombshell” houseguest. It was a big deal to land her fresh off a failed White House stint. We could try and predict a big one, but the one I’m thinking of is not going to happen.
I’m also going off the assumption that the season will be as long as the previous one, possibly even extended by a few days (Season 1 was 18 days, maybe we can get 25?). So based on all of that information above, I tried to combine a wishlist with realistic scenarios. I’ll list possible candidates below and the most likely 10-12 (to me) out of those said candidates.
The Athletes
Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, Chael Sonnen
The first two may not be fans of Big Brother (that we know of) but they certainly have the personalities for it. Chad Johnson, aka Chad OchoCinco (Chad 8-5), was known for his outlandish personality as an NFL receiver. His lavish endzone celebrations resulted in them being banned from the league for a number of years with the infamous “can’t use a ball as a prop” rule being instituted for some time. Chad does also seem to have some great comedic timing for the Diary Room bits that BB will inevitably force, but he would also be feeds gold for stirring up trouble. Terrell Owens was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and may not be the most willing participant for a Celebrity Big Brother type show, but he’s never been one to shy away from the camera. Owens’ brash personality could rub some other celebrities the wrong way, but that’s the fun in it. Chael Sonnen is a major Big Brother fan and has mentioned the show a few times, he could be the most likely candidate of the three.
Child Actor/Actress
Miranda Cosgrove has at the very least watched Big Brother 16 based on a random tweet about a Victoria quote. That being said, she could fit right into the “Former Child Star on Nickelodeon” role that James Maslow was cast. I don’t know about Miranda being the season’s villain like Maslow, unless she decided to channel her role from Drake and Josh. Malcolm Jamal-Warner would be the next logical Huxtable leap if we’re sticking with all the non-rapists in that family. Hopefully he won’t have to bow out early like Keisha did last season.
Current TV Personalities/Actors/Comedian
All 3 members of this category have stated, without question, that they are Big Brother fans. Chelsea Peretti has hosted McCrae Olsen (BB15) on her podcast where they talked shop about two season’s worth of content. Bobby Moynihan appeared in the house on Season 19 as a guest of sorts but was tied up filming and promoting Me, Myself and I last year when CBB was in full bloom. The issue this time around is that Moynihan voices Louie in the Ducktales reboot and depending on their VA scheduling, he might not have the time to break away even though Season 2’s shoots have apparently wrapped up. Pauley Perrette appeared on set to host a competition during BB11, but if my memory serves correctly, she was in character as Abby from NCIS as sort of cross-promotion. All 3 could add much needed comedic value to the show and it wouldn’t shock me if Chelsea or Pauley are the most strategic of the 3.
90s Celebrity/Musician
Lance’s BB fandom is well known and the former N’SYNC member could take on the Mark McGrath role from last season. While he would be a bit more “hip” than Mark was, seeing his antics with someone like Chael Sonnen would be tons of fun.
Reality TV Stars
I’m not a “Real Housewives of XYZ” fan, at all, but it’s undeniably one of the most popular reality series out there. There’s a reason why Brandi Glanville was brought on last season, and NeNe Leaks, who is arguably the reason the series has bloomed the way it has, would be a slam dunk in this category. NeNe isn’t above “Celebrity” TV appearances and would add drama to the house in spades. The other slam dunk candidate would be Tiffany “New York” Pollard of VH1 fame. Pollard has appeared on the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother, but as we all know, that is a completely different version of the show. Seeing Pollard adapt to the strategy aspect of BBUS would be a LOT of fun. She would be this season’s Omarosa, the villain you shouldn’t root for, but you do anyway.
Model
IF CBS is going to shoehorn this category in, there are several strong candidates, but I went with Miss Michigan Emily Sioma who recently went viral for her introduction as Miss Michigan, which included a nice little slam towards the state Government. Hopefully she’s as much of a charm and gamer as Ariadna was (probably my favorite Houseguest from last season).
Pie in the Sky
Let’s get one thing straight, Rihanna is probably NEVER going to appear on this show. She stands nothing to gain from it, but it’s pretty cool to know that she’s a big enough fan to follow BB20 winner Kaycee Clark and Direct Message her about her fandom. Kaycee talked about this on a recent podcast interview she was part of, surprising a large number of people who didn’t know about Rihanna following her. Neil Patrick Harris’s love for Big Brother has been well known over the years, however, he has too busy of a schedule to be able to put off the time needed to play and do the post-show media appearances. Of the two pie in the sky candidates, NPH IS the most likely, but don’t bet on anything.
What do you think? Who would you want to see on CBB2? Do you have a pie in the sky candidate? Let us know by commenting or tweeting us at @TheKWCBlog.
thekidswearcrowns.com 