With the Big Brother All-Stars cast finally moved into the house and the 22nd season of the series underway, host Julie Chen has revealed she's most excited for the return of season 21's David Alexander and season 6,7, and 14's Janelle Pierzina.
Though CBS only confirmed that Big Brother 22 would be an All-Stars season a few weeks before the live premiere, speculation among fans and spoiler pages started months ago. Everyone was speculating about who might return. Two weeks before the premiere, contestants and alternates were moved into sequester, where they were monitored for COVID-19 prior to entering the house. Former winners Kaycee Clark and Josh Martinez were both expected to be on the season but due to supposedly positive COVID-19 tests, they weren't able to be a part of things. The pandemic prevented contestants from being able to (or being willing to) come on the show, but that doesn't mean that Julie Chen isn't excited about the contestants who are playing this season.
In an interview via Entertainment Weekly, following the premiere night of BB All-Stars, Julie Chen was asked who she was most excited to see back onstage with her, and she itted that "David!" was her top pick: "I think I had him winning it all in the office pool last summer," said Chen, adding that she "would love to see him last to finale night and [see] how far he can take it." The host said that the reason she picked David is "his positivity and quiet wisdom." Other than David, Chen said: "it's impossible to NOT be excited to see Janelle" because she's "so memorable, such a great competitor, personality for days, and funny." This is Janelle's fourth time playing Big Brother and Chen said "she's someone I always love to watch."
Beyond who she was rooting for this season, Chen also commented on shooting Big Brother 22 during the pandemic, itting that "everything feels strange." The longtime host said that "all the safety precautions being taken are impressive" and that everyone is "happy to be back at work, to have a job, and to be working in a safe environment." Chen says she hopes this season will provide some "much-needed relief and laughs for all of us while moving to a new chapter where houseguests can respectfully disagree [with each other]". She also said that houseguests will be an example to "show America we might not all see eye to eye but can’t we all get along?"
Julie Chen wouldn't normally be commenting on the fate of the contestants (or predicting who would be standing with her on finale night) but considering the history she has with each contestant, thanks to past seasons, it's hard not to have an opinion about the players. After only being in the house for a few days, Big Brother All-Stars is still any BB 22 contestant's season to win, but viewers will be keeping on eye on Julie's favorites for sure.
Source: Entertainment Weekly