Rachel Reilly Is Back In The ‘Big Brother’ House

“Floaters, you better grab a life vest.” Rachel Reilly, the former Big Brother winner known for her passionate and sometimes controversial gameplay is back in the house in the 27th season opener. Love her or hate her (this writer is in the former team), Rachel is never short of chaos, which for this summer reality staple is a necessary ingredient. But will she last in the house very long? And just who is the houseguest who is her accomplice?

Call it Big Brother meets The Mole, and in a summer known for the mundane on the broadcast networks you are probably already hooked for the season. At least I am.

As always, I do have one immediate beef about Big Brother. Instead of giving us time to really meet these 16 new houseguests, the season went right into the first challenge after the initial introductions. Set in a mysterious “Hotel Mystere,” where nothing apparently is as it seems, a “Mastermind” lurked, a secret accomplice was revealed, and two competitions tested the houseguests’ skills and knowledge. One competition involved finding hidden host Julie Chen, while the other focused on finding a missing Head of Household (HOH) relic. The first HOH competition was set up, with the winner selected which four players would participate.

Did you get all that?

Unfortunately, too many twists this soon left this perennial viewer feeling frustrated. And, once again, there is a lack of more seasoned (translation: older) individuals, with Clifton “Will” Williams the oldest at age 50. But three months are ahead for the always interesting, often amusing, and sometimes infuriating Big Brother. And my seatbelt is fastened for another season.

As a precursor of sorts for CBS stalwart Survivor (which returns for its 49th edition on September 24), Big Brother is the perfect reality appetizer before the ultimate main course.