Big Brother‘s motto is “expect the unexpected.” And I, for one, did not expect Big Brother legend Rachel Reilly to meet an untimely demise at the hands of velociraptor in the Jurassic age. But that’s exactly what we got in the Big Brother Season 28 premiere, delaying the first HOH competition of the season until Julie Chen Moonves could find a suitable replacement.
And find a replacement she did.
That’s right, after much preseason murmuring, Survivor Season 45 winner and Season 50 contestant Dee Valladares officially entered the Big Brother house during Friday’s season premiere of Big Brother: Unlocked.
she's ready to take the crown once again — but this time on #BigBrother 🙌 Watch Dee compete for the win on CBS! #Broveal #BB28 #Survivor pic.twitter.com/Mk2toqn7nl
— Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) July 11, 2026
How will Dee fare in the Big Brother house, and more importantly in the first Head of Household competition? Read below to find out.
Check out our Big Brother power rankings after Episode 1!
Big Brother Season 28 Episode 2 recap
Survival of the Fittest
Following up on Rachel Reilly’s untimey demise at the end of Thursday’s Season 28 premiere, Julie Chen Moonves followed through on her promise to find a replacement, bringing in Survivor’s Dee Valladares.
And living up to her reputation, Dee wasted no time making an impact on the game, defeating Angela and Devens in fire puzzle challenge to become Season 28’s first Head of Household. By virture of finishing last, Devens and his team became Have Nots, meaning “slop,” cold showers and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements to start the season. They’re literally sleeping in what looks like a torture chamber, so Devens fears he might have to sleep with one eye open for more reasons than one.
Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies
Following the HOH competition, the houseguests gathered for a little get to know you session. Or get to know what I want you to know session, as several houseguests told little white lies or withheld information in the name of the game.
Mallory, Lyric, Kamu and Jason all either lied about their profession or downplayed their success. Jason’s plan to hide his Drag Race past almost got blown up by Angela, who could swear she follows him. But he moved quick to tell a little white lie to get Angela off the scent. His secret is safe for now, but I’m not sure how long before his own reality TV past is out in the open.
Making connections
Alliances formed quickly in the house and notably, the reality icons were eager to work together, with Angela musing that united they stand or divided they fall. She was quick to make a beeline for Dee in the HOH room, wanting to give some advice from her own experience as a Week 1 HOH. The two hit it off. Later, Devens and Dee meet and agree to put whatever happened in Survivor 50 in the past and work together. Devens confirms Dee is his No. 1, but Angela is a strong ally. And they’re even on the same page about other names to bring in, like Drew and Barrett. They lock in as the Crossovers, with Dee saying that is where her loyalty lies. Things are looking good for the reality icons thus far.
Kamu, meanwhile, approaches Chuk about forming their own comp beast alliance. Chuk is down, but wants to bring in a woman, giving that all guy alliances have blown up in the past few seasons. He also grew up surrounded by women, so naturally he wants a female element to his alliance. They lock in with Haley, who is more than down to team up to use their strength to run the house.
Mallory wanted to become BFFs immediately upon meeting Lyric, and she puts that into motion right away, forming a trio with Lyric and Melody, hoping Dee will look to target the guys to start.
I can’t help falling in love with you
Alliances aren’t the only connections forming, however. In the initial get together, several houseguests are catching feelings. Haley is feeling Kamu, Barrett is into Dee, and Drew seemingly has a song in his heart for Melody.
The biggest connection might be Rome and Lyric, who quickly are infiatuated with each other. Both are into it and quickly form the season’s first showmance, going so far as cuddling and kissing in the bunk beds. Lyric seems to know this could be a bad idea (sorry to her grandparents), but that does nothing to stop their makeout sesssion right above Mallory and next to Yash, who is driven out of the room by their PDA.
With Rome and Lyric deciding to share a bed, word quickly spreads across the house about the Day 2(!) showmance. If Lyric wanted their coupling to be low-key, that ship has surely sailed.
It’s time to play the game
After locking in their alliance with Chuk, Kamu and Haley want to work Dee in as well. This is perfect for her since she wanted to inflitrate that group anyways after Devens brought them up in the Survivor stars’ earlier chat. Kamu and Haley share their thoughts in the HOH room and form the Red Corner with Dee and Devens, a nod to Kamu’s MMA background. But, little do they realize that Dee and Devens are already playing them.
Devens, for his part, can’t wait to get into some sneaky fun with his friends, so he reveals the Red Corner to Angela. This makes Angela feel even more solid with Devens and Dee, with trust growing between the trio. They bring Drew up to speed as well, all of which makes Dee pissed at Devens. She thinks he’s giving people power to use against him, putting her game at risk too. She wants to make sure if things blow up it falls on him. This maybe an example of Devens’ lack of Big Brother experience and he knows he might have messed up, but he hopes Dee doesn’t bail on him.
And the nominees are…
Mallory is feeling nervous about nominations, as she hasn’t had much of an opportunity to chat with Dee. Her chat with Dee … does not go great, with Mallory talking about everything BUT game. Dee isn’t into it. It feels like Mallory missed her opportunity to connect with Dee and misread the conversation (thinking Dee didn’t want to talk game), and is right to feel like she might up for eviction.
Dee meets with the Red Corner to talk noms, and decides to pick one person from each team in the HOH comp to make things feel fair. She thinks Lyric is so easy that she could be put up whenever. Quickly, Taylor and Mallory are identified as nominees. But she doesn’t want it to be all girls. Kamu is concerned there might be blowback if she nominates Yash, who helped her win HOH. He suggests Barrett, who didn’t play in the comp, not knowing Barrett is in the Crossovers. Dee knows he’s not entirely wrong, but she doesn’t want to put up Barrett, making her consider Ashley, who also didn’t play in the comp. She runs the idea of nominating Yash by Barrett and wants his thoughts on how to sell it. She doesn’t want to anger the Red Corner, so she knows she has to consider this third nom carefully.
Ultimately, she decides to go with Yash as the third nomination alongside Mallory and Taylor. She explains that she felt the most fair thing to do was nominate one person from each team, especially considering she came into the game late. Dee hopes the nominees don’t take it personally, but Mallory gets emotional and feels defeated already. Taylor calls it a gut punch, and Yash thinks Dee made a mistake nominating him after he helped her win HOH. He is confident he can get himself off the block. And newsflash from the Big Brother newsroom, Devens thinks everything is going exactly to the Crossover alliance’s plans.
Who won Head of Household in Big Brother Season 28 Episode 2?
Dee defeated Angela and Devens to become the first head of household in Big Brother Season 28.
Who is up for eviction this week on Big Brother Season 28?
As head of household, Dee nominated Yash, Mallory and Taylor for eviction this week. If any of the three win the veto competition, or another player wins and choose to use the power of veto on them, Dee will have to select another houseguest as a replacement nominee.
When is the veto competition this week on Big Brother Season 28?
The first veto competition of Big Brother Season 28 will occur on Wednesday. Six players — the HOH, their eviction nominees and two players selected by random draw/player’s choice — will compete to win the Power of Veto. The Power of Veto can either be used on the winning houseguest or a nominee of their choosing and immediately removes that player from the eviction block. The HOH then has to select a new houseguest to join the eviction block.
Who is in the cast for Big Brother Season 28?
Big Brother revealed the initial 14 Season 28 houseguests on its new YouTube channel, during the Big Brother Broveal. Devens and Angela then entered the house in the Season 28 premiere, followed by Dee on the season premiere of Big Brother: Unlocked.
Here’s everyone currently is in the Big Brother house:
| Houseguest | Age | Occupation | Hometown |
| Ashley | 24 | Bartender | Alton, Ill. |
| Barrett | 27 | Jumbotron Engineer | Austin, Texas |
| Chuk | 27 | Supply Chain Analyst | Dallas, Texas |
| Drew | 22 | Surgical Dental Assistant | Temecula, Calif. |
| Haley | 29 | Telemedicine Executive | Wildwood, Missouri |
| Jason | 35 | Professional Drag Queen | West Hollywood, Calif. |
| Kamu | 32 | MMA Fighter/Coach | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| LaTrice | 57 | Boutique Salesperson | Maplewood, N.J. |
| Lyric | 25 | Attorney | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Mallory | 24 | Rocket Scientist | Township of Washington, N.J. |
| Melody | 24 | Game Show Host | Maricopa, Ariz. |
| Rome | 28 | Pickleball Coach | Traverse City, Mich. |
| Taylor | 27 | Elementary School Counselor | Deerfield Beach, Fla. |
| Yash | 24 | Financial Analyst | Monroe Township, N.J. |
| Rick Devens | 42 | Survivor: Edge of Extinction andSurvivor 50 | Macon, Ga. |
| Angela Murray | 52 | Big BrotherSeason 26 | Syracuse, Utah |
| Dee Valladares | 29 | Survivor 45 and 50 | Miami, Florida |
Big Brother Season 28 FAQ
What is the theme for Big Brother Season 28?
Big Brother Season 28 will feature a “Time Trip” theme, as revealed on July 1. I wrote about this in more detail in my complete Big Brother Season 28 theme and house breakdown.
When do new episodes of Big Brother Season 28 drop?
Big Brother Season 28 will air on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET, while companion show Big Brother: Unlocked will air on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET, with actor Jerry O’Connell joining returning hosts and past Big Brother champions Taylor Hale and Derrick Levasseur. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Paramount+.
Where can I watch the Live Feeds for Big Brother Season 28?
Big Brother is unique in that it allows you to watch the houseguests at almost all times of the day, except for when they are in active competitions. The Live Feeds can be watched either on Pluto TV or Paramount+. It has also been announced that live feeds will for the first time be available for a limited time after every Big Brother and Big Brother: Unlocked episode on the Big Brother YouTube channel.
Who hosts Big Brother?
Big Brother is hosted by Julie Chen Moonves. She has hosted the show since its inception in 2000.
What is the grand prize of Big Brother?
The grand prize for Big Brother is $750,000.
Who won Big Brother Season 27?
Ashley Hollis, a 26-year-old attorney, won Big Brother Season 27, defeating unemployed Big Brother superfan Vince Panaro by a 6-1 jury vote.
More Pop Culture Content on DraftKings Network
Who won Love Island USA Season 8? Finale recap
How Much Money Did Evil Dead Burn Make at the Box Office This Weekend?
When Does Rick and Morty Season 9 Episode 8 Come Out on Adult Swim?
July 2026 Sneaker Release Calendar: Air Jordan 3 Retro True Blue Leads This Month’s Biggest Drops
