ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The official start to summer was on June 21, but for fans of the hit CBS reality show "Big Brother," summer doesn't officially start until host Julie Chen Moonves utters the words, "expect the unexpected."
Count on hearing those words Wednesday during "Big Brother's" 90-minute premiere at 8 p.m. ET on 10 Tampa Bay.
As is the case every season, 16 houseguests will enter the "Big Brother" house for a summer filled with twists, turns, competitions and blindsides. So, who will America be watching this season? CBS announced the cast on Tuesday ahead of the premiere.
For the second-straight season, the Tampa Bay area will be represented by an Alyssa from Sarasota.
According to a video tweeted out by the "Big Brother" account, Alyssa Snider of Sarasota is a 24-year-old marketing rep joining the cast this season. Just last year, the cast featured Alyssa Lopez, also of Sarasota. Lopez will continue to represent the Tampa Bay area when she competes on CBS' "The Challenge: USA," which premieres right after "Big Brother" at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Snider won't be the only contestant from Florida on the show this year, either.
Nicole Layog, a 41-year-old private chef, comes from Fort Lauderdale and will also be in the running for the life-changing cash prize that comes with winning the show.
A day before the new season of the show premieres, Big Brother announced on Twitter that Joseph, a 24-year-old lawyer from Lake Worth, is replacing Marvin Achi, a chemical processing engineer from Nigeria. Joseph will be in contention to win the big cash prize.
Last year, the cash prize was bumped up to $750,000 from $500,000. The grand prize will remain at $750,000 this season as well, according to a press release.
A complete list of cast members can be found below:
- Kyle Capener | 29 | Unemployed | Bountiful, UT
- Paloma Aguilar | 22 | Interior designer | San Marcos, CA
- Monte Taylor | 27 | Personal trainer | Bear, DE
- Jasmine Davis | 29 | Entrepreneur | Terry, MS
- Michael Bruner | 28 | Attorney | Saint Michael, MN
- Taylor Hale | 27 | Personal stylist | West Bloomfield, MI
- Brittany Hoopes | 32 | Hypnotherapist | Atlanta, GA
- Daniel Durston | 35 | Vegas performer | Ontario, Canada
- Joseph | 24 | Lawyer | Lake Worth, FL
- Terrance Higgins | 47 | Bus operator | Chicago, IL
- Ameerah Jones | 31 | Content designer | Westminster, MD
- Matt "Turner" Turner | 23 | Thrift store owner | North Attleborough, MA
- Joe "Pooch" Pucciarelli | 24 | Assistant football coach | Staten Island, NY
- Nicole Layog | 41 | Private chef | Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Indy Santos | 31 | Corporate flight attendant | Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Alyssa Snider | 24 | Marketing rep | Sarasota, FL