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Big Brother season 27 premiered on CBS on July 10, 2025. The show returned with a new batch of contestants competing through several challenges in the BB house to make their way to the finale and win the 750k prize money.
Before the premiere, the show teased a major twist, announcing that the season would include a mystery houseguest, a secret accomplice, and a masked visitor. In episode 1, the mystery houseguest was revealed as none other than Big Brother season 13 winner Rachel Reilly, much to everyone's surprise.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on July 11, host Julie Chen Moonves reacted to Rachel being revealed as the mystery houseguest, saying that her return was "epic." She commented on Rachel's past gameplay, calling her a "BB legend" and stating that the present houseguests were now in danger.
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"She defied all odds with the whole house against her, no allies left, and won the game. She is a BB legend," the Big Brother host said about Rachel.
Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves reacts to the dramatic premiere episode
Big Brother season 27 kicked off with an interesting twist, which saw the introduction of the new villain, "The Mastermind." Dramatically, he shook the BB house, kidnapping host Julie Chen Moonves and leaving her shoe behind.
The present houseguests had to split into two teams to rescue the host. They also had the opportunity to recover the stolen HOH relic and become the first Head of Household of the season.
Contestant Zach Cornell managed to rescue Julie from the Mastermind's hold and earned $10,000. Meanwhile, Vince Panaro became Head of Household.
In her interview, Julie was asked if she was fine after being kidnapped by the Mastermind and if he hurt her in any way. She responded that she was fine but noted that the Mastermind did make her "break a nail."
As for how she entertained herself as she was waiting behind the door to be rescued, she shared that she spent her time finding different ways to balance her bare foot to make sure that it didn’t touch the floor.
In the Big Brother season 27 premiere episode, after Julia was rescued, Big Brother season 13 winner Rachel Reilly revealed herself as the "mystery houseguest," shocking everyone in the audience.
Julia described Rachel's return as "epic" and “unexpected,” noting that since she is now a wife and mother of two, she didn’t think she would ever come back.
The Big Brother host added that she loved the "Rachel chant" when everyone saw her enter. However, she feels that the houseguests are now in trouble, as Rachel has a history of playing a strong game.
"Her return is epic. So unexpected. She’s a wife and mother of two now, and I didn’t think she’d have the time to do this again. I loved the Rachel chant when they saw her, but these houseguests are shrewd. They know this is not good for their game," she said in the interview.
At the end of the interview, Julia was asked if she thinks the houseguests would be able to uncover the Secret Accomplice's identity and prevent that person from entering the game as the 17th contestant.
In response, the host expressed that she hopes that the current contestants are unable to uncover the Secret Accomplice's identity.
"I sure hope not. But seriously, I doubt it. They had enough on their plate and first day jitters. Plus, they’d didn’t know to even look for someone up to no good amongst them," she added.
Big Brother season 27 premieres every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday on CBS.
