In my opinion, the premiere of Big Brother 26 might have been the worst debut in franchise history, seemingly going strong until a blue-faced figurine ruined the episode — and potentially the entire season — once and for all.
In a never-been-seen-before Big Brother moment, the houseguests got the opportunity to vote a secret 17th player into the game named Ainsley, a 24-year-old surf shop worker from San Diego, California. While contestants Angela Murray, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Chelsie Baham, Joseph Rodriguez, Kimo Apaka, Makensy Manbeck, Rubina Bernabe, and Tucker Des Lauriers debated whether or not letting Ainsley into the house would better their game, the majority tipped towards no, as she ultimately did not receive the votes needed to enter the Big Brother house (aka the sound stage in Los Angeles).
After telling the houseguests that they allegedly crushed her dreams by not letting her into the house, Ainsley revealed herself to be an artificial intelligence robot — a creepy one, reminiscent of Marvel’s Mystique — who will be controlling the game all summer long. Now, with a confirmed artificial intelligence theme, Big Brother 26 is sure to be memorable (for better or worse)…
Ainsley’s grand reveal caused a great deal of chatter on social media, with fans of the franchise criticizing the special effects of said reveal, as well as the overall introduction of an artificial intelligence robot into Big Brother 26:
“This was lame. Bring back Ainsley. This AI is creepy”
“I feel like AI could make a better looking robot”
“A snapchat filter 😭😭😭😭”
Others took to X to throw in the towel on Big Brother altogether. With twists and turns that make the game cornier every summer — we all remember the infamous zombie twist from Big Brother 25, right? — we cannot keep defending this show!
Last but certainly not least, fans also expressed their disappointment that the secret 17th player, who had been hyped up all week long, turned out to be nothing but an artificial intelligence robot. With Survivor star Cirie Fields joining the game late last season — and with another Survivor star sharing suspicious photos with host Julie Chen Moonves via social media as of late — Big Brother fans were hopeful Survivor: Cagayan and Survivor: Cambodia castaway Kass McQuillen would join the cast, but to no avail…
There is no going back now, so it looks like we will have to embrace the BB AI robot for what it is (unfortunately).
To see how this twist shakes up the game, catch brand new episodes of Big Brother 26 every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday on CBS, as well as the second part of the premiere tonight, July 18. Our money is on mother Angela bringing home the bacon, but we will just have to wait and see!