EXCLUSIVE: Julie Chen Spills Her Dream 'Big Brother' Twist, Reveals Which All-Star She Wants Back in the House
Julie Chen isn’t shy about the Big Brother twist she never wants to see again.
“The least favorite would be the takeover,” Julie confesses. She’s referencing the short-lived twist from season 17, which saw a handful of celebrities “take over” different aspects of the Big Brother game. It quietly disappeared after just three weeks.
“It didn't work,” Julie says. “It's like, ‘Well, how are you taking over? Are you really taking over? Are you just taking over one game, which is like one little angle of this moment in the Big Brother house?’ The good news is, we try things, and when they don't work, we cut our losses.”
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Julie is a fan of twists that are all about gameplay, like this year’s teams and “BB Roadkill” competition.
“I'm really sad to see ‘Roadkill’ go,” Julie admits. “I loved that twist this year. Having a secret winner who can secretly nominate a third houseguest for eviction? There was a lot of paranoia, a lot of misleads. You know, that was nice.”
“You could be on the block and suddenly have power to decide who's gonna sit up there next to you,” she continues. “It added a really good dynamic to the game. I think we could have kept that going another week or two at least.”
The Talk co-host has a couple other twists she’d like Big Brother to bring back in future seasons, too.
“I really liked season four, where we threw in ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends,” Julie shares. “That was very interesting. I also love the few times we've had a twin twist.”
“I think the exes twist would work well if everybody had an ex in there,” she adds. “That season, it was only, I think, four [people]. It was just a handful, it wasn't everybody.”
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Julie also dreamed up a never-before-seen twist for ET that she’d liked to see.
“I think they should do a season where they throw in a bunch of young, hot, single people,” Julie says. “And after everyone's posturing and posing, then you throw in those people's mothers and then their game is over.”
Last summer, Julie told ET she wants an “All-Star” season where all the past winners come back to compete again. This year, she says there’s one non-winning “All-Star” she wants back in the house.
“I would like to see Janelle Pierzina get another shot,” Julie reveals. “She's one of the best players we've had, and she's a fan favorite.”
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Janelle has competed three times -- first in season six, then as an “All-Star” in season seven, and as a “coach” in season 14. She placed third in her first two seasons, and won the “America’s Choice” title in season seven.
“She played it honestly, openly,” Julie says. “She didn't suck up to people she didn't like. She won competitions fair and square. I think she deserves a win and another chance.”
For more of Julie’s Big Brother dreams, check out the video below. Big Brother airs Sundays and Wednesdays on CBS at 8 p.m. ET, and goes live on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.