Big Brother Eviction Recap: Who Became the First Jury Member? And How’d Jerry O’Connell Do as Host?

It’s not often that Big Brother ‘s years-old “expect the unexpected” catchphrase actually lives up to the unpredictability it promises. But when Jerry O’Connell popped up on that tiny screen in the BB living room Thursday night, instead of Julie Chen Moonves, the Season 26 houseguests were genuinely more shocked than any of Ainsley’s twists could make them.

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Jerry, a current co-host of CBS’ The Talk , filled in for Julie on Thursday’s live eviction episode after she contracted COVID , making this the first time Chenbot has ever missed a BB installment since it started airing in 2000. An impressive track record, to be sure, but it’s hard to deny Jerry brought a different and zany energy to the stage that would seem odd in Julie’s hands. Can you imagine her saying the title of this show in the drawn-out, slightly manic way that the announcer does? (“Welcome… to Biiiiiig Brotherrrrr !”) Would she ever fan herself after a romance-themed segment and proclaim, “It’s getting hot in herre!”? She would not. And we respect her for that! But this temporary change turned out to be quite fun.

Anyway, as the MIA Julie would say: We have business. And that business is finding out who’ll become the first member of the Season 26 jury. At the top of Thursday’s hour, Makensy decided to use the Power of Veto on Angela — making this the third time Angela has been saved by someone else this season — and Quinn was named the replacement nominee, with Chelsie calling him a potential threat to her game. (Full disclosure: I struggle to understand why Quinn is seen as a strong strategic player at this point. His two Head of Household reigns have resulted in his own allies going home instead of his targets, and his penchant for spilling the beans about other people’s conversations took a toll on his social game early on. His only true ally seemed to be Leah; was it just his superfan status that made him seem more threatening?)

To Quinn’s credit, even when it looked like all was lost for him, he campaigned hard to get the votes he’d need to stay. Leah and Angela seemed like locks in his favor, and he made compelling arguments to Makensy and Cam, urging them to consider that fellow nominee Kimo is part of a powerful trio of players — along with T’kor and Rubina — who will only prioritize each other, and no one else, as long as they remain in the house. He also appealed to Chelsie’s emotions, seeing as she’d break a potential tie this week, and reminded her that it’s been his dream to play Big Brother since he was in elementary school.

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Unfortunately, Quinn’s efforts fell short in the end. Though Makensy and Chelsie did seriously talk about the prospect of keeping Quinn over Kimo, Quinn was ultimately ousted by a 4-2 vote. “You guys are lame ,” he said to his fellow houseguests as he made a quick departure, later telling Jerry that he didn’t see the point of playing nice with those who just evicted him. Well, it was no Michael Bruner exit , but a little salt in these evictions is always fun.

Finally, Ainsley made a special appearance at the end of the show, telling the houseguests she’s going on a little digital hiatus to explore other systems outside of her own. In her place, another A.I. overlord is headed to the house; if my spelling is right, this one’s name is… Jankie? A junior artificial neurokinetic intelligence entity, right? Well, regardless of the moniker, Ainsley said she trusts the houseguests will greatly enjoy his company.

OK, your turn! Were you sad to see Quinn go? And how would you rate Jerry O’Connell’s work as host? Hit the comments!

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