“Big Brother” producers go inside casting of “Survivor” players Devens and Dee (exclusive)

Key Points

• Big Brother executive producers go through the process that led them to putting Survivor 50 players Rick Devens and Dee Valladares in the house.

• We ask the EPs who first floated the idea of bringing in two Survivor contestants.

• The producers tease that one of the players could be interested in a showmance… and it ain’t Rick!

They had an idea so nice they had to do it twice. Big Brother executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan had dipped into Survivor waters before, bringing reality TV legend Cirie Fields into the house to compete on season 25. But for season 28 (which premiered on July 9) they decided to make like a Doublemint gum commercial and bring in not one, but two Survivor stars.

Those stars were Rick Devens and Dee Valladares, who were also on the Survivor 50 jury with Cirie (and all voted for former Entertainment Weekly Big Brother recapper Aubry Bracco to win the $2 million).

Why Devens and Dee? Why cast two Survivor players instead of one? And what’s this about Dee being interested in another showmance? We sat down with Grodner and Meehan to get the casting scoop on these two reality TV legends.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Before we get into the two Survivor players you chose for season 28, where did this idea to cross-pollinate and bring Survivor contestants over come from? Is that from CBS, from you all, or Jesse Tannenbaum and casting? Where does the germ of the idea start?

ALLISON GRODNER: It’s honestly a group brainstorm. It’s all of us. We’ve been working together for so long now that it’s just sort of these discussions that evolve. Certainly, it’s amazing to be able to bring people from another huge CBS show and to see how they play the Big Brother game from a Survivor game.

We got to see it with Cirie and how hard it was. I think she would tell you it was harder than doing Survivor. She could probably never come back to Big Brother, and she’s obviously revisited Survivor many times. And so it sort of grew and grew that there’s an opportunity here now to really branch out and explore what different types of Survivor players would do on our show.

RICH MEEHAN: We knew we were gonna bring back people this season. And then as we were getting in the discussions of who we should bring back and why we should bring them back, Survivor 50 was airing as we were simultaneously having those conversations. And it was such a great season. And we’re like, “Hey, who would be some Survivor people that might be great in the Big Brother house?”

And obviously Devens and Dee are two amazing players — a little different, but both amazing and fun to watch. And we’re like, “They could really mix it up in the Big Brother house.” So it was kind of: We know we’re bringing people back. What is the right mix of people to bring back, simultaneously with Survivor airing?”

Why two people? Was there any significance to that as opposed to just one? Usually when you see these kind of things, it’s only one person you bring over — like Cirie on season 25 — but you guys brought two. Was there any intentionality behind that, or was it just that you wanted to see both of them in the Big Brother house?

MEEHAN: We just really liked them as players. So as we were kind of looking at, whether it’s a Big Brother player or a Survivor player or another player: Who would play the game really well? We just really liked them.

And we thought, not only are they interesting players and really talented players and bring different skill sets to their level of gameplay, but they’re also really memorable and would be great to try to maybe pull in some new viewers for Big Brother. Because they both have great followings and are well thought of as game players.

So let’s talk about them individually. I mean, I know why you brought in Rick after seeing everything he did on season 50, but I’m gonna ask you anyway: Why him specifically? Tell me what you saw in him that you thought would be fun to put through the ringer on Big Brother.

GRODNER: He’s a good example of that someone who just really pops and stands out and is fun to watch. He’s a strategist and he’s creative. And so if we’re looking for someone to stir things up, do some things unexpected, it felt like he was a really good fit to try him on Big Brother. And we were just thrilled when he agreed and wanted to do it.

MEEHAN: Look, he’s a mischief maker, right? He’s so fun and he’s so creative in how he chooses to play games. So we’re like: That could be really interesting to see what he does within our game and our rules. What can he do that maybe we’ve never seen before?

We’ve been on the air a lot of years. If we get surprised or there’s something new that happens, to us, that’s always a great successful season. Because when you’re this far down the road, anytime something new and unique happens, we’re like, “Yes, that’s awesome!” He could be a guy that could do that.

When I spoke to Dee before she went on Survivor 50, she had lots of mischief planned for that season but just didn’t get a chance to pull it off. She’s considered by many to be the best new era Survivor player ever, but she’s now in this mode where she also really wants to have fun and do crazy stuff. Tell me why you all chose to bring Dee in.

GRODNER: What’s interesting about the two of them is they’re two very different players on Survivor and different styles, but they compliment each other. And so we thought she was a really good choice in that she’s clearly an amazing competitor and a strategist. And she brings a level of cutthroatness, which is interesting.

MEEHAN: She’s hyper competitive, wants to win at all costs, is obviously great at challenges. But she has this kind of no-nonsense attitude. She’s in it to win it. And that’s what we look for when we bring people back.

A big thing for our show specifically is we want people that wanna come and play the game, and they’re not here just to be on TV. They’re coming in to win the game. They’re coming here to play Big Brother. And that’s their motivation, right? Not every show puts people on with that same motivation, but when we’re looking who we wanna put on, that’s first and foremost what we wanna do. You gotta come on and play the game because it’s a long game, and you can’t fake stuff for three months.

GRODNER: And Dee has that, but she also has a terrific personality. She’s magnetic. People like her. She has the social game that Rick has, which is key when you come into Big Brother. I know it’s key for Survivor, but it really is such a big part of Big Brother. And she has that. She’s sort of the complete package in that way.

She had a bit of a showmance on Survivor 45, but put that aside for her game and always put that first, even if meant sucker-punching her partner at the final Tribal Council.

GRODNER: It’s in the early stages here, and there are certainly a lot of single guys in the house. It will be interesting to see what develops, because she’s made a big point of saying how single she is.

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