Who goes home first in Big Brother season 23?

• Updated: 11:35 ET, Jul 24 2022

A TWO-HOUR Big Brother special has left one housemate packing their bags.

In a unanimous vote of 12-0, Pooch was evicted from the Big Brother house on Sunday.

In his exit interview, he expressed to host Julie that he was "shocked" that the vote wasn't split.

After Pooch left the show, Julie told the cast of the "festie bestie" twist.

The first game for HOH began where each contestant had to choose their "besties."

Once besties are chosen they will be partners for the week, facing eviction together.

Read our Big Brother live blog for the latest updates...

• The 'festie besties' pairs

  The 'festie besties' are a new element to the show this week.

  The pairs are as follows:

  Alyssa and Indy
  Ameerah and Terrance
  Brittany and Michael
  Daniel and Kyle
  Jasmine and Turner
  Joseph and Monte
  Nicole and Taylor

• What are the 'festie besties?'

  The new "festie bestie" twist shocked and confused fans as host Julie announced a new element to the show.

  The contestants paired in the first challenge and will compete together this week as a pair.

  If the Power of Veto is used both members will be saved and the HOH will have to nominate two members instead of one.

• Former contestant sends love to Taylor

  Season 23 contestant Hannah Chaddha sends love to Taylor on Twitter calling her a "queen."

  The response was to a video of Taylor saying she wants to show America black women can be "strong, confident, and assertive."

• The season 24 cast

  This season’s houseguests include:

  • Alyssa Snider, 24
  • Ameerah Jones, 31
  • Brittany Hoopes, 32
  • Daniel Durston, 35
  • Indy Santos, 31
  • Jasmine Davis, 29
  • Joseph Abden, 24
  • Kyle Capener, 29
  • Matt Turner, 23
  • Michael Bruner, 28
  • Monte Taylor, 27
  • Nicole Layog, 41
  • Paloma Aguilar, 22
  • Taylor Hale, 27
  • Terrence Higgins, 47

• Recruits must watch a season

  Before participating in the competition, each candidate must watch at least one complete season of Big Brother, according to ScreenRant.

  This is done to familiarize recruits with the program.

  The houseguests are given access to old episodes of the program to view while they are secluded before the show starts.

  Since more recent seasons are more in line with the games now, many of these competitors choose to watch them.

  This is attributed by some fans to the recently popularized “dominate alliance” tendency.

• Who are The Leftovers?

  Monte, Turner, Joseph, Taylor, Brittany, Kyle, and Michael formed an alliance called "The Leftovers."

  The group was inspired by the fact each member felt left out of other alliances.

  Their strategy is to target the girls' group of Nicole, Ameerah, Alyssa, Jasmine, and Indy.

• Only three guests have been expelled

  Big Brother has clear guidelines on inappropriate behavior, according to Bustle.

  Yet, out of the roughly 200 candidates who have entered the house, just three have been eliminated early rather than as a result of breaching the rules or engaging in violence, the outlet reported.

• Show expulsions happen

  A few houseguests have been kicked off the show over the years, according to Insider.

  This includes Chima Simone from season 11, who threw her microphone into the pool despite numerous demands by producers to turn it on, and Justin Sebik from season 2, who drew a knife on a fellow participant, per the outlet.

• There’s a dress code at the house

  Houseguests are not permitted to wear any clothing, including shirts, jeans, caps, coats, etc. with recognized logos, unless it was provided by the production or it has prior consent to be worn, according to Housely.

  Additionally, they are instructed to refrain from donning items of clothing that are completely white, made of silk, or have polka dots or fine stripes since they do not look good on television.

• Power of Veto, explained

  The winner of this competition has the power to remove a contestant from the eviction block.

  If a houseguest chooses to use the Power of Veto (PoV), the HoH must put up a replacement nominee for eviction.

  The holder of the PoV is protected from eviction.

  Unlike HoH competitions, the HoH is allowed to participate in the PoV competition, as well as the two nominees.

  However, only six total contestants participate in the PoV competition; three houseguests who are not on the block or HoH are selected at random.

• Head of Household, explained

  The houseguest who wins this title is rewarded with their own bedroom, and is responsible for nominating two of the other houseguests for eviction.

  The Head of Household (HoH) is safe from eviction that week and is not allowed to participate in the following week’s HoH competition, except for the final HoH competition of the season.

• There’s a dress code at the house

  Houseguests are not permitted to wear any clothing, including shirts, jeans, caps, coats, etc. with recognized logos, unless it was provided by the production or it has prior consent to be worn, according to Housely.

  Additionally, they are instructed to refrain from donning items of clothing that are completely white, made of silk, or have polka dots or fine stripes since they do not look good on television.

• Fans yell over studio walls

  Production has to cope with the problem of “wall yellers” almost every summer, ScreenRant reported.

  These are the viewers who visit the studio lot where the Big Brother house is situated and scream things at the contestants from the opposite side of the wall.

  Fans usually seek to provide players with information about the game or the outside world by doing this, which might affect the competition.

• Big Brother viewership declining

  Despite becoming one of the most well-known reality television series, Big Brother’s viewership has been dropping recently.

  Despite a significant turning point in the history of the program for season 23, when Wisconsin attorney Xavier Prather became the first Black contestant to win, the season’s viewership fell.

  When compared to the first episode in July 2021, Big Brother’s season 23 finale had a 13 percent decline in viewers.

  Big Brother was tied for third place with The Masked Singer and Survivor as a result of the decline in viewers.

  However, it was “a tremendous honor” for Prather, the season 23 champion.

• Big Brother history, continued

  Although countries have their own variations, the shared theme is that the houseguests are constantly under surveillance and isolated from the outside world.

  The first season of BB in the US was in 2000, and since 2001, the American version of the show has allowed contestants to vote each other out, instead of having a public vote determine who was evicted.

  Some countries have adopted the American version of eviction voting, although others have stayed with the original format.

  The celebrity version of BB was introduced in the US in 2018, and its third season is currently underway.

• Big Brother’s international history

  The original Big Brother first aired in the Netherlands. It was created in 1999, and it initially did not allow luxury items.

  The show originally featured a survivalist element, despite contestants being provided with basic amenities.

  BB was quickly adopted internationally, with each country putting its own spin on the show.

• Big Brother live feeds are available 24/7

  All the drama that can’t fit into each episode can be watched on Paramount Plus.

  The live stream is available to viewers who subscribe to the service around the clock.

  Two subscription packages are available from the streaming service.

  Users have the option of subscribing to a premium membership plan for $9.99 per month or paying $4.99 per month to access material without advertisements.

• 'The Challenge' star sends support to Taylor

  Tiffany Mitchell, a contestant on The Challenge and season 23 cast member of Big Brother sends a tweet of support to Taylor.

  Tiffany accuses the houseguests of being the problem by dragging Taylor.

  Let me just say something: All these grown fake sensitive HG’s acting like Taylor is offensive when they have dragged her underneath hell, need to just admit that the problem is THEM. #BB24

  — Tiffany Mitchell 👑 (@absolutelytiff) July 24, 2022

• Where to watch Big Brother 24

  Every Sunday and Wednesday at 8pm ET, Big Brother will show, with the live eviction episodes airing on Thursdays at 9pm ET.

  The program will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Paramount Plus, and FuboTV.

• How does Big Brother work?

  Big Brother is a social game show that airs live during the summer. To participate in the Big Brother game, between 12 and 16 people—referred to as houseguests—move into a house, per InsideSurvivor.

  They remain there until they are either victorious or are kicked out.

  Seasons have a duration of 70 to 99 days. Competitions for the game’s powers are held every week, and the winner is the one who is ultimately sent out of the home.

  Viewers may also tune in nearly whenever to find out what their favorite houseguests are doing using the live feeds Paramount Plus sets up.

  Most casual viewers are fine with simply the edited programs, but live feeds are necessary for some and not for others.

• Pooch posts heartfelt Instagram caption

  Pooch took to Instagram after the show to express his gratitude for being on the cast.

  He told fans Big Brother was his "favorite TV show growing up" and that he now has "15 best friends for life."

• Paloma defends herself

  After her surprise exit from the show, Paloma had received backlash for microaggressions against Taylor.

  Paloma was accused of targeting Taylor but quickly denied the rumors.

  She told Pop Crave, "It’s crazy how people jump to conclusions with the whole racist bit […] the thing is they cut the beginning clips and ran with it."

• Pooch proved old adage

  The saying in the Big Brother fandom goes, "the pawn goes home."

  This well-known rule states that whenever a contestant volunteers to be the pawn they are subject to go home.

  Pooch proved this adage tonight after being sent home in a unanimous vote after he had volunteered to be the pawn.

• When will the next show air?

  After a shocking episode revealing a new HOH and a "bestie festie" twist fans are eager to see what happens next.

  The next episode will air on CBS and Paramount Plus Wednesday at 8/7c.

  Fans can also keep up with the lives on Paramount Plus.

• Nomination ceremony begins

  Turner reveals he's nominating Michael and Brittney for eviction.

  He tells them he's "rooting for them" but admits to the audience he doesn't like Brittney's game and is intimidated by Michael's veto power.