Big Brother 23: Casting director Robyn Kass leaves before new season

Who knew that there would be some news pertaining to Big Brother 23 right in the middle of January? That is precisely where we are today with Robyn Kass.

In a new post on Twitter, the longtime show casting director confirmed that she has decided to move forward with some new opportunities and “take a leave” from the upcoming season. We know that Big Brother 23 is set for CBS this summer, and with Julie Chen has host. The casting process will be ongoing for the next several months, and now, a new person will be at the helm. Whether she returns in the future remains to be seen.

For more Big Brother 23 discussion, watch what we have at the bottom of this article. Once you do that, subscribe to Matt & Jess on YouTube and also view our playlist for all of our coverage from season 22!

Over the years Kass was responsible with finding new talent and bringing much of it to CBS — there is a lot of collaboration that happens here among multiple people, but ultimately executives and producers have final sign-off on who appears on every given season. All parties involved have faced criticism over the past several seasons, whether it be via diversity or casting players who have gone on to showcase prejudices or display hateful behavior on-screen.

There are some changes that are coming to Big Brother 23 from a casting point of view — it was already announced that moving forward, at least half of its cast will come from the BIPOC community. It is a move to have this show (plus Survivor and Love Island) be far more representative of what you see across all America. This is valuable beyond words; it is a chance for viewers to better see themselves on television, and it also levels the playing field when castmates of color have routinely found themselves at a disadvantage from the start of many seasons.

Odds are, we’ll learn more about Big Brother 23 — including potential twists and how it will be structured — once we get to the late spring. Regardless of the vaccine rollout, production will be far more prepared to handle the pandemic now that we’re so far into it.

What do you think of Robyn Kass leaving Big Brother prior to season 23?

Be sure to share in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)