just a few new roadblocks in terms of our rules and format so that the people coming into the house who have worked out a perfect strategy—and believe me, all of them think they have—are in for a few surprises." It was confirmed in May that the series would premiere on July 10. The season aired on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on CBS, with the live eviction episodes occurring on Thursdays. When asked about the authenticity of the story-lines used in the episodes, Shaprio claimed "We're sticklers for maintaining the purity we do have in terms of how little we interfere with the lives of the 12 people in our house. Once they go in, we don't touch 'em. How they behave is entirely up to them." This was the second season that required viewers to pay for the live feeds, which were $9.95 per month following a free two-week trial; the feeds were yet again available through RealPlayer. The feeds launched following the premiere episode, with the first few days in the house not being aired. Along with the television series, CBS announced a fantasy game in which players would make a team of HouseGuests and earn points when a member of their time did certain things in the game. On April 25, Julie Chen confirmed that she would return as host for the series. Casting for the season began in April 2002. Due to controversies surrounding the second season, this round of applications involved more in depth questions about previous arrests or legal troubles. Following the incident that resulted in the expulsion of Justin Sebik the prior year, Arnold Shapiro stated "We're as certain as humanly possible, certain as we can be, that we've got 12 people who understand that the threat of violence, or violence itself, zero tolerance." Thom Bierdz, a cast member of the soap opera The Young and the Restless and Rob Cesternino, who would later appear on Survivor: The Amazon were among the over 5,000 applicants for Big Brother 3. The twelve competing HouseGuests were set to be revealed on July 5, five days before the series premiered. Despite this, Entertainment Weekly leaked the cast the day prior. The HouseGuests entered the house on July 6. On the new cast, Shapiro stated "I don’t want to insult last year’s [cast], but this group is gonna make bathing-suit time worth watching [...] we have some