Big Brother 2013 premiered last night, and the 14-year-old reality TV series is proving that it still has a few new ideas to play around with.

The newest season of Big Brother introduced us to 16 contestants who are all competing to win $500,000. As in past seasons, the contestants are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world, and half the fun is watching them interact with complete strangers while slowly going mad.

As for the new ideas, the latest season of Big Brother has introduced a new rule that allows three contestants to be nominated for conviction, instead of the usual two. Viewers are also encouraged to participate this time around by voting on which housemate they feel will do the best time around.

The most important element of Big Brother has always been the cast, and this year’s show gathers a wide variety of people from varying walks of life. Below are their respective names, ages and occupations:

For more information on all the contestants, check out their respective bios over on the Big Brother Web site.

If you missed the premiere, here’s what the new house looks like:

Here’s the trailer for the new season:

Big Brother airs on CBS every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST.

[h/t: Reality TV Magazine]