“Houseguests, the votes are in. When I reveal the vote, the evicted houseguest will have just a few moments to say their goodbyes, gather his or her belongings, and walk out the front door.”

Those are words Big Brother fans have heard host Julie Chen Moonves say on eviction night for nearly two decades at this point. But the newest twist on season 21 of the summer reality show puts a turn on tradition, as no one will be leaving out the front door for quite some time.

Related: Meet the Houseguests Competing on Big Brother 21

As revealed in tonight’s eviction episode, those who suffer the misfortune of being evicted by their fellow houseguests are not out of the game, nor out of the house. Instead, they’ll move into a new room upstairs, transferring from Camp B.B. to Camp Comeback. While they’re still treated as an evicted houseguest, unable to participate in any competitions or votes, they’ll still be living in the house with those left in the game. After a while, the first four eliminated houseguests, which currently include photographer David Alexander and the recently evicted Ovi Kabir, will compete to earn an official spot back in the house. How will the evicted behave around those who voted them out? And how will the active players move around the house knowing ghosts of votes past linger?

Parade.com sat down with executive producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan to talk more about the twist.

What inspired the Camp Comeback twist?

Rich Meehan: Before every season, around February, we try to think of what the creative is going to be for the summer. We wanted to do something that looked different and felt different, which is why we came up with the camp theme. Then we brainstormed, and this came from this idea of “What if the evicted houseguests didn’t leave and could still play the social game while not playing the physical game?” We thought it would be an interesting dynamic that the houseguests have never had to deal with before. They never had to live with someone they just evicted. We’re in season 21, so we’re always asking how we can come up with something new and different. This is something that feels fresh and put a spin on the game.

Allison Grodner: What are the social ramifications? At its heart, Big Brother is a social experiment. What will that do to the dynamic? It’s going to be incredibly interesting and fun for people to watch. It played out one way tonight, which was a blindside for both the evicted houseguest and the house at large. But after that, it will be interesting to see the choices they make. How do they play the game knowing that person that they vote out will be staying in the house?

This season also had the banishment twist in the first couple of days that sent David out of the house, albeit temporarily. Was that planned after you had decided on Camp Comeback?

Meehan: Camp Comeback was the first twist we landed on and really liked for this season. When we came up with the banishment on opening night, we knew at that point that whoever left would have a chance to return to the game and move back into the house. It’s always tough to see someone leave on opening night, but we knew this person was going to be returning to the house, so it felt a little better.

How much will the evicted houseguests have free reign of the house?

Meehan: For most of their time in the house, they’ll be able to roam and participate in all the social things going on. The big thing is that they can’t participate in any competitions or vote on eviction night. They are out of the game; they’re just living inside the house.

On the note of competitions, this week you had houseguests sign up for one of three weeks to participate in the new weekly “Whacktivity Competition.” If an evicted houseguest had their week to play come up, would they still not be able to participate?

Grodner: As an evicted houseguest, they’re living in the house, but are not in the game.

Meehan: So if someone’s signed up for the Whacktivity Competition on Week 3, but they’re evicted in Week 2, they won’t play.

Though they can’t play, they do have information from their time in the house. How do you anticipate the evicted houseguests using that to their advantage?

Grodner: They have a huge amount of knowledge. I wonder if now that they’re on the outside, they’re more eager to spread that knowledge. They can get information; they can talk to whoever they want; they can expose things. They can still form alliances with people, even though they have no power to nominate, veto or vote. But there’s a possibility they could in the future if they’re the one to come back. Could someone be so bitter that they choose to mess with everyone in the house? Each one of these people has a different strategy as to how to handle that.

The reveal of Camp Comeback threw a wrench into the traditional moment where the evicted houseguest walks out the front door. What will the routine be like from now on?

Meehan: Well, they definitely won’t be leaving the house. Julie will instead announce who’s evicted out of the game and moving into Camp Comeback.

Grodner: They’ll be making a different walk, moving their stuff up the stairs into Camp Comeback once Julie reveals the votes.

The evicted houseguests will be sleeping in Camp Comeback. Are there other times when they will they be sequestered upstairs?

Meehan: Any time there’s a ceremony or a competition, they have to stay upstairs in Camp Comeback. They’ll then watch the action on an old black-and-white television.

Speaking of decor, can you speak a bit about the design of the Camp Comeback room?

Meehan: We imagined taking the worst summer camp cabin and making it into something very Big Brother. There are multiple places to sleep, but each place is bad to sleep on for a different reason. It’s not very nice or comfortable.

Grodner: It’s a camp cabin in need of a comeback. [Laughs.]

How much information do the evicted houseguests know about the opportunity to return?

Meehan: They’re not told how it’s going to happen; that’s something we’re going to hold onto.

How do you anticipate this twist is going to affect gameplay?

Grodner: It will be interesting to see. Big Brother can sometimes be played quite ruthlessly. We’ll see if that continues or if there’s a different way to vote people out. Or who they even vote out, depending on who they want to put in the fight to get back in. It’s a big unknown that I think will make for an interesting dynamic. It won’t last the entire summer, but it should certainly shake things up.

After the one evicted person officially returns to the game, do the other members of Camp Comeback then leave the house?

Meehan: When that one person gets back into the house, the others will leave. It will be a crazy, crazy exit night because there will be three people leaving the game at once.

Grodner: And three people to talk to Julie!

If you were in the position of a Comeback camper, what would be your strategy to plan your hopeful return?

Grodner: I would go to work with the social game, attempting to infiltrate an alliance and continuing the relationship building. I think that will be really, really important. If someone hangs back and decides to float their way through this as an evicted houseguest, they’re going to get easily tossed back. You want to make sure that if you do make it back in, they don’t want to evict you afterward. You almost want to make it seem like you’re still in the game, so you’re not easily expendable when you come back in.

Meehan: You need to make yourself a number somewhere on some side of the house. You need some group of people to care about you. Now that you get to stay in the house and continue to build your relationships, you need to have people on your side.

On the other side of things, how would you play as an active houseguest knowing whoever you eliminate will still be in the house?

Meehan: It comes down to everyone’s individual personality. Some people may not care, saying, “We’re getting rid of who we want to get rid of. Only one is going to get back in, so it doesn’t matter.” Some people might try to play it safe, getting rid of people who won’t be as vindictive or difficult to live with. But it’s different for everyone.