The Traitors (also known as The Traitors US outside of the United States) is an American reality competition series based on the Dutch series De Verraders. It is hosted by the Scottish actor Alan Cumming.[1] The first season was released on Peacock on January 12, 2023. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, and the first three episodes were released on January 12, 2024.[2][3] In February 2024, the show was renewed for a third season.[4] In August 2024, the show was renewed for two additional seasons taking it through season 5.[5]
Following the premise of other versions of De Verraders, the show features a group of contestants participating in a game similar to the party game Mafia – in which a small group of contestants become the titular "Traitors" and must work together to eliminate the other contestants in order to win the grand prize. The remaining contestants are "Faithfuls" and are tasked to discover and banish the Traitors by voting them out in order to win the grand prize.
The American show is closely related to its British counterpart, with both being produced by Studio Lambert for the BBC and Peacock. They share the same location, props, and missions, with the main difference being the hosts.[6]
A group of contestants arrive at a castle in the Scottish Highlands with hopes of winning a large cash prize that is built up through missions. In season one there were 20 contestants, while in season two there were 22 contestants. The players are referred to as the "Faithful" but among them are the "Traitors" – a group of contestants selected by the host, whose goal is to eliminate the Faithfuls and claim the prize for themselves. Should the Faithful contestants eliminate all the Traitors, they will share the prize fund, but if any Traitors make it to the end, they steal the money.
Most nights, the Traitors come together and decide upon one Faithful contestant to "murder" and that person leaves the game immediately. The remaining Faithful contestants do not know who has been eliminated until the following day when that person does not enter the castle for breakfast. The first murder takes place before the first banishment. After that the murders usually take place after the banishments. The group then takes part in a mission to add money to the prize fund. Some challenges also offer an opportunity for players to visit the Armory where one player is secretly awarded the shield which gives the player immunity from being murdered, but not from the banishment vote. An attempted murder on the shield holder will result in no player being eliminated.
At the end of each day, the players participate in the Round Table, where they discuss who to vote out before individually voting for a player to be banished. Players cast their votes privately then reveal their votes in turn to everyone. They may give a brief rationale for their vote. The person who received the most votes is eliminated and reveals their affiliation. When a Traitor is eliminated, the remaining Traitors are given the opportunity to recruit another player.[8][9]
Once the game has reached the final four, the remaining players participate in the final challenge. The players are given a choice to "Banish Again" or to "End Game." A unanimous "End Game" vote concludes the game, while a single vote to "Banish Again" results in another banishment vote, followed by another choice between "Banish Again" or "End Game." When the game ends, if all remaining players are Faithful, then the prize money is divided evenly among them. However, if any Traitors remain, they win the entire pot.
In the United Kingdom, the series was acquired by the BBC as a companion to its British version, with episodes released on BBC iPlayer the day after the American release, January 13, 2023, and linear television airings for BBC Three and BBC One.[10][11]
In Australia, the series was made available to stream on 10 Play in March 2023, as a companion to the Australia version broadcast by Network 10.[12]
Sponsored by State Farm, it was announced that during the second season that a new web program named The Traitors Postmortem would be introduced, an after-show program featuring additional footage and interviews with eliminated contestants that would air on Peacock and on Peacock's YouTube channel.[15]
Reception
Television ratings
The Traitors became the number one original reality series on the streamer,[2] with the premiere of the season being BBC Three's most-watched show since the relaunch of its linear television.[16]
Mike Cotton, Toni Ireland, Sam Rees-Jones, Stephen Lambert, Jack Burgess and Tim Harcourt, Ben Cook, Joe Evans, Laura Gallen, Chris Mannion, Emma Carroll and Deena Katz, Zoe Duerden and Alan Cumming
