A look at every show I’ve seen haven’t seen.
This is a question my best friend of over three decades asked me the other day. For some context, he introduced me to the US version of The Traitors about a month ago and through little coaxing on my part, my wife is HOOKED! Dare I say it, as hooked as she is on Survivor, a show she would not miss ever!
Who are The Traitors?
Take a group of people (reality celebrities or regular people) and put them in a house, give them missions to win money, but add a twist that they must find a small group of traitors amongst themselves. Usually it’s 2 – 3 traitors in a group of 20+ players. Those who are not secretly chosen to be a traitor are a faithful. Everyone’s job is to work together to add money to the prize pot. But while this is happening the traitors are “murdering” faithfuls every night and faithfuls are given the same opportunity to “banish” a player before nightfall in the hopes of getting rid of the traitors. Should even ONE traitor be amongst them in the end of the game they take ALL of the money. If the faithfuls manage to get all the traitors out then they split the money.
WARNING:
If you have not seen this show but want to, STOP READING HERE as I fully intend on spilling spoilers throughout this review!
The Traitors US
Season 1 I could tell was clearly a major test season. A mix of reality celebrities and regular people. A great idea in theory but horrible in practice. The reality stars are used to backstabbing and lying and playing the traitor game while the regular people just aren’t and therefore take things a bit too personal. I’d say the show learned a lot after the first season when the winner ended up crushing the very souls of those who came up losing. If you’ve never seen Survivor before then you may not be familiar with Cirie. She was pretty bad ass on that show and even more on The Traitors as a traitor. She played everybody and got away with it right up until the end when the two faithfuls, and non-reality players, were left to realize just how duped they were. It really was a masterful game played even if the non-reality players took it way too seriously and were hurt by all the lies.
But The Traitors is ALL about the lies, and the drama, so when it came to Season 2, the US decided to do away with bringing on regular people and doubled down on reality tv celebrities. My wife and I both felt like our minds had melted from all the absolute and utter drama that came out of that second season. It was a lot to take in but like every other reality television show, the editing was marvelous. It kept us coming back for more each time to the point where we were watching two and three episodes a night to fast track out way through it. This season actually ended in a pretty, I feel, shitty way. It took a turn that I saw coming about halfway through and in many ways it made me see why maybe having an all reality show cast might not make for the best television. I see why they chose this route, it brings the eyeballs, but wait till we get to the other countries. I think they prove that reality tv isn’t everything.
I want to say one last note about the host of this show. It is filmed at Ardross Castle, a 19th-century castle in the Scottish Highlands, and the host is none other than Alan Cumming. Best known for broadway performances and I loved him in The Good Wife. He’s brilliant. He’s over the top. His fashion is beyond reproach. I look to him as the ultimate Traitor host but I’m trying to be open-minded when it comes to the different personalities of the other hosts as well.
The Traitors UK
Now, my wife and I are right at the end of Season 1, with just one episode left to see who the winner(s) will be. The first and most obvious thing up front is that the players are all regular people. Sure, there is one actress, dear, sweet, Maddy. It took me a really long time to find her IMDb page but yes, I can confirm she was a homeless person in East Enders. Anyway, watching this season, and maybe it’s just because they’re all British, I am finding the fact that they are all regular people refreshing. A great palette cleanser after the non-stop drama of Season 2 of The Traitors US. It changed nothing about the way the game is played except for the strategizing that the traitors did together. I appreciated how they truly worked together, up to a point, and weren’t trying to back stab each other from the start.
Something else I found interesting is that all of the challenges were the same from The Traitors US. When we realized this we both weren’t sure how we’d feel but in all honesty, I started to get excited about it cause I knew the challenge and couldn’t wait to see how this group would handle them. Because each season will be an entirely different group of people I wouldn’t be mad if Season 2 and 3 reused the same challenges. I also suspect they did this for budgetary reasons but now that the show is growing in popularity they will be able to expand and introduce brand new challenges for each country that we haven’t seen.
Having not watched the end of Season 1 I hope the traitor(s) don’t win. My favorite player, a traitor, was just thrown under the bus by their fellow traitor and I’m gutted. Emotions are raw in my mind at how it all went down. Yes, Will played and is playing a great game. But Amanda was my girl and she deserved to shock them all and be there in the end.
About the host. Claudia Winkleman is best known for Strictly Come Dancing which she has been a part of since 2010. If I’m being honest, I’ve never watched the show so I can’t speak to her personality there. In the beginning I was indifferent towards her rather stoic personality. I couldn’t read her quite as well because she seems to always have a rather straight face on. Then I realized I was comparing her to Alan Cumming and that just isn’t fair to her. I am starting to warm to her as the game continues and now that we are one away she is truly bad ass and I can’t wait to see her in Season 2.
The Traitors Australia, NZ & Canada
I am putting all three of these together because I haven’t gotten to watch them yet. But my wife and I have every intention of getting through them as we kill time till the next season of The Traitors US returns in 2025. I’m most excited for each one for so many different reasons:
Australia for their accents. I just love a great Aussie accent, don’t you? And I believe this show takes place in a creepy large hotel rather than a castle like the others.
NZ for their vulgarity. I thought the UK was vulgar after watching The Taskmaster. But then we watched The Taskmaster NZ and realized the original is pretty clean and tame in comparison. So bring on the cursing shenanigans NZ. I know you won’t disappoint.
Canada will introduce another female host of the show so that should be exciting. I’m also looking forward to one of the reality show celebrities that will be in their first season, a previous winner of Survivor. I’m not sure if the first season mimics that of The Traitors US season one where it’s a mix of reality show and regular people.
AM I A TRAITOR OR A FAITHFUL?
You didn’t think I’d write all this up without answering the damn question in the end did you? I wouldn’t do that!
My instinct was to say “I am a traitor” but then I had a good long think to myself. What I love most about all the mystery books and tv shows I watch isn’t the villian but the person who is solving the crime. Putting together the clues to uncover who the murderer is.
So, while the idea of being a traitor is intriguing, I have to be honest and say, “I AM A FAITHFUL,” with a caveat…
Should the traitors find themselves one man/woman down, and I am asked to join their ranks? Oh, I would, in a heartbeat!
Make of that answer what you will…
Now, I throw the ball back in your court…
