It’s a common internet pastime to interpret other humans’ body language, facial expressions, and speech any way we want, usually to confirm our assumptions about them or for our own frivolous pleasure. The most innocuous outcome of this is usually the spread of funny reaction memes. Other times, it can lead to ruthless stans attacking a woman for seemingly annoying Beyoncé, or obsessively speculating whether Justin Bieber is cruel to his wife based on paparazzi footage. It’s a fairly logical response to staring at images of other people all day, but at a certain point it becomes unhealthy and even toxic.
The Traitors, a new reality competition show now streaming on Peacock, could very well be some sort of commentary on this potentially dangerous human instinct. In the case of this show, at least, there’s a monetary incentive for the cast of competitors who assume the worst in each other based on how they talk or their lack of eye contact. (On the other hand, I got no compensation for trying to decipher whether Harry Styles and Chris Pine were feuding on the Don’t Worry Darling press tour last year.)
Here’s the premise: Imagine if you had all the money and resources to invite your friends to the Scottish Highlands for an elaborate, multi-day game of Mafia, with actor Alan Cumming there to give you instructions and dole out fancy Eyes Wide Shut cloaks for your crew. The Traitors is a deceit-based game where a bunch of reality stars and a few lay people—and Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, for some inexplicable reason—are split into two groups and essentially have to kill (eliminate) each other before members of the opposing group make it to the end.
In the first episode, the contestants—including Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Brandi Glanville, Below Deck’s Kate Chastain, Shahs of Sunset’s Reza Farahan, Big Brother’s Cody Calafiore, and The Bachelor’s Arie Luyendyk Jr.—arrive at the Ardross Castle in giant SUVs, where Cumming, in traditional Scottish attire, is there to greet them and explain the game. The majority of competitors will play as “faithfuls” and must suss out the few among them who have been selected as “traitors.” Meanwhile, the “traitors” try their best not to blow their cover and misguide the “faithfuls.”
Additionally, the “traitors” meet every night to decide which suspecting player they want to “murder”/send home in order to shrink their chances of being outed. The entire group competes in daily challenges to add money to their cash prize pot of $250,000. They also vote at the end of each episode for one person who they think is a “traitor.” The most satisfying part is when the eliminated player gets to stand in the “Circle of Truth” and reveal their actual status to astonished, even tearful faces.
As Cumming told The Daily Beast, the only thing that differentiates “traitors” from “faithfuls” is a tap on the shoulder from him during a blind ceremony—that’s it. Yet there’s plenty of opportunity for rash assumptions based on how competitors behave in challenges, the way they pivot conversations (changing the topic in a discussion is the biggest crime in this game!), or even their celebrity status.
Of course, the producers would only choose the most well-known, most fiery personalities to play the “traitors,” right? I certainly won’t spoil it. But I will say the joy of this competition is that no one quite understands that there’s truly no obvious strategy to the game or immediate telltale signs of someone’s “traitor” status—at least in the first few episodes. Watching the players focus most of their attention on the loudest voices in the room as opposed to the more low-key contestants—like Lochte, who spends his time wandering the halls of the castle and regularly disappears during group conversations—is both frustrating and rewarding when their decisions come back to bite them in the ass.
I was surprised at how much The Traitors instantly gripped me—and not just because one of the competitors is my favorite cast member on Summer House. I’ve personally never been a huge fan of strategy-based competition shows like Big Brother or The Circle. I need to see Crossfit junkies scuffle in a tight hallway on The Challenge, or watch petrified women dodge giant pendulums on a runway on America’s Next Top Model to be amused. But there’s something extremely compelling (and a bit horrifying) about watching human beings in such a high-pressure scenario be forced to act out my worst impulses when I’m being judgmental or trying to create issues where there are none. Sometimes, you can be straight-up wrong. Other times, the powers at be (aka the “traitors” of the world) will “murder” you for having the audacity to use your brain.
The thoughtfully selected cast is obviously a huge part of the show’s winning formula. I haven’t watched Survivor since I was 10, but the ease with which alumna Cirie Fields confuses and deceives players, all the while remaining extremely popular and trustworthy, makes me want to revisit her seasons on the show. Michael Davidson, an attention-grabbing DMV manager, supplies all the attitude and emotion you want in a good reality star. And the mere sight of Glanville running through the woods for a challenge dressed like a Christian Girl Autumn influencer is its own comedy show. Most refreshingly, there isn’t a huge social divide between the television personalities and the hair stylists and yoga instructors cast on the show.
If Americans have good taste, The Traitors will hopefully be the next reality phenomenon to sweep the internet—and keep Peacock up and running, so I can have access to Bravo’s catalog forever. The series, which first launched in the Netherlands in 2021, has already seen success in the U.K. and Australia. Hopefully we’re in for 20 more seasons of this incredibly addictive spinoff.
