The Traitors (American TV series)

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.

Following the premise of De Verraders, the show features a group of contestants participating in a social deduction game similar to Mafia or Werewolf, set in and among the grounds of Ardross Castle in Scotland. During the game, a small group of contestants become the titular "Traitors", and work together to eliminate the other contestants to win a grand prize, while the remaining contestants become "Faithful" and are tasked to discover and banish the Traitors by voting to eliminate them to win the grand prize. While the first season featured civilian contestants and reality television personalities, subsequent seasons exclusively featured reality television personalities and other celebrities.

It is hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming. 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. In February 2024, the show was renewed for a third season. In August 2024, the show was renewed for two additional seasons through season 5. The fifth season, subtitled New Blood, featured the show's first all-civilian cast and premiered on September 17, 2026, on NBC. The sixth season will premiere in January 2027, with a new cast of celebrities. One day before the season 5 premiere, the show was renewed for three additional seasons through season 9.

Format

A group of contestants arrive at a castle in the Scottish Highlands with a goal to win a cash prize that is added through missions. The players are known 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. If the Faithful contestants eliminate all the Traitors, they will share the prize fund, but if any Traitors remain at the end, they steal the money.

Most nights, the Traitors come together meeting in the castle "turret" 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 murders usually occur after the banishments. The group then participate in a mission to add money to the prize fund. Some challenges also offer an opportunity for players to win the "shield" which gives players immunity from being murdered that night, but not from the banishment vote. An attempted murder on the shield holder will result in no player being eliminated.

At the end of most days, the group participates in the Banishment Ceremony, where the players gather at the Round Table to discuss who they want to eliminate before individually voting for a player to banish. Players cast their votes privately before revealing their vote in turn to everyone, as they provide a reason for the vote. The person obtaining the most votes is banished from the game and must reveal their affiliation. Starting from season three, banished players do not reveal their affiliation on the final day. In a tied vote, a run-off vote occurs between those tied with the highest vote tallies. For season 5, if the players banished a Traitor, they would add $15,000 to the pot.

When a Traitor is eliminated, the host sometimes gives the remaining Traitors the opportunity to recruit another player.

End Game

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.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5: New Blood

Season 6

International broadcasts 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. However, since 2024, the series was moved to air in late January as the BBC moved the British version to early January, typically airing in the same slot on BBC Three as the British version.

In Australia, the series was made available to stream on 10 Play in March 2023, as a companion to the Australian version broadcast by Network 10. Starting in 2026, the Peacock edition featuring celebrities is billed in Australia as The Celebrity Traitors US,https://10.com.au/the-celebrity-traitors-us while the civilian New Blood season is billed as The Traitors US.https://10.com.au/the-traitors-us

In Canada, the show is available to stream on Crave. The Canadian version of the series premiered on October 2, 2023 on CTV.

The series, as well as the British, Flemish and Australian versions of the show, are currently available to stream on Videoland in the Netherlands.

Companion series The Traitors Postmortem During the second season, a web program titled The Traitors Postmortem was introduced, an after-show program featuring additional footage and interviews with eliminated contestants, episodes were released on Peacock and on Peacock's YouTube channel.

The Traitors Official Podcast With the season 4 premiere, a companion podcast titled The Traitors Official Podcast was introduced and hosted by season 3 contestants Rob Mariano and Bob the Drag Queen. The podcast premiered on January 8, 2026, with weekly releases of audio and video episodes produced by USG audio. The podcast features guest interviews with the eliminated contestants each episode.

Production To emphasize the show's authentic Scottish Highlands setting at Ardross Castle, production utilizes live traditional musicians to frame dramatic events, missions, and contestant arrivals. Among the local musicians featured on-screen is James Mackenzie, Dingwall, a veteran bagpiper from Ross and Cromarty who performs with the Alness Pipe Band. Known for his mastery of traditional pibroch (classical pipe music), Mackenzie is dressed in traditional Highland attire, including the Mackenzie tartan, to provide the show's distinct, tense auditory backdrop.

The American show is a sister show to the British version, with both being produced by Studio Lambert for the BBC and Peacock. They both feature the same location, props, and missions, with the main difference being the hosts and the contestants.

Reception Television ratings The Traitors became the number one original reality series on the streamer, with the premiere of the season being BBC Three's most-watched show since the relaunch of its linear television channel.

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ref. The Astra Awards 2023 Best Streaming Reality or Competition Series The Traitors Critics' Choice Real TV Awards 2023Best Competition Series 2024 Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series Best Show HostAlan Cumming Male Star of the Year Female Star of the Year Phaedra Parks 2025 Best Competition SeriesThe Traitors Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series Best Show HostAlan Cumming Male Star of the Year Dylan Efron Female Star of the Year Gabby Windey MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023 Best Competition Series The Traitors Primetime Emmy Awards 2024 Outstanding Reality Competition Program 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 2025 Mike Cotton, Sam Rees-Jones, Rosie Franks, Stephen Lambert, Jack Burgess and Tim Harcourt, executive producers; Emma Carroll, Zoe Duerden, Laura Gallen, Deena Katz, Chris Mannion and Claire O'Shea, co-executive producers; Alan Cumming, producer 2026 Stephen Lambert, Mike Cotton, Sam Rees-Jones, Rosie Franks, Tim Harcourt, Jack Burgess, Darrell Olsen and Alan Cumming, executive producers; Claire O'Shea, Chris Mannion, Laura Gallen, Zoe Duerden, Emma Carroll, Sarah Pack and Cally Marriage, co-executive producers Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2023 Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program Erin Tomasello, Jazzy Collins, Moira Paris, and Holly Osifat 2024 Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program Siggi Rosen-Rawlings and Matt Wright Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Ben Archard Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program Alan Cumming 2025 Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program Siggi Rosen-Rawlings, Matt Wright, Jack Booth, Alex Bruno, Ned Ellis-Jones, Ollie Green, Quin Jessop, Guy Linton, Joshua Montague, Paul Rudge, James Spencer, Matt Thomson, Alex Took, and Melvin Wright Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Ben Archard Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program Patrick Owen and James Seddon-Brown 2026Outstanding Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series Stuart Frossell, Luke Fuller, Georgia Picton, Alex Robertson, Rosie Westwood, Celina Hodge Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program Siggi Rosen-Rawlings, Matt Wright, Will Antill, Jack Booth, Alex Bruno, Ollie Green, Quin Jessop, Guy Linton, Scott McKee, Joshua Montague, Hazel Palmer, Steve Peters, Paul Rudge, James Spencer, Matt Thomson, Alex Took and Melvin Wright Outstanding Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Programming Sam Spector and Rikki Finlay Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program Patrick Owen and James Seddon-Brown Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Ben Archard Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program Alan Cumming Television Critics Association Awards 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Reality The Traitors 2024 2025

The Traitors (American TV series)

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