The first season of The Traitors premiered on Prime Video on 12 June 2025, with Karan Johar as the host. The season concluded on 3 July 2025, with Nikita Luther and Uorfi Javed winning the inaugural season as Innocents.
Format A group of contestants arrive at the palace in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan with hopes of winning a large cash prize of ₹1 crore that is built up through missions. The players are referred to as the "Innocents", but among them are the "Traitors" — a group of contestants secretly selected by the host. If the Innocents eliminate all the Traitors, they will share the prize fund. However, if any Traitors manage to make it to the end, eliminating the Innocents, they win the entire prize money.
The contestants participate in missions to build up their cash prize. In some missions, any contestant may also win a ‘shield’ that grants them immunity from the subsequent murder.
On most nights, The Traitors meet in a secret tower to decide on an Innocent contestant to ‘murder,’ who is then immediately eliminated from the game. The remaining Innocents are unaware of who has been eliminated until the following morning, when that person fails to appear at the breakfast table in the castle.
At the end of each day, the players gather at the ‘Circle of Shaq,’ where they discuss whom to vote out before individually casting their votes. Players vote privately, then reveal their choices one by one, often giving a brief rationale for their decision. The player who receives the most votes is banished from the game and reveals their affiliation. If during the game the number of ‘Traitors’ drops to two, they are given the choice to recruit an Innocent to join them instead of murdering.
After the final Circle of Shaq, the remaining players participate in the End Game. The group are given an opportunity to end the game by unanimous vote. Any vote to continue will lead to another immediate banishment vote. When a unanimous decision is reached to end the game — or when there are only two players left — the remaining players reveal their affiliation. If all remaining players are Innocents, then the prize money is divided evenly among them. However, if any Traitors remain, they win the entire prize money.
Production The first official teaser was posted on Prime Video's social media on 17 September 2024, announcing that filming had begun. Later on 30 May 2025, the official trailer of season 1 was released with the premiere date of 12 June 2025.
Contestants 20 contestants competed on the first series of The Traitors. In a minor twist, Anshula and Maheep have a pre-existing relationship, as Maheep is Anshula’s paternal aunt.
Elnaaz was chosen by the rest of the players as the least trustworthy and she chose Nikita to be eliminated from the game on arrival at the castle in Episode 1. However, Nikita re-entered to the show in Episode 3. +List of The Traitors contestantsContestantAgeNotabilityAffiliationFinish Sahil Salathia 35 ActorInnocent Murdered Raj Kundra 50 Actor & entrepreneurTraitorBanished(Episode 2) Lakshmi Manchu 47 Actress & producerInnocent Murdered Karan Kundrra 39 ActorInnocent Banished(Episode 3) Mukesh Chhabra 40 Casting directorInnocent Murdered Maheep Kapoor 52 Reality show starInnocentBanished(Episode 4) Ashish Vidyarthi 59 ActorInnocent Banished(Episode 5) Raftaar 36 MusicianInnocent Banished(Episode 6) Janvi Gaur 50 AstrologerInnocent Murdered Elnaaz Norouzi 28 ActressTraitorBanished(Episode 7) Sufi Motiwala 21 Content creatorInnocent MurderedAnshula Kapoor34Content creatorInnocentBanished(Episode 8) Jannat Zubair Rahmani 24 ActressInnocent Murdered Apoorva Mukhija"The Rebel Kid" 23 Content creatorInnocent Banished(Episode 9) Jasmin Bhasin 34 ActressInnocent Murdered Purav Jha 23 YouTuberTraitorBanished(Episode 10) Sudhanshu Pandey 51 Actor & ModelInnocent Banished(Episode 10) Harsh Gujral 34 Stand-up comedianInnocent Banished(Episode 10)Traitor Urfi Javed 27 Reality show star Innocent Winner(Episode 10)Nikita Luther34Poker player Innocent Winner(Episode 10)
Elimination history Key The contestant was a Innocent. The contestant was a Traitor. The contestant was murdered by the Traitors. The contestant was banished at the round table. The contestant was immune for the banishment and subsequent murder.
Episode2345678910Traitor'sdecisionSahilLakshmiMukeshNikitaAnshulaHarshJanviUorfiJanviSufiHarshJannatJasmin Murder Recruit OnTrial Murder Murder Blackmail MurderShieldNotIntroducedHarshSufi colspan="2" Jannat colspan="4" BanishmentRajKaranMaheepAshishRaftaarElnaazAnshulaApoorvaPuravVote15-2-111-3-27-5-2-19-1-1-1-1-18-4-1 5-2-1-1 5-3 4-1NikitaExiledNotEligibleJanviAnshulaSufiAnshula UorfiApoorvaPuravUorfiRajKaranMaheepAshishSufiElnaaz AnshulaApoorvaPuravHarshRajKaranRaftaarAshishRaftaarElnaaz AnshulaApoorvaPuravSudhanshuRajKaranRaftaarAshishRaftaarPurav HarshApoorvaPuravPuravRajJasminMaheepAshishSufiElnaaz AnshulaHarshHarshSudhanshuJasminRajMaheepMaheepApoorvaRaftaarElnaaz ApoorvaApoorvaMurderedApoorvaRajKaranMaheepAshishRaftaarSufi AnshulaHarshBanished(Episode 9)JannatRajKaranMaheepAshishRaftaar Elnaaz AnshulaMurdered(Episode 9)AnshulaRajKaranRaftaarAshishApoorvaPurav HarshBanished(Episode 8)SufiRajKaranRaftaarRaftaarRaftaarPuravMurdered(Episode 8)ElnaazRajJasminJanviAshishRaftaarUorfiBanished(Episode 7)JanviRajMaheepRaftaarAshishRaftaarMurdered(Episode 7)RaftaarRajKaranMaheepSufiSufiBanished(Episode 6)AshishRajKaranMaheepElnaazBanished(Episode 5)MaheepJanviKaranAshishBanished(Episode 4)MukeshRajKaranMurdered(Episode 4)KaranRajMaheepBanished(Episode 3)LakshmiAshishMurdered(Episode 3)RajAshishBanished(Episode 2)SahilMurdered(Episode 2)
End game DecisionBanishSudhanshuBanishHarshrowspan="2" VoteNikitaShaqSudhanshuShaqHarshWinnerUorfiShaqSudhanshuShaqHarshWinnerHarshTrustSudhanshuTrustNikitaBanishedSudhanshuTrustUorfiBanishedPuravBanished
Notes
Missions EpisodeMoneyavailableMoneyearnedTotalpotShield1₹18,00,000₹0₹0Not Introduced Nineteen players boarded a train with three compartments — two compartments had six players each, and the third had seven players. Each group of players was tasked with solving three clues. For every correct answer, ₹2,00,000 would be added to their total prize pot. However, all three groups had to complete their guesses before the train reached its final destination. If any group failed to do so, the entire prize would be forfeited.2 ₹15,00,000 ₹5,10,000₹5,10,000Not Introduced Five players had to nominate themselves to be strapped to a revolving wheel, while the remaining contestants answered superlative style questions. Each player on the wheel also had to answer the same questions. For every answer that matched the majority choice of the group, money was added to the prize pot. Apoorva, Elnaaz, Jannat, Jasmin, and Sufi were selected to ride the wheel.3 ₹15,00,000 ₹8,55,000₹13,65,000 Harsh The players were asked to select two team captains. They chose Anshula and Ashish. Team Anshula: Apoorva, Elnaaz, Jasmin, Maheep, Purav, Raftaar, Sudhanshu Team Ashish: Harsh, Jannat, Janvi, Karan, Mukesh, Sufi, Uorfi
Each team had to dig through a mud pile to find gold nuggets, each worth ₹30,000. The nuggets then had to be transported across a body of water to a weighing scale within a 10-minute time limit. The total value collected by both teams was added to the prize pot.
The winning team also earned a shield, which they could award to one member of their own team. They mutually decided to give the shield to Harsh.4 ₹7,50,000 ₹15,00,000₹28,65,000 Sufi The Traitors were given a secret mission, To double the prize money of the challenge by secretly placing axes bearing the Traitors’ seal hidden throughout the palace walls into a chest located in the lounge area.Players were tasked with digging up hidden gold bars and delivering them to Karan Johar, all while avoiding moving spotlights. If anyone was caught in the spotlight, they were immediately eliminated from the task, and any money they were carrying was forfeited. Adding an extra layer of strategy, three graves contained shields that could protect contestants from a murder, but only one shield was successfully retrieved, by Sufi.
Elnaaz completed the secret mission successfully, securing the reward and doubling the earnings ₹7,50,000 in the following mission.5 ₹10,00,000 ₹0 ₹28,65,000 The players were asked to divide into two groups. Group 1: Anshula, Elnaaz, Jannat, Janvi, Nikita, Raftaar, Uorfi Group 2: Apoorva, Ashish, Harsh, Jasmin, Purav, Sudhanshu, Sufi
Each group had to spend 30-minutes in their respective room with a Red Button and a phone connecting the two rooms.
Option 1: If no group presses the Red Button, they earn ₹10,00,000. Option 2: If any one group presses the Red Button, that group will get an opportunity to get shields and earn ₹10,00,000. Option 3: If both groups press the Red Button, they lose the opportunity to get shields and also lose ₹10,00,000.
Both groups pressed the red button; neither the shields nor the money were earned.6 ₹15,00,000 ₹14,40,000 ₹43,05,000 Split into two groups, the players embarked on separate hikes to find gold bars. Alongside this task, they were given an opportunity to save a player ‘on trial’ from being murdered that night.
Group 1: Apoorva, Jannat, Nikita, Sudhanshu, Sufi Group 2: Elnaaz, Jasmin, Purav, Raftaar
During the hike, both groups had to answer a series of questions. These same questions had been asked earlier to the Traitors. Each question offered two possible answers, represented by scarecrows. If the key attached to a chosen scarecrow unlocked a box, it meant the group’s answer matched that of the Traitors.
After correctly answering all the questions, the groups reached a field of scarecrows—some of which contained gold bars, and some nothing at all. The players then had to place the collected gold bars in front of one of the players on trial: Anshula, Harsh, Janvi, or Uorfi, to determine who would be saved from murder.
₹14,40,000 was added to the prize pot from this mission. Uorfi received the most gold bars and was ultimately saved from murder that night.7₹25,00,000₹5,00,000₹48,05,000JannatFor this mission, players were randomly paired up. Due to an uneven number of participants, Nikita sat out.
Each pair had seven steps between them, and the objective was to drop a bag on one of the steps of their choice within 10 seconds on a step.
Step 1: Add 2 Lakhs to the prize pot Step 2: Take 10 Lakhs for self Step 3: Shield for self Step 4: Add 5 Lakhs to the prize pot
Step 1–3 were mirrored for each individual, but Step 4 was a shared reward. Prior to the attempt, each pair was given just 1 minute to discuss and strategize among themselves. Jasmin & Sufi: Sufi dropped the bag on Step 2 and took ₹10,00,000 for himself. Purav & Sudhanshu: Both dropped their bag on Step 4 and added ₹5,00,000 to the prize pot. Apoorva & Jannat: Jannat dropped the bag on Step 3 and earned Shield for herself. Anshula & Harsh: Anshula dropped the bag on Step 2 and took ₹10,00,000 for herself. Elnaaz & Uorfi: Elnaaz dropped the bag on Step 2 and took ₹10,00,000 for herself. In the end, ₹5,00,000 was added to the prize pot from this mission.8₹7,00,000₹5,00,000₹53,05,000 Prior to this day, the Traitor had secretly poisoned one of the Innocents during the previous night’s party. Over the course of this mission, the players uncover who among them had been murdered.
In the first stage, six out of ten players were instructed to drop a clay pot into a well. If green smoke emerged, the player was deemed safe; if red smoke emerged, the player was considered unsafe.
Safe: Anshula, Jannat, Purav Unsafe: Apoorva, Harsh, Uorfi
In the next stage, the unsafe players and the remaining players (those who hadn’t participated in the pot test) had to walk through a group of "Rudaalis" (professional mourners). If a lady stopped a player, it confirmed their unsafe status. Safe: Jasmin, Harsh, Nikita, Sudhanshu Unsafe: Apoorva, Uorfi, Sufi