The Traitors: Which Seasons to Watch, Which to Skip
The Traitors is finally back! The third season of the hit Peaecock reality TV competition show premiered earlier this month, with episodes releasing weekly on Thursdays at 9 PM ET. I was obsessed with this franchise last year, binging five seasons across three different international versions (I’m telling ya, it’s addicting). If you’re unfamiliar with The Traitors, it’s basically a reality TV version of the party games Mafia or Werewolf. Contestants are secretly assigned roles as Faithfuls or Traitors, with Faithfuls working together to find and vote out (banish) the traitors, and the Traitors getting to eliminate (murder) Faithfuls every night, all while working together in daily challenges to increase the grand prize. Shields are often available to win during challenges, which protect players from murder. If the Faithfuls can make it to the finale, they share the prize pot. But if even one Traitor is still standing, they take the prize money all for themselves.
The franchise started as a Dutch TV show called De Verraders in 2021 and has since branched out into 30 different international versions. And I’m here to tell you which ones you should check out. Each version has its own mix of celebrities, reality TV stars, and regular everyday people (“normies”)–which gives each their own unique flavor. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to watch every single version out there because only a handful are available to stream on Peacock. So I will only be speaking from the American perspective and what’s available on Peacock: The Traitors (aka The Traitors US), The Traitors UK, The Traitors Australia, and The Traitors NZ (aka The Traitors New Zealand).
SEASONS TO SKIP:
The Traitors US Season 1 (11 Episodes)
This is the first season of any Traitors I had seen. It’s not bad by any means, but compared to the other seasons I talk about later in this post, it’s not one you need to see. Interestingly, this season features a cast of reality TV stars and celebrities, and normies. You may recognize contestants who were stars of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Summer House, Big Brother, Survivor, The Bachelorette, Below Deck, and Shahs of Sunset. And there’s also Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte! I don’t think the stars jived well with the cast of normies, the normies took everything so personally, the challenges were lame, and there wasn’t much good or memorable gameplay from the cast, which is why I think it’s okay to skip this. But it does introduce us to host Alan Cumming, who’s so fun and fashionable. It’s also worth mentioning that the finale is memorable and dramatic (and controversial?), and I think still, to this day, at least one of the cast members is still mad at another because of what went down in that finale.
The Traitors NZ Season 1 (10 Episodes)
I, unfortunately, found this to be the worst installment of The Traitors, and the least entertaining one. I think this is due to the fact that the show feels cheaper than the other international versions. (The prize money is hilariously low.) And that’s probably just a cultural thing! On one hand, the New Zealand version has its charms because its setting and challenges are smaller in scale, the contestants are much nicer, and it features the most non-white contestants of any installment. But, ultimately, this version is a skip because the challenges were too boring, the gameplay was neither interesting nor challenging, and everyone being so nice meant there was less drama.
SEASONS TO WATCH:
The Traitors US Season 2 (12 Episodes)
The second season of the American version is when the show really took off and made a mark on American pop culture. It even unseated RuPaul’s Drag Race when it won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program last year! (Drag Race won it five times, four consecutively!) This season wisely got rid of the normies, featuring a cast entirely comprised of reality TV stars (The Real World, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Dancing with the Stars, Love Island USA, Love Island UK, The Real Housewives of Miami, The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Big Brother, Survivor, Bling Empire, The Bachelorette, Below Deck, and Shahs of Sunset), with a couple other misc. contestants (a professional athlete, fashion entrepreneur, and former Speaker of the United Kingdom House of Commons). Because the season features people who have been on reality TV before, everyone has big personalities, and they all know how to work the camera and entertain for TV. Another interesting dynamic that a cast of well-known people adds is that everyone comes with preconceived notions of each other, or preexisting relationships with one another, that can impact biases and cause tension. The season features good strategy and gameplay among Faithfuls (finally, someone was smart enough to use shields strategically), dramatic twists (“murdering” someone in plain sight!), an emotional finale, and has probably the most iconic Traitor yet!
The Traitors UK Season 1 (12 Episodes)
The Traitors UK has a cast of all normies: from students to scientists to authors, and even a magician! This season is effective at showing why a cast of normies can still be impactful, as one of the contestants is missing a hand and can use the prize money towards a prosthetic. It’s meaningful shit! There are a couple twists, including the fact that two of the contestants are actually dating, but neither one disclosed it to the other players. This season is great because it also has strong gameplay and strategy among the Faithfuls and Traitors, but it’s also probably the most emotional season. There’s so much crying from both men and women–and even the host! Although this season didn’t have a winner (or winners?) that felt satisfying, the finale was still very dramatic (in a good way) and entertaining. I wasn’t sure what to think about the show’s host, broadcaster Claudia Winklman, but she quickly grew on me, despite having a completely different energy compared to Alan Cumming.
The Traitors UK Season 2 (12 Episodes)
This season, again, has a cast of normies, including a secret mother and son duo, and someone who claims to be clairvoyant–which adds an interesting element to a show all about lies and deception. The season features two of the best, most psychopathic traitors I’d ever seen. Unlike versions with celebrities and reality TV stars, the ones with normies have Faithfuls who use logic and reason, which makes it so satisfying to watch. And similar to The Traitors US Season 1, the finale is incredibly emotional and heartbreaking, likely ruining a genuine friendship along the way.
The Traitors Australia Season 1 (12 Episodes)
The first season of The Traitors Australia features a cast of all normies. It helps that everyone is a normie because the prize money is more compelling, and the stakes feel higher. The season is interesting because it features unique individuals, like a hostage negotiator (who’s been held hostage before), a contestant who quits and just walks off the show, and some guy named Paul who’s hilariously edited out of the show except for when it’s impossible to do so, like when he’s in the background of a crucial scene or interacting with an important player. Paul, what did you do?! (Here’s a theory.) Like all the good seasons, the strategic gameplay this season is so good, constantly leaving me at the edge of my seat. It also has a memorable Traitor with a legendary series of murders, and an incredibly suspenseful and iconic finale! The only downside of the Australian version of the show is its host, actor Rodger Corser, who’s kind of a bore.
The Traitors Australia Season 2 (9 Episodes)
Unlike its first season, the second season of The Traitors Australia has a mix of normies and celebrities, including stars from Australian Survivor and Below Deck. This season is very entertaining but the reason why it’s worth watching is the complete opposite of the others I’ve recommended—The Traitors Australia Season 2 features the dumbest, most frustrating group of Faithfuls I’ve ever seen (which makes for great television). There’s a Traitor this season who was so close to getting caught time and time again (and, in my opinion, played a sloppy game), yet they somehow manage to escape banishment at the last minute because of the stupidity of the Faithfuls. It’s so frustrating to watch, but also so hilarious. This season also has a Traitor who becomes a new reality TV villain, not because they’re a great strategist or because they have good TV presence, but because they have an awful personality. And the finale of this season is probably the best one I’ve seen, a result that hasn’t happened in any of the other seasons. It’s jaw-dropping!
