It feels like a lifetime since the British public were glued to their TVs for The Traitors season 2, waiting to see what name poor Molly would write down on her blackboard. Thankfully, UK fans can fill the void slightly with season 2 of the US counterpart, which recently dropped on BBC iPlayer.
While the American version retains the same extravagant editing style and glorious setting in Ardross Castle, Scotland, there is one major difference that influences the entire atmosphere of the game – the inclusion of celebrity contestants.
Season 1 of the Peacock reality show, presented by the theatrical Alan Cumming (who slays in every outfit like his UK counterpart, Claudia Winkleman), split the contestants in half by having some as ‘normies’, and the rest as mostly D-list celebrities from reality shows such as Survivor, Below Deck and Big Brother.
Spoilers for The Traitors UK and US below
It was an odd choice in the first place to mix normal people with celebrities, as you automatically wanted to root for those who need the money over those who already had some level of fame and a comfortable lifestyle. You’d also see some celebs forming cliques, chatting about their unique experiences and often being suspicious of those who fell outside of their golden circles.
The following season fixed that friction by simply making everyone a celebrity. Again, the group is largely made up of ex-reality contestants, but there are a few wildcards thrown in there, like boxer Deontay Wilder and ex-Speaker in the House of Commons, John Bercow (yes, the man who shouts “ORDEEEER”).
But that still doesn’t fix the crux of the issue: celebrities just aren’t hungry enough to play the game with their full chests.
They’re on the show to boost their personal brand or business, so they’re happy to make rash decisions that throw the game into chaos in a way you’d never see on the UK version. Take Kate from season 1 – she got so fed up with everyone that she started sacrificing money from the pot, throwing barrels of cash away during a physically exerting task. Only someone with money to burn would have that attitude.
Plus, many of them have already made money before playing the game. Season 2 contestant Janelle discusses on Dan Gheesling’s podcast that the producers had “deep pockets” that resulted in large appearance fees for the cast rather than the while taking valuable time off work.
There’s also a clash of egos in the group, with many contestants acting as if they’re a global superstar like Taylor Swift, swishing their hair back and referring to their arcs on other shows as if every viewer is only tuning in to watch them rather than the game itself.
Don’t get me wrong, there are narcissists in the UK version too, but their confidence mostly centres around their play style rather than their appearance or past accomplishments. Take season 2 villain Paul as an example: though he was certainly insufferable by claiming himself as the ‘leader’ of the Traitors, his bragging was often backed up by credible ploys and lies by charming those around him (why they fell for it, I’ll never know).
It made his downfall all the sweeter, and the players reactions when he revealed himself were so genuine and intense because they were a step closer to changing their lives. You’d never see that in the American version.
The finalists also had compelling reasons to win – whether it was buying a house for their family, creating a charity for disabled people or building a bright future for their kids. It’s not something that is focused on in the US version as much, because they’ll probably just be blowing the money on superfluous stuff.
All these things make me dubious about the UK celebrity spin-off, which is estimated to film next year.
We don’t yet know who the contestants of this spin-off will be, but I hope that Studio Lambert reflects on the types of people included in the US version and opts for a range of people across different industries, such as sports personalities, comedians and journalists. When you mainly include ex-reality stars, there’s little diversity in the types of personalities in the house.
The strength of The Traitors UK comes from having people from all walks of life – people of different ages, races, classes and those with disabilities. It’s something that’s often neglected on more shallow shows such as Love Island. I don’t want to see the UK version lose that heart and soul.
The good news is that The Traitors UK season 3 will come before that, so I expect to see it match some of the most iconic moments from the past instalments… but the bar is very high with lines such as “parting gift” and “but Ross is” forever etched in our minds.