The American version of “The Traitors”, which premiered in 2023, is hosted by Scottish Alan Cumming. She’s a scheming ringmaster, her eyes covered in kohl, her body swathed in designer clothes devoid of any descriptive words. It can round consonants in a way never before seen in human speech. He’s cooking the food for the gothic show. He’ll do this, he’s too good not to be on NBC on Thursday. But his presence, his obvious delight in scuba-suited adults shooting themselves out of helicopters in pursuit of gold, is part of what makes the show so compelling. Against the uniqueness of Cumming, who brings American actors to “his” country for a play set in a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands, the group always seems weak, which is interesting because it’s largely made up of B- and C-list celebrities.
With its tombstone-and-haunted-doll ambience, the U.S. remake of “Traitors” seems like it was lifted wholesale from the U.K. version of the series, which was greenlit less than a year after the Dutch original. There’s just one critical difference: the UK version cast all ordinary people working regular jobs, except for one wizard in Season 1. (“I’m one of the world’s best magicians, and I can read people; that’s my job,” he insisted, even though his predictions were often wrong.)
Initially, American producers tried to split the baby: half nobody, half star. But hybridity did not work. Celebrities sucked up a lot of air, and so the show bowed out by switching to an all-celebrity cast. Purely civilian versions in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and, at least initially, Australia have the thinnest veneer of social consciousness. For viewers, that’s the undercurrent of “Traitors”: the feeling of a social experiment. While some professions, such as teaching, make the contestant appear “smart”, some professions, such as being a lawyer, have a darkness in their nature. Women are quickly suspected. Whites last a long time etc. Communication is as fragile as glass.
What we had in America was mostly a social experiment conducted on a very specific population: reality TV alumni. Instead of teachers and lawyers, the contestants are former “Bachelorettes” and “Biggest Losers”; the two main blocks are “Cast” (people who compete on shows like “Big Brother,” “The Amazing Race” and “The Real World”) and “Housewives” (self-explanatory). “Traitors” in the US became a reality show for reality show stars and genre veterans, so it was often the least interesting version of the competition. Attendees are being dressed from head to toe by an absolutely overworked stylist and are just in faux rage. “Housewives” like Lisa Rinna (Beverly Hills) and Dorinda Medley (New York City) find themselves victims of prejudice; They’re seen as less vindictive or less strategically minded than “players” like Parvati Shallow or Rob Mariano, a.k.a. Boston Rob, both “Survivor” alums. The winner of last celebrity season was a traitor: Rob Rausch, a snake catcher from Alabama and a recent graduate of the romantic home of “Love Island.” As the white boy dreamer in his overalls, he took advantage of the “lower” reputation of dating shows in the entertainment hierarchy, managed to manipulate the faithful and eventually won. On “Love Island” he was seen as a liar, a jerk who led Leah to leave him; In “Traitors,” he committed a much worse betrayal, but was met with widespread approval and even admiration.
“Traitors” are improving. Two versions are being released in the UK this year: the typical civilian version and the first celebrity spin-off. In a sense, Americans are the only civilians. This season is called “Traitors: New Blood”. (The famous traitors will return next year.) By “New Blood,” the fifth season of the US series, “The Traitors” is now established enough for the cast to be self-referential. In the season opener, Kim Daily, a black, smartly dressed trial lawyer, said in her confessional that she would tell the group that she was a basketball coach and hide her true profession. (Obviously a watcher of the series, Daily probably knew that Black and brown actors tended to go first.) But he can’t fool the cast, who immediately perceive him as an intellectual threat; The traitors, sensing his influence on their fellow believers, kill him first. And so “Traitors” is a joyful hell for some actors who, for all their sweet maneuvers, cannot escape the established rhythm of the show. Bias will win. Lessons are never learned. It’s great, wry fun.