Television series

The Traitors

Name: The Traitors
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Released: 2023
Cast: Alan Cumming, John Ritchie

Other titles called The Traitors: the 2022 series (BBC One).

Twenty larger-than-life contestants compete in physical and mental challenges at a Scottish castle, but three hidden "traitors" plot to sabotage them all. Alan Cumming presides with theatrical delight. It's *Mafia* meets reality TV—high-stakes social manipulation wrapped in genuinely fun games. For anyone who loves watching clever people outsmart each other.

TVMaze rating

3.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy social deduction, the slow build of suspicion over a table of people all pretending to trust each other, and watching alliances curdle in real time.

Skip it if you get tired of reality-show theatrics, since the drama depends on manufactured tension and people performing for the cameras, stretched across six long seasons.

What it asks of you: Plan on hour-long episodes, many of them, with long stretches of quiet scheming and whispered conferences, so letting your attention wander will cost you the thread.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Survivor2000

The DNA of all alliance-based competition shows. Watching people form bonds and then weaponize them against each other under pressure is endlessly absorbing. You'll recognize the psychological playbook.

But Forty seasons means commitment. Some stretches drag, and if you skip around, you'll miss the context that makes betrayals sting.

The Mole2022

ABC's reboot of the cult classic nails what *The Traitors* does—paranoia, hidden identities, and group paranoia eating itself alive. Anderson Cooper's hosting is perfectly calibrated. Fewer flashy games, more psychological warfare.

But Only one season so far. If you want to binge deep, you'll hit the end quickly and have to hunt for the original Belgian version.

Love Is Blind2020

Watching attractive people make catastrophic decisions under false pretenses, then watching the fallout when reality arrives. The betrayal hits harder because it's real-world heartbreak, not game strategy. Wildly compulsive.

But Heavy on the relationship drama and emotional confrontation. If you want games and strategy over tears and therapy-speak, this tilts too far the other way.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Traitors

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Squid Game: The Challenge2023

Same engine—hidden threats, social voting, paranoia fracturing alliances—but inverted: *Traitors* hides the danger in plain sight, *Squid Game* makes the danger visible and asks who to trust anyway.

Netflix's unhinged response to the *Traitors* phenomenon: real people playing childhood games from the *Squid Game* universe for real money, with elimination by vote. The games are more beautiful and brutal than *Traitors*, and the paranoia is exquisite.

But Darker and more emotionally exhausting. The show leans into humiliation and genuine tension rather than fun. Some episodes feel mean-spirited rather than playful.

Squid Game2021

South Korean thriller where strangers compete in childhood games for life-changing money. The desperation feels genuine. It's *Traitors* with real stakes and a haunting moral core. Phenomenal cinematography and tension.

But Much darker and more violent. Not a fun game show—it's about exploitation and class. The tone is closer to tragedy than entertainment.

RuPaul's Drag Race2009

Competition where charisma, wit, and performance matter as much as skill. Alliances form, queens betray, personalities clash, and someone wins money. The games are wildly creative and the confessionals are hilarious.

But Heavily focused on drag culture and aesthetics. If you're not invested in that world, large stretches will feel insular or inside-baseball.

The Circle2020

Contestants vote each other off while catfishing each other online. Pure psychology and paranoia—you never know who's real. Lightweight, compulsively watchable, and genuinely funny when people's fake identities unravel.

But Very slight. No physical stakes, just social media sabotage. Some find it shallow after the first season's novelty wears off.

Are You the One?2014

Twenty singles compete to find their algorithmically predetermined perfect matches while saboteurs plant confusion. It's romance-flavored strategy game with constant alliance-shifting and bitter betrayals. Trashy fun done with real energy.

But Heavy on dating drama and manufactured love triangles. The strategy sometimes takes a backseat to relationship soap opera nonsense.

Physical: 1002023

One hundred fit people compete in grueling challenges until one remains. Less social strategy than *Traitors*, but the physical spectacle and the quiet alliances that form between competitors give it surprising depth and humanity.

But The competition is straightforward elimination. If you're here for Machiavellian scheming and social overthrow, this is too athletic and not strategic enough.

Big Brother2000

The granddaddy of alliance-based reality TV. People live together, compete weekly, and vote each other out based on trust and strategy. It's messier and less theatrical than *Traitors*, but the human drama is raw and unfiltered.

But Long seasons with dead weeks when alliances solidify and nothing happens. Easy to fall behind, and old episodes can feel dated in their sensibilities.