peacock Traitors He has more rules — and production secrets — than some fans might realize.
Inspired by Dutch TV series Traitors, Traitors Brings together reality TV stars from various franchises – including Survivor, Big Brother, The Real Housewives And more – as they compete in mafia style A game worth up to $250,000. The series premiered in 2023 but has already gone through multiple changes.
“My first idea was to do it on a ship in Australia,” the Creator said Mark Boss He pointed out diverse In January 2023. “And if someone had to exit the game, they would have to jump in the water and swim to an island, but then I thought it would be very difficult to produce that.”
For the American version, the actor Alan Cumming It has been tapped to host and He has his own guidelines.
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Boss continued: “The host is not around much, and he has to be careful not to manipulate the game, influence viewers, or raise doubts in the minds of the contestants in their bubble.” “But when they are there, they have to be a friendly but intimidating character.”
Although Traitors Relying on a shroud of mysterythe cast and crew talked about the behind-the-scenes rules and secrets that fans don't know about. Keep scrolling for a guide to all the amazing discoveries — and perhaps helpful answers to some important questions Traitors Questions:
What the cast members know about each other
Casting director Dina Katz Confirm it The contestants don't know who else is on display until they arrive in Scotland time In January 2024, “You don't want them to be able to look up each other or talk to each other or form alliances before.”
Star of season two Sandra Diaz TwainMeanwhile, he explained on the Reality After Show podcast at the time that each player was later provided with photos and information about their fellow contestants to help them narrow down the traitor.
Take a personality test
During the podcast's January 2024 debut, Mercedes “MG” Javid I remembered taking a 600-question psychological assessment. Executive Producer Mike Cotton detailed for diverse In the same month, how the tests allow the crew to “see what traits might make someone a particularly good liar or deceitful.”
“It's an interesting process. It's a big group thing to do,” he explained. “We don't actually know who the traitors are until that casting, where Alan walks around and pats them on the shoulder. We see how they interact when they arrive at the castle. Alan has these chats with them, sitting down and asking them if they would like to become a traitor and why. This has a very big impact on him, as does Alan's opinion.
“It's almost like a job interview to be a traitor, and we take all of that into consideration and decide before choosing who should be a traitor,” Cotton continued. “We want to make sure we have an interesting mix of characters that will bring their unique skill set to it.”
Ari Luyendykfrom He appeared in the first seasonhe said exclusively Us Weekly In January 2023 about conducting a “swim test,” adding, “(It was) to see if we were able to complete the mission.”
The choice between a believer or a traitor
It is not until Season 2 that players are able to present their case to Alan about whether they want to be a traitor or a loyalist. While viewers at home know who the traitors are (and how many people were taken advantage of), the first season is a star Siri fields I revealed it The other contestants are retained In the dark about crucial details.
“We knew there were probably three to five traitors in the game,” Siri said. and! news In January 2023. “This was explained to us from the beginning.”
Drink limit
According to season 2 star Ekin Su Kulkulogluendless Drinks appear on screen It actually comes with strict guidelines.
“You could only have one drink a night anyway, it was very restrictive,” she said. Entertainment Weekly In January 2024. “I remember everyone needed a drink at that round table, it was really intense.”
Shooting schedule
Ari remembers that he never got more than six hours of sleep a night. “It might take an hour for your brain to shut down,” he said. we In February 2023. “You're in there for a long time and it's one of those things where we probably started at eight or earlier, and we were probably up until about 12 to 2 a.m., depending on whether you were the traitor or not.” Because the traitors had to do whatever they wanted after the whole day was over.
In addition to filming for long hours, actors also give up their phones and any other forms of communication.
He took residence in the castle
The hit competition series is set in the stunning and royal Ardross Castle – but are they actually living there while filming? In short, no.
“How wonderful – to come to Scotland, and stay at the Inverness Airport Hotel,” Alan quipped. The daily monster In January 2023 about the actual accommodations provided to the contestants.
Meanwhile, Alan has a large dressing room that he sometimes uses as a place to nap during production. But in the end, even he is unable to stay in the castle overnight.
The setting is in the castle too Guidelines have been created for players.
“You're not supposed to talk about the game when the microphones aren't ready or the cameras aren't running.” Then Gesling From the second season he said Business insider in February 2024. “Because if we say something important and it's not on camera, they won't be able to use it on the show.”
Find a place to gather
After seeing the response to Season 1, the producers I decided to give the players more space In the castle, including a kitchen and an outdoor terrace, as well as a library, billiard room, bar and round table room.
“We have two new spaces this year,” one producer said. procession in December 2023. “We call one of them the scullery (basically the kitchen), and then outside there is a very small area called the folly which is a little area covered in stones. It's wonderful. You can find two or three people sneaking in there, and you get this Great conversations.
Catching a cold in the castle
Many players – including the star of the first season Cody Calafiore -You mentioned how cold the castle is. “If they get the heat turned on, it'll probably be a little better,” Cody joked to Reality Blurred in January 2023.
Restrictions on self-promotion
Just because everyone is on Traitors Just because they star in a reality show doesn't mean they can promote their brands. Sherry Whitfield From the second season he said the people In February 2024, she was not allowed to wear clothes from her own brand – SHE by Shereé – during filming.
“They said I can't!” She said of the guideline contract. “You can't wear your brand.”
Provide support
Throughout the seasons, the peacock makes sure of this Each contestant has his own Wellbeing team member.
“They check on you all the time,” MJ said on the “Just Sayin” podcast in December 2023. “They are cheerful and very professional. I felt taken care of at all times.” Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Ekin Su said she once cried “overwhelming tears” to a member of the social welfare team.
Security guards keep players in line
“It's a massive military operation every night to force the faithful to sleep in single rooms and bring out the traitors to hold their meeting,” said creator Cotton. diverse In January 2024 about trying to keep the “traitors secret.”
Kate ChastainWho appeared in three seasons Traitors In different capacities, he said Vanity gallery In January 2023 about how security guards are always there Prevent players from leaving Their hotel rooms.
“Once it became clear that I wasn't getting the big money in the end, I was ready to go home because they were running a very tight ship. There were security guards making sure you never left your room. We had long days, from breakfast to the challenge to Negation». “By the time you got to bed, you just wanted to sleep and sleep for eight hours because I knew it was going to be the big day the next day. The food in the Scottish Highlands is nothing to write home about, but it was good enough. I really missed the martini. I really missed a little freedom after a while.
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Round table length for dimensions
“It got really intense, you know, a lot of crying, a lot of finger pointing, a lot of below-the-belt stuff that they didn't show on TV,” Ari said. we In 2023. “I feel like they kept it kind of quiet on TV, but I felt like it was more intense in real life. … I think if it got too raw or too little, they deleted it, you know? “They kept it more about the game.”
Allow couples to enter the competition
Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan They were the first couple to compete on the show when they joined in the second season. (They've since broken up.) But just because they were dating didn't mean they were treated as a package deal by production, which meant they had to sleep in separate rooms and were… No communication allowed With each other.
“Marcus asked me for a nail file, and I put it in a paper bag — and they check everything, and you're not supposed to send anything back and forth — but he wanted a nail file and I said, 'I'll send him a nail file,'” she recalled. the people. “Then I said, 'Oh, there's a banana.' “He said he wanted a banana. So (I write) 'I love you' on the banana and send it to him with the nail file.”
