The Traitors is a reality game show franchise created by the All3Media company IDTV which originally aired on RTL 4 in the Netherlands as De Verraders in 2021.
The Traitors features a group of contestants participating in a social deduction game similar to Mafia/Werewolf and Among Us, as they stay in a historical location, like a castle or a manor. During their stay, a small group of contestants become the titular "Traitors", and must work together to eliminate the other contestants to win a grand prize, while the remaining contestants become "Faithfuls" and are tasked to discover and banish the Traitors by voting them out, to win the grand prize.
Gameplay The players are divided into two groups: the "Faithfuls" and the "Traitors", with only the latter group having knowledge of each other's group affiliation. The Faithfuls must work together to identify and eliminate the Traitors through banishment before the end of the game, while the Traitors' objective is to remain undetected and escape banishment.
On most nights, the Traitors come together and decide upon one Faithful contestant to "murder" – and that person will leave the game immediately. The remaining Faithful contestants will not know who has been eliminated until the following day when that person does not enter the room for breakfast. The group then take part in a mission to win money for the prize fund. In some versions, the missions offered an opportunity for players to visit the armoury – during which players will randomly and secretly be awarded the shield. In other versions, the shield is only available to obtain during the missions. Holding a shield awards a player immunity from being murdered, but not from the Banishment Vote. An attempted murder on the shield holder will result in no player being eliminated by Murder.
At the end of most days, the players will participate in a Round Table, where the players discuss who to vote out before individually voting for a player to be banished. Players cast their votes privately before revealing their votes in turn to everyone once all votes are locked-in and may give a brief rationale for their vote. The person who received the most votes for banishment is banished from the game and must reveal which group (Faithfuls or Traitors) they belonged to. During the game, if the number of remaining Traitors drops to two, they will be given the option to recruit a Faithful to join them in lieu of committing a murder. The Faithful will have the option to decline, and declining may or may not result in them being murdered immediately. If the Faithful accepts, they become a Traitor from that point on.
After the final round table, the remaining players vote whether to end the game or to continue the game. A unanimous vote to end the game is required; if there is at least one vote to continue, another banishment vote is immediately conducted, before repeating the vote to end the game with the remaining players. When a unanimous vote to end the game occurs, or when there are only two players left, the remaining players reveal whether they are a Faithful or a Traitor. If the remaining players are Faithfuls, they will share the prize fund; but if any Traitors make it to the end, they will win the full prize fund instead.
The number of players varies season to season and from franchise to franchise. The number of Traitors that start the game also varies season to season. In some versions, the players are celebrities. The American version notably focuses on casting former reality TV personalities.
International versions
Legend:
Country/RegionLocal titleNetworkWinnersHost(s)ArgentinaTelefeSeason 1, 2026: AnnouncedAustraliaThe TraitorsNetwork 10 Season 1, 2022: Alex Duggan (Traitor) Season 2, 2023: No winner Season 3, 2026: Kirby Bentley (Traitor)CurrentGretel Killeen (3–present)FormerRodger Corser (1–2) Belgium (Flemish)VTMSeason 1, 2022: Bart Kaëll, , Niels Albert and (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2023: and (Traitors) Season 3, 2024: Roman Van Houtven, Sean Dhondt and (Traitors) Season 4, 2025: , and (Faithfuls) Season 5, 2026: Current season (French)RTL-TVI Season 1, 2021–22: Philippe Scofield and Pholien Systermans (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2023: Vanessa Matagne (Traitor) Season 3, 2024: Toma Nikiforov (Traitor)Frédéric EtherlinckBrazilUniversal+Season 1, TBA: AnnouncedBulgaria Traitors: Igra na predatelibTV Season 1, 2025: Daniel Petkanov, Eva Veselinova, Georgi Kodzhabashev and Gloria Petkova (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2026: Upcoming season Vladimir KaramazovCanadaThe Traitors Canada (English)CTVSeason 1, 2023: Mike D'Urzo (Traitor) Season 2, 2024: Neda Kalantar (Traitor) Season 3, 2025: Dom Gabriel and Hollywood Jade (Faithfuls)
Season 4, 2026: Current seasonKarine VanasseLes Traîtres (French)NoovoSeason 1, 2024: Cédric Fofana, Chelsea Jones and Kim Hardy (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2025: Audrey Morissette and Kaven Daigle (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2026: Jacob Grégoire and Elaine Savard (Faithfuls) Season 4, 2027: Upcoming seasonCroatiaRTLSeason 1, TBC: AnnouncedCzechiaPrimaSeason 1, 2024: Nicole Šáchová (Traitor) Season 2, 2025: Věra Kirchnerová (Traitor) Season 3, 2026: Current seasonVojtěch KotekDenmarkTV2Season 1, 2023: (Traitor) Season 2, 2024: Emil Trier, Mikkel Trier and Melissa Bentsen (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2025: Ali Jassem & Nicky Andersen (Faithfuls) Season 4, 2026: Noah Umur Kanber and (Traitors)Lise Rønne Forræder - Ukendt GrundSeason 1, 2024: Marc Karaket Bach Nielsen (Traitor) Season 2, 2025: Andreas Brodersen, Charlotte Stang and Sherica Zimmermann Fernand (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2026: Emil Husth Marling, Kim Oechsle, Mallu Olivia Cortney Damgaard (Traitors) Season 4, 2027: Upcoming seasonEstonia Reeturid Kanal 2Season 1, 2026: Current season Urmas VainoFinlandPetollisetNelonenSeason 1, 2023: Heikki Sorsa and (Traitors) Season 2, 2024: Fatim Diarra, and (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2025: , Marjo Toskala and (Traitors) Season 4, 2025: Sofia Zida and (Faithfuls) Season 5, 2026: and Joona Hellman (Traitors) Season 6, 2026: Current seasonFranceM6Season 1, 2022: and David Douillet (Traitors) Season 2, 2023: (Traitor) Season 3, 2024: and Laurent Ruquier (Traitors) Season 4, 2025: Adil Rami (Traitor) Season 5, 2025: Christine Bravo, Marlène Schiappa and Théo Fernandez (Faithfuls) Season 6, 2026: Adriana Karembeu and Issa Doumbia (Traitors) Season 7, 2026: Upcoming seasonÉric Antoine Les Traîtres: Nouvelle GénérationSeason 1, 2024: , Briac Glaud and Romain Goisbeau (Faithfuls)GermanyDie Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!RTLSeason 1, 2023: and (Traitors) Season 2, 2024: and (Traitors) Season 3, 2025: , and Motsi Mabuse (Traitors) Season 4, 2026: Ann-Kathrin Bendixen and (Faithfuls)GreeceΟι ΠροδότεςANT1Season 1, 2023: Giorgos Talias (Traitor)Konstantinos MarkoulakisHungaryRTLSeason 1, 2023: , Orsi Tapasztó and (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2024: Enikő Muri, Izabell Url and (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2024: Gáspár Róka (Traitor) Season 4, 2025: and Sándor Torghelle (Faithfuls) Season 5, 2026: Current season IndiaThe TraitorsPrime VideoSeason 1, 2025: Nikita Luther and Urfi Javed (Faithfuls)Season 2, 2026: Krystle D'Souza and Rida Tharana (Traitors)Karan Johar The Traitors Telugu Season 1, 2026: Upcoming seasonTeja SajjaIrelandThe Traitors IrelandRTÉ OneSeries 1, 2025: Kelley Higgins, Oyin Adeyemi and Vanessa Ogbonna (Faithfuls)Series 2, 2026: Diego Caixeta and Anna Murphy (Faithfuls)
Series 3, 2027: Upcoming SeasonSiobhán McSweeneyIsraelChannel 12Season 1, 2025: Ronnie Insaz (Traitor)Assi Azar and Rotem SelaItalyPrime VideoSeason 1, 2025: Giuseppe Giofrè (Traitor)Season 2, 2026: Upcoming seasonAlessia MarcuzziIndonesia Season 1, TBC: Upcoming season Malta TVMSeason 1, TBC: Upcoming season MexicoUniversal+Season 1, TBA: Upcoming seasonMongolia Edutainment TVSeason 1, TBD: Upcoming season NetherlandsDe VerradersRTL 4Season 1, 2021: Chatilla van Grinsven (Faithful) and (Traitor) Season 2, 2022: , and Toine van Peperstraten (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2023: Billy Dans, and Noor Omrani (Faithfuls) Season 4, 2024: Tristan Eisank (Traitor) Season 5, 2025: Christiaan Bauer and Julia Heetman (Faithfuls) Season 6, 2026: & (Traitors) Season 7, 2027: Upcoming seasonTijl BeckandDe VerradersVideolandVideoland Edition, 2021: and (Traitors) Halloween Season 1, 2022: Bastiaan Ragas, Bobbi Eden and Famke Louise (Faithfuls) Halloween Season 2, 2023: (Traitor) Halloween Season 3, 2024: (Traitor)Art Rooijakkers (Videoland Edition) (Halloween)New ZealandThe Traitors NZThreeSeason 1, 2023: Anna Reeve and Sam Smith (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2024: Bailey Kench (Traitor) Season 3, 2026: Chloe Withrington (Traitor) CurrentMadeleine Sami (3–) FormerPaul Henry(1–2) NorwayTV2Season 1, 2022: and Karina Hollekim (Traitors) Season 2, 2023: (Traitor) Season 3, 2023: and (Faithfuls) Season 4, 2024: (Traitor) Season 5, 2025: and (Traitors) Season 6, 2026: Kjetil André Aamodt, , and Christoffer Falleth (Faithfuls) Mads HansenPolandTVNSeason 1, 2024: Justyna Kąkol and Stanley Olatunji Ayọmo (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2025: Małgorzata Marczulewska, Grzegorz Raubo and Tomasz Świtała (Traitors) Season 3, 2026: Iza Chojnacka and Wojtek Matuszak (Traitors) Season 4, 2027: Upcoming seasonPortugalSICSeason 1, 2023: Carolina de Brito Palma and Júlio Ferreira (Traitors)Daniela RuahRomaniaTrădătoriiPro TVSeason 1, 2025: Ines Stana (Traitor) Ana UlaruRussiaTNTSeason 1, 2025: and Svetlana Romashina (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2026: (Traitor) Season 3, 2027: Upcoming seasonYuri KolokolnikovVadim DemchogSaudi Arabia Season 1, TBC: Upcoming season Serbia The Traitors Srbija Prva TV Season 1, 2026: Current seasonSeason 2, 2027: Upcoming season Jelena GavrilovićSlovakia ZradcoviaTV JOJSeason 1, 2027: Upcoming season South Africa Season 1, TBC: Upcoming season South Korea Season 1, 2026: Upcoming season Cha Seung-WonSpainAntena 3Season 1, 2023: Joana Pastrana and Leo Margets (Faithfuls) Season 2, 2025: Charo González and Juan Ferrer (Faithfuls)CurrentJuanra Bonet (2-)Former Sergio Peris-Mencheta (1)SwedenTV4Season 1, 2023: (Traitor) Season 2, 2024: , and Thomas Bodström (Traitors) Season 3, 2025: and Samir Badran (Faithfuls) Season 4, 2025: (Traitor) Season 5, 2026: (Traitor) Season 6, 2026: Upcoming seasonDragomir MrsicTurkey The Traitors TürkiyePrime VideoKanal D Season 1, 2026: Emir Elidemir, Özgür Balakar and Saadet Özsırkıntı (Traitors)Season 2, 2027: Upcoming seasonGiray AltınokUkraine Sweet.tvSeason 1, 2025: Anastasiya Bychkova (Traitor) Season 2, 2026: Current season United KingdomThe Traitors BBC OneSeries 1, 2022: Aaron Evans, Hannah Byczkowski and Meryl Williams (Faithfuls) Series 2, 2024: Harry Clark (Traitor) Series 3, 2025: Jake Brown and Leanne Quigley (Faithfuls) Series 4, 2026: Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby (Traitors)Claudia WinklemanThe Celebrity TraitorsSeries 1, 2025: Alan Carr (Traitor)Series 2, 2026: Current seriesUnited StatesThe TraitorsPeacockNBCSeason 1, 2023: Cirie Fields (Traitor) Season 2, 2024: Chris Tamburello and Trishelle Cannatella (Faithfuls) Season 3, 2025: Dolores Catania, Dylan Efron, Gabby Windey and Ivar Mountbatten (Faithfuls) Season 4, Winter 2026: Rob Rausch (Traitor) Season 5, Fall 2026: Current season Season 6, 2027: Upcoming seasonAlan Cumming
Stage adaptation
In May 2027, a cycle of five plays based on the show's format called The Traitors: Acts of Betrayal will premiere at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London's West End. It will be written by John Finnemore and directed by Robert Hastie.
See also Mafia (party game)
Notes
References