NBC has a new version of The Traitors, and the creators admit they had to change the whole show to make it fit broadcast TV. The new season, called The Traitors: New Blood, replaces celebrity contestants with everyday people — and that shift forced the producers to rethink the whole format. The two-hour premiere, now streaming on Peacock, drops 22 civilian players into Alan Cumming’s Scottish castle, and the EPs say the game had to become leaner to survive on broadcast.
Cumming Picks His First Two Traitors
The show opens with Cumming welcoming the competitors and throwing them straight into the deep end of the loch. The players knew exactly what to expect, which was the point. “To have a sense of familiarity meant they felt comfortable in their surroundings and they played hard straight away,” executive producer Sam Rees-Jones tells Variety.
At the first roundtable, Cumming tapped Tomica Adams, a pilot from Boston, and Joe Vanella, a funeral director from Wantagh, New York, as his first two Traitors. Then came the twist: he told them a third Traitor was coming, and they had to choose who it would be. Their first victim was Kim Daily, a faux college basketball coach and real lawyer.
The Traitors also picked two accomplices to audition for the role of chaos agent. Katie Fites, a marketing manager from Jacksonville, Florida and the youngest player at 23, and Xavier Scruggs, a former MLB player turned analyst, schemed against each other to get the spot. The premiere ends with them tasked with stealing a book titled Crime and Punishment and smuggling it past the Faithfuls.
The Time Constraint Changed Everything
The broadcast episodes run about 41-42 minutes, plus commercials. That is very different from the Peacock versions, which often exceed an hour. Mike Cotton says the team spent serious effort figuring out where to put the cliffhangers to keep audiences hooked.
“We put quite a lot of planning in our pre-production to work out those different points that could cliffhanger the episodes,” Cotton explains. “One thing we didn’t want to do is cut it like it’s a drama. We didn’t want to make the episodes faster or fit everything into a short amount of time.”
He adds that the show still “breathe[s] and be able to explore the characters.”
A New Way to Recruit Players
The premiere shows one competitor holding a card asking their preference for playing as a Traitor or Faithful. That is new this season, according to Rees-Jones. The producers wanted the invitations to feel real, like the players were actually being asked to join a crazy experience in the Highlands of Scotland.
“What we loved about this version was Alan inviting these players,” Rees-Jones says. “He sent out these invitations, so it should feel like these players are actually being invited to this crazy experience in the Highlands of Scotland. And within that invitation was whether they wanted to be a Traitor or a Faithful.”
Rosie Franks notes the card continues a tradition from previous seasons. “Alan always asks them in the ‘gold chats’ by the fire in the premiere what role they want to play in the game,” she says.
The EPs also changed how they pick the initial Traitors. They only select players who volunteer for the role, because it is a hard job. “We pick Traitors only if they want to become a Traitor, because it’s a hard job,” Rees-Jones says. “There’s a lot to do, so they should want to become a Traitor.”
The Blood of the Faithfuls Has Already Spilled
The premiere also delivered its first casualty among the Faithfuls. Mississippi realtor Kriste Lewis went after San Diego construction manager Madeline Kostopulos over a throwaway comment she believed proved Kostopulos was one of the cloaked killers. Kostopulos’ ally, New York business executive Victor Vollbrechthausen, caught heat for immediately grabbing a shield of protection in the first challenge.
The pair nearly split the vote evenly. And Daily’s murder was not the only blood spilled — the Faithfuls lost one of their own in the first episode.
What We Make of It
The premiere suggests the producers are trying to adapt. The inclusion of a card asking for role preference, the immediate tension at the roundtable, and the cliffhanger ending all show a show that is changing to fit broadcast.
Whether the audience agrees remains to be seen. The creators describe the changes they made.
Key Facts Box
– Season title: The Traitors: New Blood
– Host: Alan Cumming
– Number of players: 22
– First episode runtime: ~41-42 minutes (broadcast), often exceeds an hour on Peacock
– First victims: Kim Daily (Traitor), unnamed Faithful
– First Traitors: Tomica Adams, Joe Vanella (chosen by Cumming); third selected by Adams and Vanella
– Youngest player: Katie Fites, 23
Comparison Table
| Version | Runtime | Format |
| — | — | — |
| Peacock | Often exceeds an hour | Celebrity contestants |
| NBC | ~41-42 minutes | Civilian contestants |
The EPs know the show has to prove itself again. The premiere is their chance to show that The Traitors can live without famous faces. Whether the civilian cast can carry the weight of the castle remains to be seen.
Source material: “‘The Traitors: New Blood’ EPs Break Down NBC Premiere, Sweetening the Pot for the Faithful and Why the Civilian Cast ‘Played Hard Straight Away’,” Variety.
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