This essay was originally posted on Substack in March 2023.
In a game about convincing and deceiving your rivals like The Traitors, casting is everything. Viewers tune in to see how a clairvoyant or a criminal defense lawyer might play compared to an astrophysics PhD. Diverse casting is a major appeal of the show, with a decent range of ages, genders, sexual orientations and backgrounds being represented. The Traitors takes great care to highlight how each contestant’s specific life experience might be a strength or weakness in the game, whether they’ve been held hostage in Somalia or built a successful career in stage magic.
Players are given one of two roles: Faithful, or Traitor. The Faithfuls are tasked with rooting out any Traitors in their midst; meanwhile, the Traitors secretly convene each night to “murder” (eliminate) one of their co-stars. While the original De Verraders featured a roster of Dutch celebrities, the UK and Australian versions turn their lens on everyday people. The civilian cast and the celebrity cast both have their merits, and almost every version of the show picks one or the other. The American Traitors, however, betrays this formula: it features a hybrid cast of normies and celebs.
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| Celebrities and civilians mingle in The Traitors US S01 |
Presented by Scottish actor Alan Cumming, the first season of the The Traitors US stars 10 celebrities and 10 civilians from across the United States. Cliques form easily among the celebrities, most of whom are career reality TV stars. Brandi Glanville, Kate Chastain, and Reza Farahan band together immediately, which is unsurprising given their combined interests in real estate and luxury yachts. Not every celeb contestant is on the same economic level as a Shah of Sunset or a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, but they still stand out next to the ER nurses and yoga instructors in the game.
Celebrity is the metagame of the American Traitors; it adds a whole other dimension to the show, informed by factors outside the game itself. In chess, for example, studying your opponent’s previous performances to learn how to best them is metagaming. Watching Stephenie LaGrossa lie through her teeth on Survivor would also count as metagaming for her Traitors co-stars, because it gives them information they wouldn’t get simply by playing the game. While the Traitors celebrities may have already shown their cards on national TV—possibly to their detriment—their fame also grants them a certain degree of influence on a show that’s all about getting your own way.
Though celebrity does create an interesting gameplay imbalance, it is somewhat downplayed on the show. Cody Calafiore was a finalist in the American Big Brother (which is more strategic than its UK counterpart), but this is only remarked upon by fellow Big Brother star Rachel Reilly. Similarly, Cirie Fields is renowned for her strong social gameplay on Survivor, yet this doesn’t draw any suspicion. The civilians in The Traitors US either don’t watch reality TV, or their biases didn’t make the final cut, because their rivals’ past work on equally cutthroat shows is rarely mentioned.
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| Cirie Fields in The Traitors US S01 |
In a recent video interview, Cirie claims she used her reputation to her advantage, telling other players that in Survivor “every person that aligned with [her] won the game.” In response to a rumour that some Traitors contestants thought wealthier players like realtor Reza Farahan “shouldn’t win the prize money because they didn’t need it,” Cirie notes that in his Gucci shoes, he exudes wealth; “it’s written all over Reza.” Meanwhile, Cirie’s own status didn’t come under fire—perhaps being a reality star has its quirks, so long as your brand is about survival rather than selling luxury homes. Cirie goes on to say that she doesn’t believe the celebs deserve to win any less: “Even though Reza’s probably well-off [...] he’s freezing away in Scotland just like we are.” When the interviewer shares her concerns that the civilians on Traitors might have been underpaid compared to their famous co-stars, Cirie artfully dodges the topic, citing an “even playing field in terms of emotional connection.”
Taken to the extreme, celebrity could become a huge advantage in a social strategy game like The Traitors. I would certainly be intimidated by a Lisa Vanderpump or a Nicole Richie, and I could never stab Snooki in the back. Presence and charisma are equally valuable skills for a Traitor or a Faithful, as is being confident on set. Another notable quirk of the US Traitors cast is that most of the celebrities appear to have Botox, a cosmetic treatment that smoothes the skin, and has been marketed to pro poker players because it can help them hide their emotions. Wouldn’t the average Bravolebrity make a brilliant Traitor for the same reason?
The greatest inequality for a hybrid Traitors cast is that the stakes are, generally, much higher for civilians. The prize money goes up to $250,000 in the first season, which would be a significant sum to anyone, but to a hair stylist or a DMV manager, it is literally lifechanging. This economic disparity can sometimes make for uncomfortable viewing, particularly when a single mother from Houston is pitted against a former Bachelor who dabbles in race cars and real estate. In a speech that didn’t make the final edit, Traitor Cirie pointed out that while the cash may be meaningful to some, “for Arie [Luyendyk Jr.] that might just mean another Porsche.” The fact that the prize money is less impactful to celebrity players presumably helps them keep their cool, because to them, winning doesn’t represent an escape from poverty.
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| Arie Luyendyk Jr. in The Traitors US S01 |
My pet conspiracy theory about the American Traitors is that it was never intended to feature a hybrid cast. Released in January 2023, it’s near-identical to the BBC show broadcast weeks beforehand; the only differences are the host (Claudia Winkleman is not as recognizable in the US) and silent groundskeeper Fergus (whose actor wrote a PhD thesis on Scottish stereotypes and is, by all accounts, a Scottish stereotype). Otherwise, the American version of The Traitors is filmed in the same castle with the exact same props and challenges, and zero updates to the rules of the game. To me, this suggests a rushed production that failed to secure a full celebrity cast in time.
The most damning clue supporting my theory is that civilian Andie is a “director of music services” who, based on my online sleuthing, produces music for reality TV. Were they a last-minute recruit? If the civilians in the game aren’t selected based on their social strategy skills, and the producers downplay the celebrity metagame, perhaps not everything in the The Traitors US is by design.
