We can all agree that Survivor is the best reality TV show of all time. When it comes to strategy and entertainment value, it doesn't get better than Survivor. The only problem for Survivor fans is that there are only two seasons of Survivor every year in the fall and spring. In the cold winter months, what are Survivor fans to do?
Well, we have the answer: fall in love with The Traitors on Peacock.
How The Traitors works
The Traitors is basically Survivor if several players were working against the group to sabotage the other players in the game. For those who don't know how it all works, a group of players goes to live at a castle in the Scottish Highlands where they compete with each other for a cash prize. The last player or players standing wins, basically!
At the beginning of the game, several players in the group are selected as the traitors. The rest of the players are the faithful. The point of the game is for the faithful to find out who the traitors are before the traitors pick them off one by one by "murdering" them every night. The faithful vote out, or banish, one player in each episode after a round table discussion, which is basically Tribal Council.
Like Survivor, The Traitors is a great social experiment. There's an incredible amount of deception involved. The traitors must keep their identities a secret while they choose which players to eliminate. The faithful try to banish the traitors but often miss the mark and take out their fellow faithful, which then increases the chance that a traitor will win the game.
As the game winds down and reaches the final four, the players will decide whether to keep the game going or end the game. The faithful want the game to end with only faithful players remaining. If a traitor convinces them to end the game with at least one traitor remaining, the traitor wins the whole game. It's glorious!
The Traitors is based on the Dutch series of the same name. I haven't seen that one, but it was adapted for UK audiences and later US audiences. The UK series is hosted by Claudia Winkleman while the US series is hosted by Alan Cumming. There are some slight differences in the series, too, but both are available to stream on Peacock right now. I highly recommend you start with the UK series unless you really like former Survivor players because many former Survivors play The Traitors!
There are three seasons of The Traitors US streaming on Peacock. The third season, which features four former Survivor players, Boston Rob, Tony Vlachos, Jeremy Collins, and Carolyn Wiger, just premiered on Jan. 9, 2025. One player has already been eliminated in season 3! So, you can start watching right now and watch the new season right now!
In previous seasons, Cirie Fields, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Parvati Shallow, and other Survivor legends have played The Traitors.
The Traitors and Survivor are so similar in gameplay
Honestly, I did not know how similar these shows were before watching. Why didn't anyone tell me?!
The gameplay is so similar. Basically, the players are forced to form alliances to stay in the game, but giving too much away or becoming too big of a threat puts a huge target on a player's back. Additionally, the players must work together, but in most cases, they are also working toward a singular goal of winning the game. Sometimes, that's with other players. Other times, it's alone!
There's so much strategy and social gameplay involved in this series, which is my favorite part of Survivor. Yes, there are challenges, but this is a game, at its core, of treachery and deceit. The better liars are always the better players, and that's probably why Survivor stars are so good at The Traitors, historically speaking.
We can talk about gameplay all day, but what really makes these shows so similar is how well each season casts its players. For the UK series, there are average, everyday people selected to play the game, just like Survivor. The Traitors US leans into the reality TV world for its players, which is super fun, too. But, Survivor is incredible when it comes to casting its players. The Traitors is no slouch, either. The players make the game so much fun to watch.
Both shows also have dynamite hosts! Jeff Probst is obviously a reality TV legend, the GOAT, of course. Cumming and Winkleman are terrific, as well. They definitely add value to all of these shows.
I feel like that's my best sell for Survivor fans to watch The Traitors. It's not set on an island, but the gameplay and players are the reason you need to watch!
Watch The Traitors on Peacock right now!