Treachery, debauchery and a little bit of camp. These are the essential ingredients for the hit reality show The Traitors.
Set in a remote castle in Scotland, the show sets a group of contestants inside an elaborate game of deception. Some are secretly Traitors, assigned to manipulate, misdirect, and kill. The rest are Faithfuls, scrambling to figure out who among them is lying.
This is your Heist Guide to The Traitors: how the game works, where to watch it, and why the best players don’t look like masterminds until it’s far too late.
How does The Traitors work?
There have been countless versions of the show aired all around the world. While originally a Dutch series, it has found success in the UK, America, Canada, Australia and beyond.
Each season begins with roughly 20 contestants arriving at a castle. Before the game truly starts, a small group (usually three or four players) are secretly selected as Traitors. Everyone else is a Faithful. Only the Traitors know who’s on their side.
During the day, the group competes in physical and mental missions to add money to a shared prize pot. These challenges are collaborative. Everyone benefits if they succeed, including the Traitors. Winning challenges does not reveal alignments.
Before bed, the players gather at the Round Table. Everyone debates, accuses, and postures before voting to banish one person they believe is a Traitor. When eliminated, the player reveals their identity. This is the only way to eliminate Traitors from the game.
Each night, the Traitors meet in secret and choose one Faithful to murder. That player is immediately removed from the game.
This cycle (mission, banishment, murder) repeats until the endgame. The remaining players must decide whether to end the game or continue to banish one another. So long as a single Traitor remains in the game when it ends, they win the game. The Faithful win if all the Traitors have been banished.
How many seasons of The Traitors has there been?
Around the world, there have been over 20 seasons of The Traitors. However, the most popular versions are, without a doubt, the UK and American versions.
The UK series has aired 4 full seasons, including one made up completely of British celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Alan Carr, and Nick Mohammed.
Meanwhile, the American version has predominantly been cast with contestants who have been on other reality shows. Hosted by Alan Cumming, the show has featured players such as Cirie Fields and Boston Rob from Survivor, Bob the Dragon Queen and Peppermint from RuPaul's Drag Race, Phaedra Parks from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Tom Sandoval from Vanderpump Rules.
What makes The Traitors worth watching?
The Traitors resembles a lot of familiar social strategy games. At its core, it’s essentially Mafia or Werewolf with elevated production value. The rules are simple and the structure is repetitive, but that’s exactly why it works.
What separates The Traitors from similar shows is perspective. The audience knows who the Traitors are from the start. You aren’t solving the mystery alongside the players, you’re watching how both sides of the game are trying to solve the other. You see the Traitors’ thought process in confessionals, the justification behind each murder, and the paranoia that creeps in when their plans start to unravel. It’s a fundamentally different experience from a show like The Mole, where the saboteur remains hidden from both players and viewers.
Add to the excellent casting done by every version of the show and what results is an endlessly fascinating social game come to life.
Which seasons of The Traitors should I watch first?
I’d recommend one of the following for first time viewers:
- The Traitors (US) - Season 1: As an introductory season for American viewers, this is a great place to start. It has many people you might recognize from other reality shows including Cirie Fields from Survivor, Rachel Reilly from Big Brother and Brandi Glanville from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. As it’s the first American season, it’s a bit easier to follow along with the rules and format of the show.
- The Traitors (US) - Season 2: While Season 1 is a great place to start, the cast leaves a little to be desired. It was in Season 2 that the American version went all in on casting other reality contestants. This is the season that earned the show it’s first Emmy for Outstanding Reality TV Program. The cast includes Parvati Shallow (Survivor), Peter Weber (The Bachelorette) and Chris "CT" Tamburello (The Challenge).
- The Traitors (UK) - Season 1: With an all-civilian cast, the game feels rawer and more volatile. Players aren’t managing pre-existing reputations or audience expectations. Every move is built from scratch. The paranoia escalates quickly, emotions run hot, and strategic mistakes have immediate consequences. It’s messy, intense, deeply compelling, and almost Shakespearian.
Where can I watch The Traitors?
The American and UK seasons are available to watch on Peacock in the United States. Most international seasons are available to watch on Crave in Canada.
What happens if all the Traitors are eliminated? Can Traitors be recruited?
Generally, all of the Traitors will not be eliminated. Should there be a point where there are too few left in the game, they will be offered an opportunity to recruit a Faithful to their team. The player can either accept, becoming a Traitor, or reject, staying a Faithful. Sometimes, the recruitment is mandatory, in which case, a person who rejects the offer is immediately murdered instead.
Being a recruited Faithful is often considered the most advantageous position in the game. A player will have earned trust throughout the game as a Faithful, which they can leverage into being a Traitor who survives to the end of the game.
At times, the Traitors deliberately target someone they believe is already on the chopping block, using that elimination to gain credibility when the banishment later confirms the player’s role.
Is it better to be a Faithful or a Traitor?
While there are certainly pros and cons to being either a Faithful or a Traitor, the data suggests the edge lies with the Traitors. Across 16 seasons in the US, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, and Canada, Traitors have won 9 times: a 56% success rate. Notably, four of those victories included a Traitor who was recruited mid-game.
That advantage makes sense. Traitors are immune from nightly murders and operate with more complete information. They know who their allies are, can shape voting narratives in advance, and control the pace of eliminations. Survival is baked into the role. Faithfuls, meanwhile, play from behind. They lack information, are vulnerable every night, and can make the right read only to be punished for it socially. Still, Faithful wins tend to come from restraint: players who stay flexible, avoid certainty, and let others take the heat.
Is The Traitors the same in every country?
The core format of The Traitors remains largely the same no matter where it airs. Every version revolves around hidden Traitors, nightly murders, daily missions, and banishments at the Round Table. What changes is tone, casting, and how aggressively the game is played. Some countries lean into heightened drama and big personalities, while others favor quieter, more methodical gameplay. Rules around recruitment, endgame structure, and prize distribution can also vary slightly, but the foundation stays intact. The result is a format that feels instantly recognizable while still reflecting the culture and reality-TV sensibilities of each country.
The Traitors (US) Season 4 premieres Jan. 8 on Peacock — and come back to Pop Heist to read Grace's recaps.
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