On the (fashionable) heels of his announcement that a civilian edition of The Traitors will soon come to NBC, host Alan Cumming has elaborated on this new spin on Peacock’s hit reality competition.
As Traitors “faithfuls” know, the Peacock series debuted with a cast of both celebrities and civilians but started casting only celeb contestants in Season 2. Now that Peacock edition is “on this trajectory of theatricality and madness” as Cumming said in a new interview with People.
But NBC’s edition of The Traitors will reopen the competition to anyone, regardless of fame, and that represents sort of “a reboot” for the format, Cumming told the magazine. With the civilian edition, The Traitors is “calming down a little bit and starting again, which is exciting,” he said.
Cumming also shared that he’s “really looking forward to” the higher stakes for the civilian edition. Celebrities, he explained, don’t necessarily need the Traitors prize money, but those winnings will make “more of a difference” in the lives of everyday people.
“So there’ll be more at stake,” he said. “The stakes will be higher.”
Plus, Cumming added, the civilian contestants on NBC’s Traitors will be wildcards to the viewing public. “We won’t go in with preconceptions of the cast because we don’t know them, and I think that will be fascinating,” the Scottish emcee said. “There will be more of a slow burn getting to know people.”
The Traitors, based on the Dutch reality show De Verraders, premiered on Peacock in 2023, with “faithful” contestants trying to identify which of their peers are traitors as both factions vie for a cash prize. The series has won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program, and Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program.
Now NBC is hyping up its edition of the competition, which is currently casting contestants ahead of a 2026 production start date.
“We’re excited to bring along The Traitors’ highly addictive fan base as we discover the next generation of legendary gamers and schemers,” NBCUniversal unscripted programming boss Sharon Vuong previously said in a statement. “With our resident host and gameplay master of ceremonies, Alan Cumming, on board to introduce complete strangers to new epic missions and twisted gameplay, this new version for NBC offers a unique opportunity for the cast and audience to meet each other for the first time, and we know it will be incredible to watch.”
The Traitors, Premiere, TBA, NBC
The Traitors, Season 4, TBA, Peacock