NEED TO KNOW
- The Traitors season 4 premieres on Jan. 8
- The Emmy-winning actuality present follows a bunch of TV personalities and celebrities in a recreation of deception, technique and survival
- Forged members on The Traitors have particular guidelines to observe throughout their time on the Peacock present
Nothing screams chaos fairly like throwing a bunch of well-known TV personalities and celebrities right into a high-stakes homicide thriller recreation. However whereas on The Traitors, the solid has a strict algorithm they need to observe to make sure every little thing goes (principally) to plan.
The Emmy-winning Peacock actuality collection, hosted by Alan Cumming, kicks off its fourth season on Jan. 8 with the primary three episodes. Its star-studded solid options a mixture of former recreation present contestants, actuality TV stars and celebrities, together with the Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Lisa Rinna, The Bachelor‘s Colton Underwood, NFL mother Donna Kelce and Survivor‘s Rob Cesternino.
Whereas filming, the solid observe stringent tips that stop them from speaking with each other when cameras are down, and even connecting with individuals outdoors of the present. In post-production, the gamers should maintain all particulars tight-lipped — or they is likely to be booted off, per season 3 winner Dolores Catania.
“There aren’t any leaks in Traitors,” she stated whereas becoming a member of TwoTsCon: Two Ts in a Pod in November 2024, including that the manufacturing firm “doesn’t fiddle.” She continued, “They are going to edit you proper out of that present.”
From their restricted communication to the place they’re allowed to sleep, listed below are 9 guidelines The Traitors contestants should observe.
Gamers don’t sleep within the citadel
In every episode of the present, cameras observe the contestants as they seemingly get into mattress in similar, Gothic-style rooms within the citadel. Nonetheless, the shot is deceiving: the rivals truly sleep in a resort 45 minutes away from set.
“All of them stayed within the airport resort within the Inverness airport,” Cumming instructed The Every day Beast in January 2023 of season 1. “How glamorous you come to Scotland, and also you keep within the Inverness airport resort. I stayed in a bit home in Inverness.”
Nonetheless, the host had his personal room within the citadel to prepare in — and Cumming did sometimes take naps in there, he admitted.
There’s a restrict to how a lot they’ll drink
Although the contestants are sometimes proven with a glass (or goblet) in hand, they’re restricted to just one drink per night.
“You possibly can solely drink one drink an evening anyway, it was fairly restricted,” season 2 contestant Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu instructed Leisure Weekly in January 2024.
There’s a restricted quantity of locations they’ll go within the citadel
Not solely are the contestants not allowed to sleep within the citadel, however additionally they have a restricted variety of areas they’ll discover within the rented-out area. For season 2, the creators added the “scullery,” which is sort of a kitchen and the “folley,” which is an out of doors, stone-covered space, for the Traitors and Faithfuls to convene in.
“We all the time felt {that a} kitchen is someplace you go seize a cup of tea and it is an actual form of gathering place,” producer Sam-Rees Jones stated throughout a February 2024 panel. “And while we weren’t missing that, it was simply someplace else that we knew we had that area.”
There’s safety to make sure the Faithfuls don’t see the Traitors convening
Every night time, the Traitors convene to resolve who they’re going to eradicate from the present subsequent — but it surely’s an ordeal to ensure the opposite Faithfuls do not see them slipping away to take action.
“It’s a large army operation every night time to get the Devoted to mattress in particular person rooms and get the Traitors again out to have their assembly,” producer Mike Cotton instructed Selection in January 2024.
Season 1 and a pair of contestant Kate Chastain instructed Vainness Honest in January 2023 that the manufacturing even employed safety guards to make sure utmost secrecy.
Forged members can’t speak in regards to the recreation to one another on the resort outdoors of filming hours
After a day of filming, solid members have been not allowed to debate any facet of the sport — together with former couple Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan, who have been on season 2 of the present. The pair instructed ipromiseyoumedia they discovered a artistic technique to talk again on the resort, together with sending messages to one another by a fruit.
“Marcus requested me for a nail file, and I put it in a paper bag — and so they undergo every little thing, you are not presupposed to ship something backwards and forwards — however he wished a nail file and I used to be like, I am simply going to ship him a nail file,” she stated. “After which I used to be like, oh, there is a banana. He stated he wished a banana. So I [write] ‘I really like you’ on the banana and ship it to him with the nail file.”
“You are not supposed to speak in regards to the recreation when the mics aren’t prepared or the cameras aren’t on, as a result of if we are saying one thing that is essential and it is not on digicam, they cannot apply it to the present,” season 2 traitor Dan Gheesling instructed Enterprise Insider in February 2024.
Forged members should quit their private belongings
Upon arrival in Scotland, manufacturing takes most of the solid members’ private belongings from them, together with their telephones and passports, season 2 contestant and Shahs of Sundown alum Mercedes “MJ” Javid shared on the Simply Sayin’ podcast.
“After we bought off the airplane, I used to be like, ‘Oh you take our telephones, proper now,’ ” she stated. “You are gonna take every little thing — they take your chargers, your watch, your passport, your pockets, your cash.”
Gamers don’t know who can be on the present earlier than they arrive
Earlier than they arrive in Scotland, contestants aren’t aware about who else can be on their season to make sure they’re going in fully blind.
“As a result of it is a recreation, you don’t need them to have the ability to analysis one another or speak to one another or type alliances earlier than,” casting director Deena Katz instructed TIME. Nonetheless, there have been exceptions akin to Pippen and Jordan, for the reason that two have been a pair.
Celebrities can’t promote their manufacturers on the present
Inside their contract, contestants should conform to not promote any of their private manufacturers — which meant The Actual Housewives of Atlanta star Shereé Whitfield could not rep her SHE by Shereé in season 2.
“They stated I couldn’t!” Whitfield instructed ipromiseyoumedia in February 2024. “You possibly can’t put on your model.”
Forged members should take a persona take a look at beforehand
Forward of taping, casting administrators and producers administer persona checks to the potential candidates to find out whether or not their characters make them a great match for the present — and, extra importantly, who can deal with being a Traitor.
“We see attributes which may make somebody a great liar or significantly misleading,” Cotton instructed Selection of the significance of the persona checks.
Rees-Jones added throughout the 2024 panel that the take a look at “provides us a form of bearing on the persona strengths and what completely different attributes they could deliver.”
