Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Traitors’ Season 2 on Peacock, Where A Devilish Alan Cumming Plays Host To A Slew Of Scheming Reality TV Stars

Peacock‘s reality competition The Traitors, now in its second season, is kind of like a super-sized reality show. This could be because the cast includes 20 contestants, most of whom could be considered some of reality TV’s most notorious personalities of all time, and it could also be because these contestants are, in the lexicon of the show, “murdered” one by one from within by a small group of moles, the titular traitors. Alan Cumming seems to relish his role as the omnipotent host-slash-puppetmaster, but most of the drama is created by the deceptive cast who – in an effort to stay alive – sometimes end up killing off some of their own in the process.

THE TRAITORS (SEASON 2): STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A majestic castle, lit only by candles and torches, sets an eerie, almost haunting scene. Cloaked figures walk down a hallway, and then our host, Alan Cumming, welcomes us to his castle. Speaking in a Poe-like rhyme scheme, he tells us this is a place “where treacheries abound, and murderers hunt the faithful like hungry howling hounds. Amidst this world of bloodshed, I am your humble narrator, so step inside, stay awhile, in the company of the traitor.”

The Gist: On the new season of The Traitors, the formula has been slightly tweaked: Instead of ten celebrities and ten non-famous competitors trying to win a $250,000 prize if they survive a series of challenges, the pool now consists exclusively of celebrities. Er, “celebrities.” Most of them are from reality TV, in some form or another, whether they got their start on competition series like Survivor, RuPaul’s Drag Race, or Big Brother, or on reality shows like The Real Housewives or Bling Empire. (Among them, there are also three competitors this season who famous (fame-ish?) for other things: First, there’s Marcus Jordan, an entrepreneur who is also the son of Michael Jordan and in a relationship with Real Housewife Larsa Pippen, who also appears on the show. There’s also British politician John Bercow (considering this is the U.S. version of the show, his inclusion here makes me think that George Santos declined an offer and they had to scramble), and former boxing champion Deontay Wilder.

All of these contestants have assembled in a castle in the Scottish Highlands where Cumming, who is pure camp wrapped in tartan, wilkommens them (sorry, had to make at least one Cabaret reference, I’m done) to an elaborate murder mystery where those who are designated as “traitors” (there are two of them, determined by Cumming, to start), will “murder” the other, known as the “faithful.” As the traitors continue their murder spree throughout the season, the faithful have to try and avoid becoming a target and will hold nightly votes to guess who they think the traitors are. (If they guess wrong, they risk banishing one of their own from the game forever.)

And throughout all of this, everyone has to compete in a series of challenges that add money to a prize pot. If the traitors keep their identities hidden and go unidentified, they’ll eventually win the big prize, but if the faithful figure it out, the prize money is theirs.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Between The Traitors and E!’s House of Villains, this year has offered us two very fun competition shows that bring together a who’s who of reality TV legends. House of Villains really leaned into the wacky and the sensational, like an episode of The Soup came back to haunt us, but The Traitors serves a slightly different vibe thanks to the moody atmosphere of the castle and the clearly staged B-roll of the cast. The shows are very similar though, as they’ve both knowingly assembled groups of people known for good TV and letting them do their thing. It’s no real surprise that The Challenge‘s Johnny Bananas was cast on both shows, the guy not only is a strong physical competitor, he also gives good soundbites.

Our Take: On the one hand, The Traitors raises the stakes for reality TV in many ways, combining some bold personalities with challenges that test the cast’s mental, physical, and emotional strength and really take things to a new level. On the other hand, given that there are so many impressive names in the mix, you’d assume that there might be more treachery, more reads, more silliness from the cast, but there actually isn’t that much of any of that. There are rivalries and arguments, yes. But after three episodes, the worst we’ve gotten is Real World star Trishelle and Drag Race‘s Peppermint getting into an argument about Peppermint making a weird face when it’s implied she’s a traitor. (The show is also worse off thanks to two of the more entertaining contestants – no spoilers -– being eliminated in the second episode.) And some of the contestants (specifically Bergie from Love Island USA, Tamra Judge from RHOC and MJ from Shahs of Sunset) seem to not even exist on the show. Twenty personalities is a lot to edit around, but you’d hope that everyone would at least get a couple good soundbites, but that’s not the case here, at least not yet.

And yet, this show knows what it is and it leans into its vibe. Those who have been chosen as traitors lean into their villainous roles and relish the chance to lie to their peers, the challenges sometimes have a creepy vibe (there’s one featuring a field of incredibly terrifying scarecrows, a visual that continues to haunt me), and Cumming commits to his bit as the dazzling but evil Machiavellian guide through the game. It’s also fun to see certain competitors coexisting outside of the shows that made them famous. Parvati and Sandra, who were enemies on Survivor, have a mutual respect and wariness of one another here, and all of the contestants from The Challenge (Johnny Bananas, C.T. Tamburello and Trishelle seem to have been conditioned to WIN AT ALL COSTS).

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: The two existing traitors have written a letter to one of the faithful, inviting them to become a traitor too. With that letter in hand, Cumming walks down the hall of the castle, pauses outside that person’s bedroom door, and stage whispers, “Welcome to the dark side.”

Performance Worth Watching: Honestly, you watch this show for Alan Cumming, who has not had this much cheeky fun on screen since he chewed up the scenery in Eyes Wide Shut in that one scene he had playing a bellhop opposite Tom Cruise. As far as contestants go, The Real World‘s Trishelle Cannatella is the one who starts stirring up drama right off the bat, so I’ve got my eye on her antics, too.

Memorable Dialogue: “This game is like a jar of jalapeños – what you do today is gonna burn your ass tomorrow.” Um, is Johnny Bananas secretly our generation’s Oscar Wilde?

Our Call: The Traitors pits some of the most memorable (and duplicitous) personalities against each other using a formula that’s wickedly dramatic and fun. STREAM IT!

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.