Your ‘Traitors’ Binge Ain’t Over Yet — ‘The Traitors UK’ Season 2 Is Out on Peacock

After one helluva run, Peacock’s The Traitors Season 2 has come to a satisfying — albeit shocking — conclusion. The cloaks have been folded, the bonfire’s been snuffed, and a fleet of minivans have hauled Alan Cumming’s extensive wardrobe back to the mystical closet from whence it came. The Traitors is on hiatus until the debut of Season 3 at some point in the future. It’s time to say farewell to the castle — or is it?

Those of you who still want a weekly dose of manipulation, schemes, and extravagant challenges orchestrated by an intriguing host are in luck, because there are brand new episodes of The Traitors to binge on Peacock right now. I’m of course talking about The Traitors UK — and the first three episodes of Season 2 are available to stream right now!

The fact that there’s another Traitors series may come as a surprise to you — which, no surprise there. Who can concentrate on anything else when Phaedra’s dropping the greatest one-liners in reality TV history and CT’s running around in the tightest wetsuit that’s squeezing those tree trunk thighs of his… Sorry. Um, am I alone on that last one? I can’t be. I’m a man and I have eyes! But yes — The Traitors actually originated in the UK, premiering in November 2022 just a couple months ahead of the US version’s debut. And with the US spinoff’s blockbuster sophomore season wrapped up, Peacock has wisely decided to roll out Season 2 of the OG right now on a weekly basis.

For all the US superfans out there, I highly recommend watching at least the first episode of The Traitors UK Season 2 because it’s as close as we can get to actually peeking into an alternate reality. You’ll notice that pretty much everything is the same, from the setting even down to the challenges. There are, however, two major differences that really make The Traitors UK stand apart as its own beast.

First, there’s the host: Claudia Winkleman. Clad in black with the thickest bangs and eyeliner this side of 1985 Ally Sheedy, Winkleman cuts an entirely different figure from Alan Cumming. Whereas Cumming hosts the show as if he’s the maniacal mastermind that craves attention, Winkleman almost seems to loom over the proceedings. It’s a deadly game to Cumming, and it’s deadly serious to Winkleman. For my X-Men people: If he’s Mr. Sinister, she’s Emma Frost in black (which I know is Selene, but Claudia is not an immortal witch as far as I know).

The other difference: there are no celebrities on the cast. This is the real game changer, and this shift is what makes The Traitors UK a completely different watch even if it’s essentially following the same challenge outline as the US Season 2. After a wonky debut season that mixed civilians and celebrities, the US edition rightly went all-in on reality TV veterans for Season 2. It paid off and it’s hard to imagine The Traitors US ever going back to casting normals.

But the UK version shows just how wild a game this can be when you’re dealing with 22 people who’ve never been put in the spotlight and under this much scrutiny. And since the UK series had the entire kingdom to cast from as opposed to just reality stars, you get a cast from some wild walks of life. We’ve got players ranging from 21 to 67 years old, including military veterans, a 44-year-old chess coach, artists and accountants, and even a 58-year-old psychic. That’s got to be the worst profession to be in coming into The Traitors! Don’t you want to see how that plays out?

Because of these changes, watching The Traitors UK Season 2 immediately after finishing the US finale is a must. It’s the best way to see what this game actually is when it’s not played by people who have mastered the art of reality TV. Plus, you get to see new reality TV stars form right in front of your very eyes. Maybe the stars born in UK Season 2 will ultimately travel across the pond to star in The Traitors US. And who knows — maybe one day Alan and Claudia will team-up for the most deceitful and dastardly Traitors season ever. The Traitors: International would be a killer season.