BBC One’s The Traitors has everyone talking as it kicked off its third season on January 1.
Viewers have been taking to social network X (formerly Twitter) to express their adoration and occasional disapproval of the contestants charming us each week.
It’s become one of Britain’s most chatted about game shows, with fans regularly hitting up social media to offer predictions, comments, and a blend of affection and criticism for the participants enchanting our screens weekly. Now, followers of The Traitors are heading over to social network X to share one significant alteration they’re eager to see.
In a viral post that attracted 445,000 views, the suggestion was: “Petition for #TheTraitors to do a series where we don’t know who the traitors are either.”
To give you some background, the show is centred around 22 players (referred to as the Faithfuls) taking on tasks to secure a cash jackpot. Within the group lurk three ‘Traitors’ determined to oust the Faithfuls and snatch the grand prize by metaphorically ‘offing’ the others unbeknownst to them.
Every round closes with the Faithfuls huddling around a round table to discuss and decide which of them is likely double-crossing the group, followed by ejecting their prime suspect.
In response to the famed post, followers shared their two pence on whether this daring modification would spike the intrigue or ‘null’ify the heart of the game.
Comments varied, with one enthusiast posting: “That would be next level suspense, sign me up.” While another concurred: “Brilliant idea – keeps everyone guessing, including us! “.
Debate is rife within The Traitors’ fanbase over the best viewing format, with some insisting that concealment of the Traitors would dull the show’s edge.
One viewer exclaimed: “I think the reason why it’s fun is because you as the viewer have more information than them so you see the mistakes they make. Hiding the Traitors wouldn’t work.” Meanwhile, another added a different perspective, saying: “The issue is that we see about 10% of everyone’s day together so we will miss crucial details that lead everyone to form their own opinions on who the Traitors are.”
Echoing these thoughts, an additional comment read: “Girl, do you wanna miss 80% of the game. The whole point of the show is to see how Traitors avoid getting caught and how faithfuls try to catch them!”
Whilst many relish in these aspects, others theorised alternatives which might preserve the thrill. For instance, one fan suggested a creative workaround, saying: “That could work: maybe record the conversations in the Traitors’ Tower, and have them recreated by a group of actors? So the audience gets the fun of trying to figure out who the actors are representing based on the things that they say and who they’re talking about.”
Another innovative idea was thrown into the mix, with another person saying: “What if the Traitors didn’t know who each other was? They’d meet to decide who to kill but could wear cloaks and use voice changers. The drama would be unreal.”
Other suggestions put forward included postponing the unveiling of the Traitors until the second or third episode, or even adopting a format similar to Netflix’s The Mole, where viewers are kept guessing about the identity of the deceptive player until the final episode.
The Traitors is currently being broadcast on BBC One every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the first three episodes also available for streaming on BBC iPlayer.