I Hope The Traitors Season 3 Doesn’t Make This Crucial Mistake That Nearly Ruined Season 2 (The Show May End If This Season Fails)

While the first season of the series incorporated reality stars and civilians, the series decided to shift gears for The Traitors season 2. With things moving in a new direction for the second season, the US version of the show moved away from the UK version, differentiating itself with a full cast of reality TV stars. The Traitors UK features a cast of everyday people playing the game, and the US sat somewhere in the middle before deciding to shift to a reality TV star cast. While some were wary of The Traitors season 2’s choice, it was mostly smooth.

The Traitors Season 3 Has An All-Star Cast Of Reality Royalty

Reality TV Stars Are Thrilled At The Opportunity

Although The Traitors season 2’s cast was believed to be the ultimate reality TV lineup, The Traitors season 3’s cast may have upped the ante even further. As The Traitors season 2’s season came to a close, it was clear that cast members like Big Brother legend Dan Gheesling, The Bachelor star Peter Weber, and Survivor champion Parvati Shallow had been able to find a new niche for themselves in the game, while others had a different experience. The Traitors is a competition based around a fast-paced social strategy, which reality TV gamers often have a lot of experience with.

Reality stars coming into The Traitors season 3 were aware early on that they had some big shoes to fill, and the Emmy award-nominated casting team behind The Traitors delivered. The Traitors season 3’s cast includes some of the most infamous faces in reality TV mixed in with some of the most incredible players from other reality competitions. From Vanderpump Rules villain Tom Sandoval to Survivor icon Boston Rob Mariano, the caliber of the reality stars on The Traitors season 3 seems like it will make for an incredible season of treachery and deception, which could make another great season.

The Traitors Season 2 Suffered From Issues Of Gamers Vs. Stars

The Competition Became More About Morality

Throughout The Traitors season 2, it was clear to me that there was a major divide between the two types of reality TV stars in the game. On one side were the gamers, the players who had past experiences in reality TV competition shows, and on the other side were the stars, the players who were either unfamiliar with reality TV or were on unstructured shows like The Real Housewives. While both groups were capable of playing hard, the cast divided quickly as they moved through the early stages of the competition, making it clear there would be an issue.

As the numbers began to dwindle, it was clear that the group of gamers had a different style of play than the stars of unstructured shows. The gamers understood that they were in a strategy game that would sometimes push them to make decisions based less on their values and more on the desire to win the game. They knew how to check the morality at the door of The Traitors castle and compete, while the majority of the reality TV stars who had no background in competition or reality TV gaming didn’t.

Making decisions based on who was more deserving and what they felt was right or wrong made for difficulties in choosing who to eliminate, whether or not to accept the offer to become a Traitor, and generally bottlenecked the game throughout the second half of the season. While The Traitors season 2 was an exciting back-and-forth, the divide between the groups of stars made it tough to watch in moments, because the unstructured stars weren’t aware of how to put themselves into “game” mode. It was also frustrating for the gamers, who understood what was happening but couldn’t fix it.

The Traitors Season 3 Could Avoid A Predictable Fate With A Few Moves

The Show Could Be Rejuvenated Easily

Although The Traitors season 3 has a cast that is divided between gamers and stars, there are ways the series can ensure things are less predictable. While there are traditionally multiple Traitors chosen at the game’s beginning, using only one Traitor for the beginning missions and round tables could be an interesting way to create tension throughout the group, who would assume there were more. The gamers would be pushed to work more closely with the unstructured stars, who would be faced head-on with the realities of the game. This could ensure The Traitors season 3 continues the show’s success.

The Traitors premieres January 9, 2025 on Peacock.

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