The Traitors Gets a Much-Needed Shake Up: NBC Orders New Civilian Version

Well, well, well. It seems like someone at NBC finally realized what the rest of us have been screaming into the void for years: The Traitors works better when actual humans with real financial problems are playing, not washed-up celebrities desperately clinging to their fifteen minutes of fame.

NBC just announced they’re picking up a civilian version of Peacock’s wildly popular backstabbing extravaganza, and honestly? It’s about damn time. Alan Cumming will thankfully return as host because let’s face it, nobody else could pull off that perfect blend of theatrical menace and Scottish charm quite like he does.

Why The Traitors Needed This Civilian Comeback

Here’s the thing that’s been driving fans absolutely bonkers: The Traitors started as a brilliant social experiment with regular people who genuinely needed that prize money. Then, like every other reality show that gets a taste of success, it went full celebrity and lost some of its soul in the process.

Don’t get me wrong, watching D-list celebrities fumble their way through basic deception has its entertainment value. But there’s something fundamentally different about watching someone who actually needs to pay their mortgage try to outwit a room full of strangers versus watching someone who’s already made their millions from being on seventeen other reality shows.

The civilian players bring an authenticity that celebrity contestants simply can’t match. When a regular person gets eliminated, you can see the genuine disappointment in their eyes. When a celebrity gets booted? They’re probably already calculating their next appearance fee.

What Makes The Traitors Actually Work

For those somehow still unfamiliar with this beautiful trainwreck, The Traitors is based on the Dutch series “De Verraders” and follows a deliciously simple concept. Players are divided into two groups: the Faithful (the good guys, if you will) and the Traitors (the magnificent bastards we love to hate).

The Traitors secretly “murder” Faithful players each night while trying to blend in during the day. Meanwhile, the Faithful attempt to root out the Traitors through a series of roundtable discussions that would make any corporate meeting look like a peaceful meditation session.

If any Traitors survive to the end, they split the prize money. If the Faithful successfully eliminate all Traitors, they win. It’s Mafia meets Big Brother with a healthy dose of medieval castle aesthetics thrown in for good measure.

The Scottish Castle That Launched a Thousand Betrayals

Production for this civilian version won’t begin until 2026, which gives us plenty of time to mentally prepare for another season of watching people lose their minds in that gorgeous Scottish Highlands castle. Seriously, if you’re going to have your trust systematically destroyed by people you thought were your friends, you might as well do it somewhere with decent architecture.

The same location has been hosting both the US and UK versions of the show, and honestly, it’s probably seen more backstabbing than actual medieval times. The walls of that castle could write a psychology textbook at this point.

Celebrity Fatigue Is Real

Look, we get it. Celebrities sell advertising spots and generate social media buzz. Donna Kelce, Lisa Rinna, and the rest of the Season 4 cast will undoubtedly bring their own brand of chaos when that season drops in 2026. But there’s something to be said for the raw, unfiltered drama that comes from regular people who haven’t been media-trained to within an inch of their lives.

The British version has been civilian-only from the start, and guess what? It works beautifully. They’re finally getting a celebrity version this fall, but they had the good sense to establish the format with real people first.

The Emmy-Winning Formula

The Traitors isn’t just popular with viewers who enjoy watching people emotionally destroy each other for money (though we are a dedicated bunch). The show has serious industry credibility, with Alan Cumming winning an Emmy for his hosting duties and the series taking home the Outstanding Reality Competition Program trophy.

When a show wins awards and generates genuine water cooler conversation, you don’t mess with the formula. You expand it intelligently, which is exactly what this civilian version represents.

The Future of Strategic Backstabbing

With Peacock already renewing The Traitors for a fifth season and this new civilian version heading to NBC, it’s clear that audiences can’t get enough of watching people lie to each other in a castle. And honestly? In a world full of manufactured reality TV drama, there’s something refreshingly honest about a show where the entire point is dishonesty.

The civilian version represents a return to what made The Traitors special in the first place: real stakes, real emotions, and real people trying to outsmart each other for life-changing money. No Instagram followers to consider, no brand deals to protect, just pure, unadulterated human psychology at its most ruthless.

Now we just have to wait until 2026 to see it all unfold. The anticipation might actually kill us, but hey, at least we’ll die knowing that reality TV occasionally makes the right decision.