Happy Holidays one and all! I mentioned on my podcast yesterday that I'd try to post links to watch the Australian and UK seasons of The Traitors, this is that post! Scroll to the end if you are in a hurry, otherwise I'm including a re-edited version of my post from Post.news where I discuss the show and compare it to The Mole (which many have done). So with that here you go and again I hope you all are well as 2022 wraps up!
First off, if you aren't familiar with "The Mole" - it was originally hosted by Anderson Cooper (before his CNN days), was really good and was recently re-booted on Netflix (sans Cooper). Personally I wasn't too thrilled with the new version having now watched it. One Mole tries to sabotage the player's games but had no real stake in the outcome, they can't be eliminated, nor do they win any of the money. As a viewer we also have no idea who the Mole is. On "The Traitors" unlike "The Mole" we the viewer know who the Traitors are and there is, as the name implies, more than one usually. It makes for a much more interesting show as we are in on the secret. Like the Mole the cast works together to earn money towards a pot but the Traitors also have a shot at the money unlike the Mole. Also unlike the Mole the individual Traitors can be eliminated.
My biggest qualm with The Traitors is there often isn't a need to watch the competitions as in the end everyone wants to earn the most money possible. This is a minor annoyance though.
The AU and UK versions cast about 20 "fresh faces" and I really have enjoyed both series. I am hopeful for the US version but learned that half the cast is made up of Reality TV 'celebrities' which is not a great selling point to me. That being said I think the show will still be worth the watch when it shows up on The Peacock in late January. (Post US Version Watching Note: I agree with this assessment - I did enjoy the US version but I still feel the UK & AU versions were better - unless you wanted to see your favorite US Reality 'star')
Since I originally wrote about the show I have finished watching the UK season and I loved both the AU and UK shows. As its not easy to watch here in the US I've decided to link you directly to every episode (with the hopes they links keep working). So with that here you go - enjoy!
*10/2023 update. All versions seem to have now gone with the Celeb / Newbie mix. I guess I'll live with it.
*1/3/2024 update. Correction! UK has stayed with all newbies!! Bravo!!
