The Traitors has been one of the most interesting, highly received shows of the last few years, and with several international iterations of the series taking the world by storm, ranking them from worst to best is a necessity. Originating from a Dutch series with the same premise, The Traitors UK season 1 was the first of the international iterations to hit airwaves in 2022, followed shortly thereafter by The Traitors US season 1 in 2023. With the series taking on two different audiences and tweaking the concept from iteration to iteration, each season of the series has been slightly different and allowed audiences to choose their favorites.
With The Traitors US season 2 currently airing and The Traitors UK season 2 just having finished its run, the franchise has been more popular than ever before. After the US version was named the number one streaming unstructured reality TV show on Peacock, many have been looking for other versions of The Traitors to see different ways the game has played out in different locations. While there have only been a few seasons of the series as a whole, some are already definitively better than others, proving what works and what doesn’t for the series.
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8 The Traitors Australia Season 1
Aired: October 2022
Although The Traitors Australia season 1 was the first season of the series to air outside of the Dutch original, it’s taken some incredibly different liberties and created an interesting, but forgettable season. With a cast entirely comprised of civilians, The Traitors Australia season 1 saw 24 contestants begin the competition. The Traitors in the game initially were a mix of older and younger players, but they had a difficult time maintaining the group. While the season is an interesting watch, the use of shields in the game changed its meaning entirely, with contestants being able to protect themselves from banishment and murder at any time. Overall, it was chaotic.
7 The Traitors New Zealand Season 1
Aired: August 2023
Late in the franchise history, The Traitors New Zealand season 1 didn’t air until late 2023. Like The Traitors Australia, the series took some interesting liberties with what the other international iterations of the show had done. The Traitors New Zealand season 1 brought a cast of half civilian, half celebrity contestants into the game and it was clear that the formula didn’t work as well as a cast of all celebrities or all civilians. With an incredibly high rate of Traitor turnover, as the Faithful were clearly having an easy time spotting Traitors. It’s equally chaotic as The Traitors Australia season 1, but has a bit more merit.
6 The Traitors US Season 1
Aired: January 2023
Much like The Traitors New Zealand season 1, The Traitors US season 1 incorporated a mix of civilian players and celebrity players, but the twist worked a bit better for the US competitors. With 20 players making up the original cast, celebrities like Big Brother’s Rachel Reilly and Cody Calafiore went toe to toe with civilians like political analyst Quentin Jiles and hair stylist Anjelica Conti. While the game itself was interesting, the clear divide between reality TV personalities and civilians was tough on the game, and created a layer of drama that didn’t necessarily work on screen. Overall, it was worth watching, but not the most compelling of all.
5 The Traitors Canada Season 1
Aired: October 2023
With 20 original contestants, The Traitors Canada season 1 followed the mold of the US and New Zealand versions, bringing together a cast of reality TV stars and civilians for an exciting murder mystery game. While The Traitors Canada season 1 has a similar issue with the divide between civilians and celebrities changing the game, the Canadian cast handles it somewhat better than other iterations of the franchise. The game itself is still incredibly compelling, giving a completely different tone to the series. With each international version came a different sensibility, and the Canadian version shows off the social dynamics of Canada in an interesting way.
4 The Traitors Australia Season 2
Aired: August 2023
Learning from their previous season, The Traitors Australia season 2 put forth a new format, adopting the civilian vs. celebrity model, but doing so in a fascinating way. The series changed the way the game was played a bit, changing their initial take on shields in multiple ways. During the first season, the cast members who won shields were able to escape both banishment and murder. The Traitors Australia season 2 changed the shields so that not only were they not just available during missions, they were also only to protect against murder. Overall, the season provided an interesting look at an incredibly weak Faithful team, which was compelling.
3 The Traitors UK Season 2
Aired: December 2023
As one of the most recent seasons, The Traitors UK season 2 was a fascinating look at the game from an entirely different perspective. The Traitors UK has been interesting in both of its iterations, choosing not to use any celebrities in their casting. With all civilians in the game, things become far more intense, far more quickly. The Traitors UK has some of the most fascinating storytelling in the franchise, creating archetypes around their players and doing a great job with the narrative of their contestants. The Traitors UK season 2 did feel predictable by the end of the game, but it was still a masterclass in reality TV.
2 The Traitors US Season 2
Aired: January 2024
After a difficult first season, The Traitors US season 2 has been one of the most interesting versions of the series to date. Bringing in all celebrities for the cast, the reality TV star-studded competition has brought some of the most interesting, complicated relationships back on screen. Bringing Big Brother’s Dan Gheesling out of retirement to play a game with Survivor legends, The Challenge veterans, and some of Bravo’s biggest personalities has been incredible to watch. Though some have complained the season is too overproduced, it’s still been one of the most interesting reality TV competitions of 2024 thus far.
1 The Traitors UK Season 1
Aired: December 2022
While the first season of The Traitors UK was a learning curve for the show, it brought some of the most fascinating social dynamics in real life onto the screen and played them out in an intense murder mystery game setting. The cast, comprised of all civilians, was able to work through the group of Traitors throughout the game, giving the season an interesting push-and-pull dynamic. An exemplary season of The Traitors, it was a great introduction into the series. The Traitors UK season 1 provided one of the best shows of gameplay for the franchise yet, truly showing off the social elements to the series.
