I'm a deceiver

How a Russian-designed parlour game for geeks became a show starring Paul Henry and his big hat.

- RUSSELL BROWN

THE TRAITORS NZ, Three, Mondays & Tuesdays from August 7, 7.30pm; ThreeNow

In the British and US versions, it all plays out in a remote Scottish castle - in New Zealand, it's a luxury lodge. So far so good. But The Traitors strikes a plausibility problem early on when its assembled freshfaced contestants are bowled over by the emergence of Paul Henry in a fedora. How can this be a surprise? Surely, the fetching back of Henry from Palm Springs to anchor a TV format and lament the state of the nation is now some sort of seasonal tradition? It's practically Matariki.