Dark, delicate art of choosing the Traitors

The twists of the latest show have astonished even the man who picks the mix of personalities who enter the castle.

- By Stephen Armstrong

Watching The Traitors right now is like turning on a crime drama you're familiar with and suddenly seeing the cast attack each other with pickaxes.

In the past two weeks, traitors have turned on each other in public, faithfuls have asked to be banished to prove a point, and players have sneakily pocketed protective shields. One faithful has even offered himself to traitors to recruit, like a vampire familiar asking for fangs in the neck.

"The players this year have taken things to a new level — they've surprised even us," says Lewis Thurlow, the show's executive producer.

"We've seen a highly strategic game by so many players and they're more invested in the game than in any series we've ever seen."

The result is defying expectations and TV trends. Episodes on Thursday and Friday pulled in overnight audiences of at least 8 million roughly the same as the tenth most-watched show of 2025. Given that catch-up can double an episode's ratings after 28 days, The Traitors is a phenomenon in a TV world where 4 or 5 million is considered a popular show.

But the real story of this series has been the players’ off-the-wall strategies — which are difficult to recount without spoilers. This, says Thurlow, was completely unexpected.