The Traitors has arrived on BBC One but many TV fans have blasted its format, due to the fact we find out who the traitors are early on in the programme.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors is adapted from the hit Dutch reality show, and sees 20 contestants moving into a castle together and competing for a huge £120,000 cash prize by taking on a series of dramatic and challenging missions.
Among these contestants are a magician, cheerleading coach, author, pensioner, BMX athlete, spa therapist, and property developer, so these very different personalities must decide who they can and can't trust throughout the game.
Unbeknownst to the others, three contestants are traitors and their goal is to sabotage the game, working to eliminate "loyal" competitors throughout the competition. These were selected by Claudia at the beginning of the show, but fans were annoyed that their identities were revealed in the first place.
Alyssa, Amanda and Wilfred were chosen as Traitors after everyone had a one-to-one chat with Claudia, discussing which role they think they'd suit best and why, before heading into the main room where everyone was blindfolded and the three traitors were touched on the shoulder to confirm their roles.
Viewers have criticized The Traitors for choosing to show the audience who the three disloyal players are, arguing that it would be much more intriguing for us to be guessing along at home with them.
Taking to Twitter, TV fans have claimed this decision has "ruined" the excitement, as we know who the traitors are very early on in the game.
Why have they showed us who the traitors are 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ @BBC #TheTraitorsNovember 29, 2022
I mean, surely telling us who the traitors are has ruined the excitement now? #thetraitors pic.twitter.com/jOrXV0h3GcNovember 29, 2022
This would be more fun if we, the audience, didn’t know who #TheTraitors are and could be guessing too. It seems an odd choice for the show to have told us.November 29, 2022
Would it not make it more interesting to the viewers if they didn’t know who the traitors are? #TheTraitorsNovember 29, 2022
Nooo I didn’t want to find out who they are! I wanted to work it out 😩 #TheTraitorsNovember 29, 2022
People have also compared The Traitors to popular Netflix series The Mole, which followed a similar format except it kept the identity of the titular mole a secret, until the very end, with people repeatedly asking "who is the mole?" even though some fans blasted the series for being "lame".
I agree! I just finished watching The Mole on Netflix (similar show) and you don’t find out who the one sabotaging the missions is until the winner is announced! It makes it so much more fun because you play along trying to work out and guess who it isNovember 29, 2022
However, despite these complaints, some viewers are impressed with The Traitors and many have crowned receptionist and actor Maddy as the fan favourite. Because she's a "Faithful" this gives viewers even more reason to root for her to succeed.
In the next episode of The Traitors we will find out who Alyssa, Amanda and Wilfred chose to murder first, eliminating them from the competition but they have teased that it will "throw the castle into chaos" and that they "really love this person". Any ideas?
We will have to wait and see if people's opinions change despite the negative feedback on the format, when The Traitors continues on BBC One on Tuesday, November 6 at 9:15 pm.
