If you clicked through on this article, I assume you are a person who is already paying at least a modicum of attention to The Traitors, the hit reality game show you can and probably have watched with a Peacock subscription. US fans are well into Season 4 now, and despite it still feeling like early years for the show, there have already been rumors running around about a potential All-Stars season. I’m here to say: That's a mistake. Let’s forget those rumors for now and focus on one idea I think would make for a much better Traitors cast. And no, I'm not talking about the normie version of the show.
While I would not complain about an All-Stars season of Traitors, it’s absolutely not the version of the show I really want at this point. What we really need next, or at least soon in the history of the streaming series, is a season of all “early murdered” contestants.
Bring Back Contestants Murdered Early, Not The All-Stars
What do I mean by this? Every single year, the titular traitors take out some heavy hitters early on. This year, it was notable Survivor star Rob Cesternino, who called out a murder in plain sight before getting murdered… in plain sight. I guess he didn’t follow that advice he got from Boston Rob ahead of joining the show, but I digress.
Rob’s not alone in this club, though. Last season, popular Real Housewives of New York City star Dorinda Medley was the first one murdered. Yes, the show has already brought her back, but I would also love to see other Survivor alum Jeremy Collins come back after being unceremoniously murdered in a coffin. Brutal. Another sad moment was when The Challenge’s Johnny Bananas was the first one murdered in Season 2. There are lots of players who have really never been given a chance to play.
I could go on and on, as the list of storied reality stars going out early on the series is long, and includes a bunch of gamers, who I assume would make great TV. I honestly, truly want to see some of them really get an opportunity to play again.
Of course, some rules would need to be in place to make a return season work:
- You would have to have been murdered – not banished – by the traitors on your season.
- This must have happened early, before audiences knew you (ideally like the first 3-5 episodes, though I’d be open to negotiation here as I loved Monet this season, who was murdered in Episode 5.)
So many gamers who I think would have made excellent traitors and/or faithfuls have been unfairly axed by Housewives, other gamers and more. The traitors sometimes throw chaos into the ring and cut some quiet players, too, and I honestly don’t know how some of those players would have fared had they stayed on long enough to get a better edit.
In fact, even people who have been on the series for quite a chunk of time sometimes don’t get a ton of TV time until later in the season. For example, in Season 4, Top Chef’s Kristen Kish and Dancing with the Stars’ Mark Ballas have seemed quietly out of the loop and lacking in strategy. However, the chef has been adamant online that she had “strategy,” was vocal in interviews, and noted that Mark was simply her No. 1, not her only ally. Listen, it’s hard to get camera time when you have Rob Rausch mugging for the camera in overalls and overalls only.
Of course, one drawback to doing an entire season of The Traitors with only early murdered contestants would be that quite a few people would simply be unceremoniously murdered, again. That’s just good TV, though, and I think the allure of the opportunity to play again would mean a lot of reality stars would say yes. At least I hope.
It’s time to get Rob Cesternino justice. Anyone with me?
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