Rumors Are Swirling About The Traitors Season 4 Cast, And I’m Begging The Producers To Keep One Thing In Mind

The US version of Traitors is in the midst of casting its upcoming fourth season, and fans are going wild with speculation. There are also more than a few rumors going around about who producers are allegedly in negotiations with. I’m really happy with a lot of the names being thrown around and would be stoked to see them cast, but I’m also begging producers to keep one thing in mind: some of the best cast members we’ve ever had have been the weirdest and least famous.

Which former Survivor players are we getting and which current and former Real Housewives are we getting? Those are always the first two questions people have about an upcoming season of Traitors and rightfully so. Those two franchises are the longest running and have the biggest fanbases. Of course we want to see strong representation from both of those franchises. Fans also want to see popular players from Big Brother, The Bachelor, The Challenge and RuPaul’s Drag Race too, but if you look back on prior seasons, there are always some deeper cut cast members that make a huge impact too.

You could easily say the biggest surprise/ breakout player from last season was Dylan Efron. He dominated a lot of the conversation on social media and had less reality show experience than almost everyone in the castle. Players like aristocrat Ivar Mountbatten, Britney Spears’ ex-husband Sam Asghari, Biggest Loser coach Bob Harper and WWE star Nikki Bella brought a really worthwhile contrast too. The season was quite obviously better by having them in it, even though they came from non-traditional franchises.

The same could be said about Season 2. British politician John Bercow had a completely different energy than everyone else in the castle, and his presence was a huge plus. Had Deontay Wilder not eliminated himself early in the show, he would have been an even bigger standout too, as you could feel the emotional toll it was taking on him. Bergie and Ekin-Su from Love Island had reality show experience, but they were from a franchise not always represented and Lord, they really delivered, as well. The list goes on.

Over the weekend, Traitors HQ put together a rundown of the rumored contestants for Season 4. The social media account covers the show extensively and has been partially accurate with similar posts in the past. You can see who they’re hearing most below. You’ll notice a recurring theme…

Now, who knows how accurate this is going to end up being? The popular social account responded to some comments and made it clear these are definitely people rumored, not people that have been cast, but regardless, it delivers my overall message here pretty well. We’ve got heavy speculation for Survivor players, heavy speculation for Real Housewives, Big Brother and Drag Race. We’ve got no rumors about less popular franchises or people unaffiliated with reality television.

I’m not saying the Traitors producers aren’t going to cast non-traditional players. I’m sure they are. There likely aren’t rumors floating around about those more unusual picks because they’re less tied into reality television and have less connections to the traditional reality tv sources that report on rumors. It makes sense they’d be bigger surprises than the reality show players we’ve all been loudly clamoring about for years, but even so, I do want to take this opportunity to say loudly that those non-traditional players, even if they’re speculated about less, are very important to the balance of the game.

Of course I have a giant list of my favorite stars from those franchises I want to see play Traitors. I’d love to see Coach Wade from Survivor, Da’Vonne Rogers from Big Brother and NeNe Leakes from Real Housewives, among dozens of others. Seeing legends from different reality shows brought together is a core element of what makes The Traitors so great, but the point of casting isn’t to work your way through a list of every famous player from a small group of shows. It’s to create the best possible season of television, and the way to do that is by bringing in a robust group of non-traditional choices too.

I want to see The Miz from WWE. I want to see Leslie Gilliams from MasterChef. I want to see Snooki from Jersey Shore. Give me someone from Top Chef with a big personality like Antonia Lofaso, Tiffani Faison or Fabio Viviani. I want to see former athletes and people who got famous amidst weird sex scandals. I want to see grown up child stars and people I haven’t even thought to guess. I want randomness and so do all the people who have fallen in love with the show who don't typically watch reality shows.

Traitors still has a few kinks in the game it needs to figure out, but there’s a real chance it could turn into a classic reality competition show that’s on for a decade or more. Survivor, Real Housewives, Big Brother and a few other core franchises will likely always provide its biggest pool for casting, but as all involved look to cast future seasons, I’m begging them not to discount the contribution those non-traditional choices can have. Their relative inexperience brings a needed dynamic and allows the reality show legends to play off them in a way they never could against each other.