Season 4 of The Traitors is back in full swing, and suffice to say, everyone is OBSESSED.
Here are 17 behind-the-scenes facts about the series that you probably didn’t know, but definitely should:
1.
The original concept for the show was to take place on a ship. Then, as the contestants lost, they’d have to “jump into the water and swim to an island.” That idea was scrapped when creator Marc Pos realized it’d be too hard to produce.
3.
The castle grounds have “hundreds and hundreds” of acres of land, so all the various Traitor sets were built there. But they have to be careful when building so that the contestants don’t know what’s coming.
4.
While the cast is not allowed to roam the entire castle (mainly because it’s not fully renovated), they have free rein in the show’s designated wing.
5.
When the players arrive, ALL of their personal belongings are taken away — anything used to communicate, chargers, watches, passports, wallets, money, and more.
6.
While it’s technically a reality TV show, there are no hair and makeup teams on set. So, players have to do their own glam if they want to.
7.
To avoid pre-shooting alliances, the players don’t know who else is in the cast until they arrive in Scotland. But once they’ve arrived, they each receive a cheat sheet of the cast and a journal to take notes.
8.
Contestants don’t actually get to choose their status as a Faithful or a Traitor.
9.
And producers actually give each contestant a personality test that could determine which status would best fit them. But ultimately, no one knows who the Traitors are until Alan taps them on the shoulder.
10.
And the contestants actually don’t even know how many Traitors there are in each given cast.
11.
When players are assigned as Traitors, they must follow the oath: “Do you commit to lie and deceive throughout the game? Are you willing to murder your fellow players every single night? And, do you vow to keep your identity and the identity of your fellow players a secret?” If they break it, they can be removed from the game.
12.
The Faithful are monitored by security each night to ensure that the Traitors can stay secret.
13.
Which also means that players are banned from hanging out on their off-time while at the hotel.
15.
Generally, an episode is filmed in one day, mainly because it keeps the players immersed in the game. A typical shooting day follows this schedule: “We start the day with breakfast, have a roundtable, have a mission, have a murder, and then start again.” The cast also has down days in between episodes.
16.
While shooting, every player is matched with a welfare team member to help them through any emotional turmoil that may arise on set.
17.
And finally, as producer and host, Alan is completely involved in the BTS aspect of shooting. “He’s completely in it. He has monitors in his room. He gets giddy watching what’s happening,” said Sam Rees-Jones.
New episodes of The Traitors currently air weekly on Thursdays on Peacock.