Ireland’s take on 'The Traitors’ is set to air in just over a week’s time – but it’s based on a format that is now in its fifth year.
‘De Verraders’ – Dutch for ‘The Traitors’ first aired on commercial station RTL in the Netherlands in 2021.
And it’s just the latest example of a Dutch TV format to go global – following the likes of Big Brother, The Voice and Deal or No Deal.
But while those shows put forward a new concept, the basic idea of The Traitors is far from revolutionary.
Over the years there have been many shows where members of a group try to figure out who among them is guilty of betraying their fellow contestants. It has echoes of murder mystery games, the likes of Cluedo – even the schoolyard games many played decades ago.
But something about The Traitors has stuck.
The fact that it is a simple concept that’s built on deception and human behaviour is part of that. The gothic styling is important too. Even simple decisions like letting the audience know from the get-go who the ‘traitors’ are – allowing people to see how they try to manipulate others – makes for entertaining viewing.
The fact that it’s the kind of game where people will watch it and think "I’d be great at this" is part of the draw, too.
How big of a hit has it been globally?
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
While the original only debuted four years ago, Ireland is still a relatively late-comer to the format.
Irish viewers may already be familiar with the British version, which finished its third season earlier this year, while the US is also three seasons-deep at this stage.
But there are many others across Europe and the wider world – with 36 different countries having produced, or about to produce, a version. (It’s actually 37 if you include the unlicenced Russian version).
And many of those are now on their third and even fourth seasons, with no signs of stopping. The BBC, meanwhile, is preparing to air a celebrity version later this year.
That being said, The Traitors has not been a hit everywhere. The Australian version, for example, was not renewed after its second season in 2023.
So how did the Irish version come about?
The rights to the Irish version are held by Kite Entertainment – which already makes a lot of TV that people would be familiar with, including Gogglebox.
And it’s through shows like Gogglebox that it has a relationship with a major international production company called All3Media. That is the parent company of IDTV, which is the firm that originated The Traitors format. And it’s through this relationship that the idea first came onto Kite’s radar.
According to Darren Smith, managing director of Kite Entertainment, they were made aware of the format before the Dutch version had even aired – and long before the British version brought it to wider attention here.
Having seen the Dutch and Belgian versions, Kite too an interest and secured the Irish rights. And in turn Kite Entertainment started having conversations with RTÉ.
But these kinds of things can take time to go from conversations to reality – while the upheaval and management change in RTÉ in 2023 may also have slowed the process somewhat.
But, eventually, it got over the line.
How much of a challenge has it been to make the show?
According to Darren Smith, the biggest challenge was finding the right venue. Fans of existing versions will know that the setting is arguably as important a character of the show as the contestants themselves.
And while there are plenty of castles in Ireland, few have the right mix of facilities that would cater to a large TV production.
One of the biggest issues was finding a castle with a large enough room for the nightly elimination. That needs to be big enough to fit quite a large round table – along with space for cameras, lighting and crew.
And the production team almost gave up in their search - and were about to settle on having that bit of the show done in a separate tent – until Slane Castle made itself available to them.
But The Traitors is a very different kind of show to make on a day-to-day basis, as well.
Darren Smith says one challenge, as a producer, is to learn not to produce. While other reality shows thrive on the contestants being nudged and provoked, The Traitors is about sitting back and letting them react to what’s in front of them.
The producers also have to go to extreme lengths to ensure they don’t spoil the game mid-way.
For example, the interviews with contestants are all shot with the person alone in a room with a camera – while a director asks questions from another room. That’s to avoid a member of production staff accidentally giving something away by, perhaps, making a face when the contestant mentions another player.
They also have to blindfold and put ear-defenders on contestants as they arrive at, and leave, the castle. That is to ensure the players can’t figure out which cars are turning back, which would allow them to identify who the traitors are. Meanwhile there’s security at their accommodation, no WiFi and blocked out windows – all so they can’t figure out who’s coming or going at different times of the night.
With that much work involved, what’s the attraction for Kite and RTÉ?
Well obviously both will be hoping it will be a ratings hit.
And the way the show is constructed has proven to really suit modern audience viewing habits.
It airs multiple episodes a week, which makes it appointment-to-view TV full of water cooler moments. That’s something linear broadcasters are crying out for nowadays.
But it’s also very on-demand friendly too –broadcasters in other countries have found the catch-up traffic for the show is always really strong; because some like to binge-watch a week’s episodes at a time.
And, with all of that in mind, it doesn’t drag on, either.
The latest English series was 12 episodes long, but it was wrapped up in less than a month.
Audiences today are more inclined to watch something if they know they’re not going to have to commit to it for three or six months in order to see the pay-off at the end.
So, if the audience success in other countries is replicated here, that’s obviously good news for ad sales for RTÉ.
But the format of the traitors also lends itself to making money in other ways – like product placement. The Traitors Ireland has an official partner for the cars that will take contestants to and from the castle each episode, for example, as well as a provider of food for players.
Meanwhile, there’s a title sponsor across the entire series that will show promotions around the ad breaks.
And, because there is such huge international interest in The Traitors, and because this is an English language production, there’s a hope it will also get picked up by other broadcasters and streamers around the world.
That is most likely to be the channels that already air their own version of The Traitors – as they will be keen to have another contest to show viewers in-between their own seasons.
So if The Traitors Ireland sells well overseas, that would also work out as another revenue stream for both Kite and RTÉ.
