Chapter 1: Origins and Evolution of The Traitors

1.1 Introduction: The Enduring Appeal of Hidden Roles

The identification of deception within social groups represents one of humanity's oldest cognitive challenges. From evolutionary psychology perspectives, the ability to detect "cheaters" within cooperative arrangements conferred significant survival advantages, leading to what Cosmides and Tooby (1992) termed specialized "cheater detection" cognitive modules. This deep-seated preoccupation with hidden intentions has manifested across human culture, from religious inquisitions to McCarthyist loyalty tests, from Shakespeare's Iago to Agatha Christie's drawing-room mysteries.

The formalization of this social anxiety into structured gameplay emerged in the late twentieth century, creating a genre now termed "social deduction games." These games share a common architecture: asymmetric information distribution where a minority faction possesses knowledge hidden from the majority, combined with elimination mechanics that create escalating tension as the player pool shrinks.

The Traitors represents the apotheosis of this genre's translation to television, a medium uniquely suited to capture both the strategic complexity visible to omniscient viewers and the psychological drama experienced by participants operating under uncertainty.

1.2 Ludological Antecedents: From Mafia to Among Us

1.2.1 Mafia and the Birth of Social Deduction (1986)

The direct ancestor of The Traitors is the party game Mafia, created by Dmitry Davidoff at Moscow State University's Psychology Department in 1986. Davidoff's design established the core mechanic that would define the genre: a game divided into alternating "day" and "night" phases, where an informed minority (the Mafia) secretly eliminates members of the uninformed majority (Townspeople), while the majority attempts to identify and vote out Mafia members during day-phase deliberations.

Mafia's significance extends beyond its mechanical innovation. Davidoff explicitly designed the game to model the psychology of Soviet-era social dynamics: the paranoia of living among potential informants, the difficulty of trust-building in environments of surveillance, and the tragic irony of innocent people being destroyed by fearful mobs. This political subtext would echo, consciously or not, through all subsequent iterations of the format.

1.2.2 Werewolf and the Thematic Reframing (1997)

Andrew Plotkin's Werewolf variant (1997) translated Mafia's mechanics into a fantasy setting, replacing gangsters with lycanthropes in a medieval village. This seemingly cosmetic change proved culturally significant: the werewolf theme externalized the hidden-role anxiety into a monster metaphor, making the game's psychological dynamics more accessible to audiences uncomfortable with organised crime roleplay.

The werewolf framing also introduced the concept of the game moderator as a character, a role that would eventually evolve into The Traitors' distinctive hosts. In Werewolf, the moderator narrates the night's events with theatrical flair, describing the werewolves' hunt in evocative language. This performative dimension anticipated the importance of hosts like Claudia Winkleman and Alan Cumming in transforming mechanical gameplay into dramatic entertainment.

1.2.3 The Resistance and Avalon: Information Expansion (2009-2012)

Don Eskridge's The Resistance (2009) and its Arthurian-themed variant Avalon (2012) introduced crucial mechanical refinements that The Traitors would later adapt. Most significantly, these games eliminated player elimination; no one was "killed" during gameplay. Instead, deduction occurred through mission selection and mission outcomes, with hidden traitors attempting to sabotage group objectives without detection.

This shift from elimination-based to mission-based gameplay directly influenced The Traitors' structure. The television format combines both approaches: missions add money to a prize pool (with potential for sabotage), while the murder/banishment cycle provides the elimination drama. The hybrid structure captures the strategic depth of The Resistance while maintaining the emotional stakes of Mafia's mortality.

1.2.4 One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Compression and Acceleration (2014)

Ted Alspach's One Night Ultimate Werewolf (2014) demonstrated that social deduction could function in compressed timeframes, with games lasting only ten minutes. This innovation, while not directly applicable to episodic television, proved that the core psychological dynamics (accusation, defence, vote coordination) remained compelling even without extended relationship-building phases.

The game also introduced role-swapping mechanics during the night phase, creating uncertainty even among informed players about their own alignment. This design principle (that nothing should be completely certain) would influence The Traitors' recruitment mechanics, where a Faithful's role can change mid-game, a twist explored further in the analysis of the Secret Traitor phenomenon.

1.2.5 Among Us: The Digital Revolution (2018-2020)

InnerSloth's Among Us (2018) achieved what no previous social deduction game had accomplished: mass global penetration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the game's player base exploded from thousands to hundreds of millions, introducing an entire generation to hidden-role gameplay through a digital, asynchronous format.

The game's influence on The Traitors is both direct and paradoxical. Creator Marc Pos initially feared that Among Us's popularity would oversaturate the market for deception-based entertainment. Instead, the game's success functioned as market education, creating an audience fluent in social deduction conventions and hungry for more complex iterations.

Among Us also normalised the core vocabulary of the genre ("sus" for suspicious, "venting" for escaping through hidden routes, "emergency meetings" for calling group discussions) which would influence how audiences processed and discussed The Traitors.

1.3 Marc Pos and the Genesis of De Muiters (2014)

1.3.1 The Creator's Background

Marc Pos, a Dutch television producer, conceived the original format in 2014 under the title "De Muiters" (The Mutineers). Unlike the party games that preceded it, Pos's vision was explicitly designed for television from inception: not an adaptation of existing gameplay, but a purpose-built format optimised for the medium's unique affordances.

Pos recognised that television could capture what tabletop games could not: the sustained observation of players over extended periods, the revelation of private confessionals, and the dramatic irony available to omniscient viewers. His format would not merely translate social deduction to screen; it would exploit the medium's capabilities to create an experience impossible in any other form.

1.3.2 The Batavia Inspiration

The historical inspiration for "De Muiters" was the Batavia mutiny of 1629, one of the most infamous maritime disasters in Dutch colonial history. The VOC (Dutch East India Company) ship Batavia wrecked on reefs near Western Australia, stranding approximately 300 survivors on barren islands. What followed was a months-long nightmare of murder, tyranny, and psychological manipulation orchestrated by an apothecary named Jeronimus Cornelisz.

Cornelisz, initially a merchant and not a ship's officer, gradually consolidated power among the survivors, identifying sympathisers, eliminating potential opponents, and constructing a cult-like organisation of "Traitors" who participated in the systematic murder of over 100 fellow survivors. The historical parallels to The Traitors' mechanics are striking:

The Batavia connection also explains the original maritime setting. "De Muiters" was conceived as a show set on a ship, with contestants playing roles analogous to the historical actors: some loyal sailors, others secret mutineers plotting to seize control.

1.3.3 From Ship to Castle: Practical Evolution

The ship-based format, while thematically coherent with the Batavia inspiration, proved impractical for production. Maritime filming introduces logistical nightmares: weather dependency, limited space for cameras and crew, motion sickness among contestants, and the impossibility of creating varied visual settings within a vessel's confined geometry.

The decision to relocate the format to a castle or grand estate resolved these practical challenges while introducing new thematic possibilities. Castles evoke:

• Mystery fiction conventions: The country house murder mystery (Christie, Conan Doyle)
• Gothic atmosphere: Shadows, secret passages, dramatic architecture
• Social hierarchies: Lords and servants, guests and staff, trust and suspicion
• Isolation: Remote locations cutting contestants off from the outside world

The castle setting also enabled the creation of distinct spaces for different gameplay phases: the Round Table for deliberations, the Traitors' Turret for secret meetings, breakfast areas for murder reveals, and mission locations across the grounds.

1.4 Dutch Premiere and Format Crystallization (2021)

1.4.1 RTL 4 Launch

De Verraders (The Traitors) premiered on RTL 4 in the Netherlands on March 13, 2021, hosted by Tijl Beckand. The show was an immediate ratings success, validating Pos's seven-year development process and demonstrating that the format could sustain viewer engagement across a multi-episode run.

The Dutch premiere established several elements that would become canonical across international adaptations:

The Daily Loop Structure:

1. Morning breakfast and murder reveal
2. Daytime mission for prize accumulation
3. Deliberation period
4. Evening Round Table and banishment
5. Night phase Traitor meeting and murder selection

Core Terminology:

• "Traitors" and "Faithful" as faction names
• "Murder" rather than euphemisms for nighttime elimination
• "Banishment" for daytime voting elimination
• "Round Table" for the deliberation venue
• "Shield" for murder immunity

Visual Iconography:

• Hooded cloaks for Traitor meetings
• Blindfolds/masks for selection ceremonies
• Lanterns carried to the Traitors' meeting place
• Written murder letters in sealed envelopes

1.4.2 The Prisoner's Dilemma Endgame

The original Dutch format featured a distinctive endgame derived directly from game theory's most famous paradox. When only three contestants remained, they would face a Prisoner's Dilemma: each player secretly chose to "Share" or "Steal" the prize.

• If all players chose "Share": the prize was divided equally
• If one player chose "Steal" while others chose "Share": the Stealer took everything
• If multiple players chose "Steal": nobody won anything

This mechanic created exquisite tension. A Traitor who had successfully concealed their identity faced a final test: could they resist the temptation to steal after watching their fellow Traitors be eliminated? Could Faithfuls trust each other after the paranoid ordeal they'd survived?

The format would evolve in subsequent seasons and international adaptations, but this original endgame established the principle that The Traitors would not simply end with faction victory; individual psychology remained relevant to the final moment.

1.4.3 Early Format Experiments

The first Dutch season served as a laboratory for mechanics that would later spread to other versions:

Recruitment: When Traitors lost members to banishment, they could offer a Faithful the opportunity to switch sides. This mechanic, absent from most party-game ancestors, added a dramatic mid-game pivot point and complicated simple faction loyalty.

Shield Mechanics: The Shield, won through mission performance, provided protection from murder but not from banishment. This asymmetry created strategic tensions: Shield holders were valuable targets for accusation precisely because they couldn't be killed.

On Trial/Death List: Traitors could designate a limited set of players as potential murder targets, focusing the next day's paranoia on specific individuals while potentially exposing Traitor preferences through their selections.

1.5 Global Expansion: 35+ Countries by 2025

1.5.1 The All3Media Distribution Strategy

Distribution rights for The Traitors format are held by All3Media, a British-Dutch entertainment conglomerate. Their licensing strategy prioritized major English-language markets (UK, US, Australia, Canada) while simultaneously pursuing broad European coverage and selective expansion into other regions.

The expansion timeline reveals a carefully orchestrated rollout:

This pace, from single-country origin to near-global presence in four years, represents unprecedented velocity for an unscripted format. For comparison, Survivor took over a decade to achieve similar reach; Big Brother required eight years from Dutch origin (1999) to comprehensive global presence.

1.5.2 Adaptation vs. Localisation Decisions

International versions of The Traitors exist on a spectrum between strict format adherence and creative localisation:

High Fidelity Adaptations (UK, US, Canada):

• Identical core mechanics
• Same or similar filming location (Ardross Castle for UK/US)
• Matching daily structure
• Minimal mechanical innovation

Moderate Localization (France, Germany, Australia):

• Core mechanics preserved
• Local hosts with distinct personas
• Some unique twists (Enhanced Shield in Australia)
• Culturally-adapted tone and pacing

Significant Variation (Norway, Hungary):

• New mechanics introduced (Blackmail, Half Moon party)
• Different endgame structures
• Experimental elements not found elsewhere

This variation spectrum serves multiple purposes: it allows each version to feel locally relevant while maintaining brand coherence, and it creates a "laboratory" effect where mechanical innovations can be tested in individual markets before potentially being adopted more broadly. A comprehensive analysis of these international variations appears later in this thesis.

1.5.3 The UK Phenomenon

The British adaptation, premiering November 29, 2022, on BBC One, achieved cultural penetration far exceeding its Dutch progenitor. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman and filmed at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, The Traitors UK accumulated over 34 million BBC iPlayer views by February 2023, the corporation's biggest new entertainment launch in years.

Several factors contributed to this exceptional performance:

Winkleman's Hosting: Claudia Winkleman brought established BBC credibility and a distinctive persona: warm yet darkly humorous, visibly invested in outcomes while maintaining appropriate distance. Her description of the role ("I'm on all of their sides. I want the Traitors to win and I also want the Faithfuls to catch them") captured the complex neutrality required.

Streaming-First Discovery: While the show aired on linear BBC One, its cultural moment emerged through BBC iPlayer. Word-of-mouth recommendations drove catch-up viewing, creating the kind of cumulative audience growth that traditional overnight ratings don't capture.

Social Media Integration: UK viewers embraced The Traitors as appointment social viewing, live-tweeting episodes and generating memes that extended the show's presence beyond broadcast windows. This audience behaviour would prove crucial to the format's viral success.

Timing: The premiere in late November 2022 positioned the show as ideal Christmas-holiday viewing, capturing audiences during a period of high television consumption.

1.5.4 The US Hybrid Model

The American adaptation, premiering January 12, 2023, on Peacock, introduced a distinctive casting innovation: mixing reality television veterans with civilian newcomers. The cast of 20 included:

Reality TV Veterans:

• Cirie Fields (Survivor)
• Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick (Survivor)
• Cody Calafiore (Big Brother)
• Rachel Reilly (Big Brother)
• Kate Chastain (Below Deck)
• Arie Luyendyk Jr. (The Bachelorette)

Civilian Contestants:

• No prior television experience
• Selected through standard casting processes

This hybrid approach created strategic asymmetries that pure civilian or celebrity casts couldn't produce. The veterans brought metagaming sophistication, alliance-building experience, and comfort with cameras. The civilians brought unpredictability, emotional authenticity, and occasional naivety that veterans could exploit.

The result, Cirie Fields's legendary victory as an original Traitor who received zero votes against her throughout the game, demonstrated how experienced players employing sophisticated strategic archetypes could dominate when matched against strategic novices.

1.6 Awards and Critical Recognition

1.6.1 Industry Accolades

The Traitors received rapid industry recognition:

• 2022 Rose d'Or: Reality/Factual Entertainment category
• 2022 C21Media: Best Competition Reality Format
• K7 Media: Named "fastest-growing unscripted format of 2022"

These awards validated The Traitors as a format-level innovation rather than a single-market success. The Rose d'Or, in particular, carries significant prestige in European television, signalling that the format represented genuine creative achievement rather than merely commercial viability.

1.6.2 Critical Reception

Critical response emphasised several distinctive qualities:

Psychological Depth: Unlike competition formats focused on physical challenges or talent display, The Traitors centred psychological dynamics: trust formation, deception detection, social manipulation. Critics compared it to dramatic fiction more than to typical reality programming.

Structural Elegance: The format's daily loop (murder, mission, deliberation, banishment) received praise for its clockwork precision. Each phase served clear mechanical and dramatic purposes, with no "filler" segments common in less refined reality formats.

Host-Format Synergy: Critics noted that hosts like Winkleman and Cumming weren't merely presenters but essential characters whose personas shaped viewer experience. The theatrical, slightly gothic hosting style complemented the format's atmosphere in ways that generic reality hosting couldn't achieve.

1.6.3 The Among Us Paradox

Marc Pos initially feared that Among Us's 2020-2021 explosion would saturate the market for social deduction content, potentially undermining The Traitors before its international expansion. The opposite occurred: Among Us functioned as market education, creating an audience that:

1. Understood social deduction conventions without explanation
2. Had practiced accusation, defense, and vote coordination themselves
3. Appreciated strategic depth rather than finding it confusing
4. Sought more complex iterations after mastering the game's basics

Research by K7 Media suggested that Among Us players were significantly overrepresented among early Traitors viewers, and that these viewers demonstrated higher engagement and completion rates than non-gamers. The video game had, unintentionally, created the perfect audience for the television format.

This relationship exemplifies a broader principle in media ecosystems: competition between adjacent entertainment products often grows total market size rather than dividing fixed demand. Among Us didn't steal The Traitors' audience; it created that audience.

1.7 Conclusion: A Format for Its Moment

The Traitors emerged from a specific convergence of factors:

Ludological maturity: Thirty-five years of social deduction game development, from Mafia through Among Us, had refined the genre's mechanics to a point where television adaptation became feasible.

Production technology: Advances in remote filming, confessional integration, and multi-camera castle coverage enabled the format's complex visual storytelling.

Audience sophistication: Viewers primed by escape rooms, true crime podcasts, and Among Us brought unprecedented genre literacy to the viewing experience.

Pandemic aftereffects: Audiences emerging from COVID-19 isolation craved social dynamics, parasocial connection, and entertainment that modelled the trust challenges of post-pandemic reintegration.

Streaming economics: Platforms seeking differentiated content found The Traitors offered appointment-viewing intensity compatible with binge consumption.

The format's continued expansion, with new territories and seasons announced regularly through 2025, suggests that these convergent factors represent durable market conditions rather than temporary alignment. The Traitors has established itself not as a passing phenomenon but as a new genre of programming: social deduction television, with all the complexity and fascination that genre implies. For a deeper exploration of the show's global impact, see the article on The Phenomenon.

References

• Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1992). Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. The Adapted Mind.
• Davidoff, D. (1986). Mafia [Game rules, unpublished]. Moscow State University.
• K7 Media. (2022). Tracking Paper: Fastest-Growing Formats 2022.
• The Traitors Wiki. (2025). The Traitors (franchise). Retrieved from thetraitors.fandom.com.