‘The Traitors’ Has a Different Energy With ‘New Blood’

It takes a lot to surprise Alan Cumming. But while welcoming a cast of everyday Americans to his Scottish Highlands castle at the start of The Traitors: New Blood, he admits the “normies” left him wide-eyed. “The energy is very different. I was shocked,” shares the devilish host of the NBC network television iteration of the Peacock game show, which usually features famous faces from unscripted TV. “A couple of times in the Roundtable, everyone was jumping around so much I thought I was going to fall off the platform!”

Hey…we in the Land of the Free aren’t known for our restraint! That plus the fact that you don’t have to be a Real Housewives or Survivor alum to excel at scheming, schmoozing, and having meltdowns makes for a refreshing high-energy fifth season with plenty of “Och!” moments. It kicks off with a two-hour premiere in which Cumming promises “a big twist.”

The setup for the multiple-Emmy-winning show remains the same: Contestants complete group challenges to build a pot of prize money up to $250,000. All claim to be Faithfuls, but among them are a handful of secret Traitors who “murrrder” someone nightly. (Hearing Cumming roll R’s in his Scottish brogue is reason enough to tune in.) After challenges, the group gathers at the Roundtable and each person votes to banish a suspected turncoat. The goal: Stay alive, get the prize.

The 22 Americans range in age from 23 to 65 and include a funeral director, an astrophysicist, and a dog groomer. That last one may come in handy since Cumming’s dog Lala is back at his side. “There are quite a few lovely oddballs,” Cumming comments.

Shooting an all-civilian season was something executive producers Sam Rees-Jones and Rosie Franks had often been asked about. Half the contestants in the 2023 Peacock premiere season were normies, and two made it to the final round. With more than 40 global iterations of The Traitors, which began as a Dutch series in 2021, there was plenty of testing ground to see if a full-civilian cast would work.

“A lot of other territories have done one, and we know the format works well with civilians,” says Franks. “It is one of those formats that, as you watch it, automatically as a viewer, you want to play along.”

The mix of brainy and brawny challenges held in the rainy (and often slippery, cold and dark) Scottish countryside this season include the series’ now-iconic missions. “The funeral director and I had a few jokes about how good I was at throwing a funeral compared to his ones in Long Island,” Cumming quips.

Despite the chilling elements, the producers say everyone from the kids to grandma can watch. And they expect this version will bring in a new audience. “We’re so excited to be out on 8pm on NBC,” Rees-Jones says. “It’s got darkened tones of murder, but it’s tongue-in-cheek and can be a family-friendly viewing experience. There’s a cheekiness. Alan’s got this theatricality to him, and it’s a multigenerational cast from all walks of life.”

Just don’t pump up the volume. “There’s a lot of screaming,” Cumming says. “They’re completely immersed in that world because they don’t have the experience of being on a set. They take it more seriously. For real people, it’s a huge amount of money [that] changes lives. So, in the missions, they are fighting much more for the pot.”

The focus on keeping it real spills into several aspects this season. On Peacock, the contestants, well, peacock in head-to-toe glam at the infamous breakfast where everyone learns who was murdered the night before. They change throughout the day. Not so for our peeps.

“It’s a really nice difference to Peacock. They bring their clothes,” Rees-Jones says. “We help them decide what to wear for the Scottish elements, but they are normal people representing themselves.”

Cumming saw it as a chance to work with show stylist Sam Spector to tone down his own look. The actor says, “It is quite a good way to reboot because we got to the point where I was literally dressed as a coffin last season. It was getting so surreal and huge.”

There was one outfit he regrets, though: “It was a pirate-themed challenge, and it was such a hot day. I took off my shirt and jumped into the loch with my boots and my kilt on and had a swim at the end of the shoot!” But that is the only do-over Cumming would want from this season working with everyday folks. “I loved it,” he says. “You hope certain things will happen and certain people will succeed. You have your favorites. But it’s completely unpredictable and confounding, and I love that as well.” Light the castle torches and open the doors for the guests!

The Traitors: New Blood, Premiere, Thursday, September 17, 8/7c, NBC