With the beloved backstabbing reality show returning at the end of the month, Alex Casey introduces the cast – and the brand new host.
Time to steam your cloaks and polish your poison goblets, because The Traitors NZ is back at the end of the month for another season of betrayals and banishings. Starting on May 31 on Three, it is arriving at a time where the franchise has never been more powerful internationally, with Alan Carr’s jaw-dropping performance on The Celebrity Traitors UK just winning a BAFTA and giving us a frontrunner for television moment of the year, and the new batch of famous British faces just revealed last week to much excitement (James Blunt!).
And if you somehow still don’t know what us babbling superfans are on about, The Traitors is basically a jumbo, big budget version of party games like Mafia or Werewolf. A gaggle of strangers meet in a castle and a few are secretly chosen as The Traitors who will “murder” (write a stern letter) the remaining players – The Faithfuls – one by one. The Faithfuls’ job? To sniff out the rats, while not looking guilty as sin themselves. Make it to the end and you win up to $100,000 – but if there’s any Traitors left, they will nab the whole kitty for themselves.
So what does the third season of The Traitors NZ have in store for us? Here’s everything we know so far.
RIP Paul Henry as host
Host Paul Henry has gone the way of his hairless dog accomplice Professor Spanky, which is to say that he has suspiciously vanished from the franchise entirely. His rakish fedoras and ornate canes have been replaced by the raven curls and arched brows of actor, comedian and director Madeleine Sami. “Ah Paul, you died doing what you loved,” she reflects in this touching eulogy video. “Tormenting New Zealanders.” Brings a tear to the eye.
The trailer is intense
How good it is to be back at spooky Castle Claremont from season two, and not the discordantly sunny Airbnb of season one? More pleasing still is that this cast look to be ready and willing to play the game, with such promising soundbites as “I’m going to play the dumb card” and “in everyday life I am an honest bloke, but in this game all bets are off.” The challenges look to feature at least one giant vat of turquoise gunge and one night vision sequence, and the roundtable has more than enough eye-rolling and gasping to colour me firmly intrigued.
No celebrities, but plenty of accolades
It’s not a celebrity cast (thankfully), but we do have a thrilling number of high achievers and award-winners in the mix. There’s athletes like Janaia, an elite powerlifter who has set multiple world records; Aaron is an international Ironman triathlete who is a member of the New Zealand order of merit for services to sport; Violette represented New Zealand in water polo and athletics and was named one of Yale’s outstanding newcomers in track and field in 2022; Keanu is a professional dancer who won silver at the 2015 world hip hop champs.
But matching the brawn are the creative brains entering the castle, including award-winning author of The Grimmelings and Secrets at Red Rocks (and occasional Spinoff contributor!) Rachael. Also handy with a pen is writer Hannah, who intriguingly describes herself as a “witch and revolutionary feminist.” There’s also multi-disciplinary actress, model, writer and artist in Kate, an audio engineer and music composer in Ryan, and two certified jokers in Raw Comedy Quest finalist Elliott and teacher-by-day, comedian-by-night Maria.
Speaking of teachers, there are heaps of educators sharpening their knives this season. Samantha is a primary school teacher who has gone viral from the classroom. Dr. Debbie is a senior lecturer with over 20 years’ experience in tertiary education, and Maruia is a former secondary school teacher turned film and television director. Rounding out the teacher cohort is Bradley, a former “naughty kid” turned primary school teacher turned youth pastor. Who will be the first to use their big scary teacher voice around the roundtable? Can’t wait to find out.
There’s at least two self-described Traitors superfans in sports commentator Dave and office manager Harrison, although I suspect former strategic tabletop wargame designer James has probably also watched an episode or two. But don’t discount receptionist Jill, who plays “dumb and innocent” well or Chloe, who is known for “big facials and big honesty”. Aroha is a wedding celebrant who has a background in HR, as has bakery manager Michael. Could perhaps come in very useful in a game where humans are the only resources at your disposal?
The stakes are high
Not only will all these characters be competing to win the big prize at the end, but The Traitors NZ itself has a lot of people betting on it. Last year, it was announced that NZ On Air would fund both Three’s The Traitors NZ and TVNZ’s Celebrity Treasure Island for $1,436,911 and $1,349,000 respectively, with The Traitors NZ nabbing an additional $75,000 under Canterbury’s Screen Production Grant. “When you have important funding bodies saying ‘yes, this show deserves to be made’ it is definitely a pretty big tick of approval,” Rebecca Trelease, senior lecturer in critical media studies at AUT said at the time. Here’s hoping it pays off.
The Traitors NZ begins May 31 on Three.
