As season two of The Traitors NZ approaches, we introduce the brave souls about to blag and backstab their way to $100,000.   

Grab your cloak and get ready to betray your closest friends, because the new season of The Traitors NZ is about to hit our screens. On July 1, a new group of New Zealanders will enter a spooky mansion and prepare to murder each other without spilling a drop of blood. It’s the reality TV format that’s swept the world, a murder-mystery game of luck and strategy that sees the “traitors” pick off the “faithfuls” one by one while the faithfuls try and work out who among them are the murderers. 

Last year, The Traitors NZ was a hectic mish-mash of celebrities and normal people, but season two features a cast entirely made up of “normies”. It’s a good sign – everyone starts the game as strangers with nothing to lose, and they’ll have to build trust quickly. But with a huge cash prize on the line, who will become the traitors, who will annoy Paul Henry the most, and who will end up sitting in a bath of maggots? We lit a thousand lanterns and closely studied The Traitor NZ’s official bios to find out. Let’s meet the 22 intrepid players about to stare death in the face. 

Ben Porter (22, Sydney, actor)

You might recognise Ben from last year’s dramatic Shortland Street storyline, where he played a shooter on the loose in the hospital. Will that murderous experience help him here? Not at all, because apparently Shortland Street is not real. Instead, Ben plans to use his youth as a strategy, believing that “older people struggle to understand his generation”. LOL! If only I had a clue what he meant. 

Noel Calamas (22, Invercargill/New York, writer)

Noel hails from both Invercargill and New York, two cities much alike in hopes, dreams and big wide streets. Described as “an enigma wherever he goes” – much like a Southland cheese roll once it goes north of the Waitaki River – Noel loves the craft of lying and is a big fan of spinning a yarn. Can he be trusted? Only the cheese rolls know the truth. 

Jason Kahika (52, Tauranga, landscaper)

“Jason knows about landscaping, and he knows about people.” Say no more, say no more.

Cat Hooker (40, Melbourne, occupational therapist)

Stone the flamin’ crows! Cat is turning this game into a Trans-Tasman affair, and we only hope this Australian competitor gets a fair suck of the sav. Cross her at your peril, because the Traitors superfan has worked in some of the highest security prisons in Australia. Fingers crossed that all that time in Wentworth comes in handy. 

Siale Tunoka (43, Dunedin, actor/teacher)

Siale hails from Dunedin, where he is a “father, teacher, husband, actor, joker, golfer, surfer and all round nice guy”. Sadly, all round nice guys usually don’t fare well on The Traitors, because they’re too busy being nice when they should be murdering people while they sleep. Good luck Siale, Dunners for the win. 

Donna Officer (40, Te Puke, information manager)

Donna just turned 40, got hitched and ran her first half marathon (all on the same day? The official bio neither confirms nor denies). Now she wants to run rings around the traitors, but can this self-proclaimed workaholic play the ultimate traitor game? 

Terry Frisby (51, Invercargill, comedian/account manager)

This Invercargill comedian/account manager describes himself as an analytical observer, which is exactly how you’d expect a comedian/account manager to describe themselves. Terry’s feeling confident – again, exactly as you’d expect a comedian/account manager to feel – but hopes to “pick his police officer wife’s brain” on how to gather intel. Sounds painful, Tezza. 

Jane Massey (53, Tauranga, diversity officer)

Jane hails from the UK, which means she comes from the land of the best Traitors format of all. Mysteriously, she loves “having a laugh”, is “completely competitive” and “is a strong, confident and smart woman”. Does she also have a bold fringe and a fondness for tweed? Claudia Winkleman, is that you? 

Mark Mockridge (32, Auckland, game master)

Stand down, we might have our winner. A professional Game Master? Who teaches strategy and tactics for social deduction games?? And is “a strategist of all strategists”??? Could it be any clearer????

Utah Mann (28, Auckland, marketing executive)

Utah is a member of the Tongan Olympic wrestling team, a marketing executive to the Moana Pasifika rugby team, and grew up between the United States and New Zealand. Lock me in a turret and throw away the key for saying this, but Utah is clearly… the Mann. 

Jackie Pope (70, Auckland, clairvoyant)

Sometimes it seems like they put clairvoyants in The Traitors just so that when they’re banished from the game, everyone else can say “she should have seen it coming”. Jackie’s ready to play, admitting that she’ll happily hold a grudge and her mouth often runs away with her. She also loves to ”mess with people’s minds”, a statement I’m sure doesn’t apply to her career of reading the future based on how someone shuffles a pack of cards?????  

Wiremu Tapara (32, Tauranga, council manager)

“Competitive and calculated” Wiremu plans on pushing the limits of the game as far as they go. Take it easy Wiremu, you’re already stuck in a castle near Timaru, how much further do you need to go? 

Brittany Cunningham (32, Auckland, content creator)

Brit became famous on TikTok for renovating her house, but sadly, there is no TikTok on The Traitors and Paul Henry probably doesn’t give a shit about the colour on the walls. Never mind. Brit says she’s also addicted to cleaning, so let’s see how she mops up the competition.   

Brianna Anglesey (24, Wellington, administrator)

Data administrator by day, children’s theatre actor by night, traitor 24/7? Seems likely. 

Joe Fa’agase (30, Brisbane, content creator)

Advance Australia fair – Joe is the second competitor from across the ditch this season. What is this, the murder Olympics? Joe’s strategy relies on gathering secrets and using them to his advantage, and says he’s happy to stir the pot. Cue the national anthem, this could be a medal winning performance. 

Molly Fehr (24, Dunedin, hospitality worker/emergency responder)

Molly recently moved from Canada to New Zealand, and is a big fan of new adventures. Will her biggest adventure of all be being stuck in a coffin, a la Queen Di? Can’t wait to find out. 

Andrew Allemora (37, Auckland, marketing executive)

This marketing exec considers himself to be “frighteningly good” at deceiving people. I’m scared from just reading that, but one quick question: if everyone is so good at deceiving people, wouldn’t the ultimate deceit be to not be deceitful, thus deceiving people with their own assumptions of deceit? Write your answer on a tiny blackboard, Paul Henry will be along shortly. 

Bailey Kench (28, Auckland, wedding videographer)

“Bailey loves making people happy,” the Traitors NZ official bio tells us, which sounds like a worrying trait to have in a game where people will lie, backstab and manipulate you. Nonetheless, simply reading Bailey’s bio made me happy (great sense of humour! very lovely! everyone trusts her!), so job done, great work, everyone’s a winner.  

Stephen Lane (67, Hamilton, retired salesman)

This retiree hopes to position himself as the elder of the group, so he can lull the young folk into feeling safe and secure. Nobody tell Ben Porter, but it’s time to bust out the Gold Card: the oldies are here to play too. 

Whitney Greene (38, Cromwell, funeral director)

“Who you choose to trust will decide your fate, and possibly your funeral,” host Paul Henry declared in the season trailer, so what luck to have a true blue funeral director on hand. As well as organising everyone’s final rites, Whitney “won’t hesitate to throw others under the bus”, which sounds like a clever way to both win the game and keep business up. One to watch, preferably while you’re not being thrown under a bus.

Janay Harding (29, Auckland, MMA fighter)

As an MMA fighter, Janay is a huge physical threat who’ll do well in the challenges. She’s fierce, smart and doesn’t suffer fools. MMA, OMG, FTW.  

Mike Adams (35, New Plymouth, builder)

“Mike is a man who sees himself as world-wise and says he often finds himself in situations where he’s the smartest person in the room.” Seems fine, no cause for concern, bring on the coffins. 

The Traitors NZ starts on Three and ThreeNow on Monday July 1.