"The Traitors" Review: Is It Fresh Spice or Same Old Wine In New Bottle?

The moment players walk into the palace, the show keeps the ball rolling for the audience as well as fellow contestants as the first person gets eliminated before even walking into the palace. Later, the game starts when the first 3 traitors of the house are chosen and they commit the first murder. It keeps the audience hooked whether innocents will be able to find the traitor out or not.

On the other hand, suspicion and doubt starts seeping in the players from the 2nd day.

Well, it's not just about traitors but another drama of holding grudges and holding interpersonal fights also starts to creep in.

The show mostly is about the traitors and innocents which starts to get intense with each episode.

However, the task during the day where innocents and traitors play with each other, just feels like an extension in the show to keep the drama going on.

It really doesn't fit (at least for the first three episodes) as the players are edged up to find out traitors and traitors try to hide themselves as innocents and backstab their fellow contestants.

The physical tasks just feel an add on to the show.

The show is set at Suryagarh Palace in Jaisalmer. Everything in it feels very lavish and grand. There has been even more effort put in the dressing and styling of each contestant as well.

During the day tasks the show gives the vibes of Splitsvilla but grand scale with participants doing tasks in the movie train in the middle of the desert (as it looks) or during the gold nugget task near the lake site.

The show keeps the audience hooked with its traitor-innocent angle, however with the interpersonal fights unfolding, it gets dragged at some places.

The show is fast paced with almost two people getting murdered and eliminated everyday except for a few exceptions like the recruitment of traitors.

But Many of the participants in the show don't know each other well and tensions start gripping them from day one from saving themselves to finding out the traitor and performing well, being seen in the eyes of the audience. They have to keep up with this beat.

The ensemble cast of 'The Traitors' include Karan Kundrra, Raftaar, Jasmine Bhasin, Raj Kundra, Jannat Zubair, Sahil Salathia, Sudhanshu Pandey, Uorfi Javed, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Gujral, Maheep Kapoor, Apoorva Mukhija, Anshula Kapoor, Elnaaz Norouzi, Lakshmi Manchu, Mukesh Chhabra, Sufi Motiwala, Janvi Gaur, Nikita Luther, and Purav Jha as players.

During the show game plan can be seen changing--from players you might have seen doing well in the previous shows can be seen derailing in this game. Many will make their place of being heard and valued in the game from the first day. Some will try to gain the attention while others might emerge as an underdog.

However, the game can flip anytime at the circle of shaq.

However, there is some hollowness that creeps in the show, which you'll if you've been watching reality shows from a longtime. Though a different concept the show stumbles with the same old tired performances.

Karan Johar hosts the show in his flamboyant style, who keeps on raising the bar by revealing some twists in the game.

The show is a combination of mental and physical game, suspicion, fights, fun banter, making and breaking alliances and all the other drama.

The show overall will keep you hooked at some places. It might bore and irritate you as well at some places.

If you are interested in shows like Big Boss, Roadies, and Splitsvilla, you might find this one interesting.

The show has released only three episodes as of 14 June, 2025. Rest of the episodes will keep releasing every Thursday on Amazon Prime.

The Traitors is directed by Nishant Nayak which is an adaptation of an American show with the same name, which itself is inspired by Dutch series De Verraders.