Some Monday fun, FOTB Alex McMillan has written an entertaining essay on their new Substack about what audiences from different countries expect from reality competitions, and how The Traitors might buck the trend a bit in the UK.
It is curious that whilst The Traitors has been clearly a success in many countries, it’s the UK where it’s gone absolutely stratospheric in a way I don’t think it has anywhere else.
Good article but the bit about Destination X filmed with a camera being the only similarity to The Traitors… really?
I think it’s been a monster hit here partly because of the lack of comparisons that can be made, unlike with many new formats. There is also an element of viewers having got caught up in the hype, but the hype was worth it. It’s well produced. Maybe would have suffered if it was an ITV show with a different production or if on C4 dubbed just another ‘put a whole load of people in one location’ show, which seems to be the most popular putdown for many of their new formats, unfairly or not.