CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV: Killer show murdered by a bunch of ... trends now
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The Traitors U.S.
Rating **
Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes
Rating: **
Fluke or surefire formula? Claudia Winkleman’s reality format The Traitors, the mind game set in a Scottish castle, was the runaway surprise hit of last year.
The question is whether its sadistic, addictive effect on millions of viewers was an accident, the inadvertent result of its perfect cast of characters combined with Claudia’s previously unsuspected streak of cruelty.
The only way to answer that is to try it again. The Traitors U.S. (BBC3) does just that, in the same setting, with the same missions, even the same blacked-out limousines.
But there’s a crucial difference, one that betrays a lack of confidence in the format from its American producers. Instead of bringing together a group of unknowns with big personalities, half the players in this version are ‘celebrities’ from other reality shows.
Instead of bringing together a group of unknowns with big personalities, half the players in this version are ‘celebrities’ from other reality shows
They were all so in love with themselves that there was no chance for those flirtations and crushes that made Claudia’s clan of traitors and faithfuls so loveable
For British viewers, at least, these are the most obscure celebs imaginable. Their fame is on the scale of subatomic particles.
It’s not just that nobody here has heard of Arie Luyendyk Jr, Kate Chastain or Reza Farahan — their shows also are meaningless to us. The Bachelor, Below Deck, Shahs Of Sunset . . . those titles sound like fakes generated by a sarcastic computer program.
And while you might know that Big Brother and The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills are popular in the States, please don’t kid me that you have any clue who Cody Calafiore
