The TV was run by people who didn't exist. There are people who manipulate. Some people are deceived. There are moles in this picture. Alan Cumming didn't host it. Now, that changes.
"Murder mystery" reality competition TV series that will instantly make you say "oh, so it's like Mafia" is what Peacock is following. The set-up is simple: 20 contestants gather in a castle, completing missions to add to a prize pot that will be split at the end of the game. Three perfidious "Traitors" are among the players. The players are thrown out of the game each night when the Traitors decide which one to kill. The players need to be tricked into voting out those they think are guilty or not.
Like Peacock's, The Traitors is set at a spectacularly Knives Out -y castle in the Scottish Highlands, filled with chandeliers, frightening taxidermy, and hidden dungeons. The set is the same as the cult table. There is a mix of reality TV celebrities and civilians in the U.S. The host of Peacock's show is Alan Cumming, who is best known for his role in "Cabaret".
Feel. The. Tension. Credit: NBC Universal
He was the host of The Traitors from the very beginning. He says in the second episode that he is like Agatha Christie in a fabulous outfit. As he explains the rules of the game, Cumming quotes the Scottish play as he promises to kill. The series constantly has Cumming slowly descending various grand staircases of wood and stone while providing commentary, adorned in brightly colored berets, crisply tailored tartan suits, and sparkling cape pins. Cumming ruminates on the proceedings with all the knowledge of a Shakespearean anti-hero serving that piping hot tea. Robert the Bruce once said, "If at first you don't succeed, try to find out who's been trash talking you in the billiards room." Randomly selecting competitors to ride a rickety old carnival wheel ride for a mission, Cumming gleefully calls to the estate's groundskeeper. The tombola needs to be grabbed. This phrase would be used every time a message was sent.
The series spends a lot of time watching the competitors eat pastries and trade suspicions, which may be your thing, but it feels a bit insipid at times. Those who weren't "murdered" by the Traitors in the night file in one-by-one to breakfast are consistently rescued when Cumming strides in to seize the fallen competitor's portrait. I am again! He sings "Your bed and breakfast host from hell".
Serious "Wicker Man" vibes. Credit: NBC Universal
During the missions, Cumming barks orders from behind his golden pocket watch at players trying to set alight a wooden beast beside a Scottish Loch. During the nightly banishings, Cumming commands the room and delivers the fatal blow. I would die if Cumming said the words "Shannon, you have been Bannished" to me. The person is dead.
Without the big reveal at the end, the show steers into repetitive finger pointing territory that is more interesting for the players than the audience. Cumming, our bed and breakfast host from hell, leans into the silly Poirot party vibe with every last accolade he has. It is rare for the host to upstage the players.
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