The Traitors Creators Tease Season 3 Casting & More: "I've Stopped Looking at my DMs"
With The Traitors Season 2 barreling towards the finale, there's news about casting for Season 3.
At the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour for NBC today, the producers of The Traitors, host extraordinaire Alan Cumming and repeat contestant Kate Chastain (Below Deck), as well as executive producers Stephen Lambert and Sam Rees-Jones, revealed some tasty details about their already underway plans for the recently ordered Season 3.
With the sophomore season ranking as the highest rated, non-scripted series on Peacock, The Traitors creators told the assembled reporters (including NBC Insider) that they were very pleased with how the casting change-up for this season has positively impacted the play dynamics. They also shared how the success of this season is impacting a rush of interest from celebs showing interest in joining Season 3 as the preliminary casting process begins.
Celebs vs. Civilians: Casting for The Traitors Season 3
With four more episodes (and the reunion show) left in Season 2, Rees-Jones shared they have already started preliminary casting for the next season. He acknowledged that the current season set the bar very high in terms of great contestant machinations and twists.
"The show is only as good as its cast and the format, and both are brilliant this year," he enthused. "It's very early days, but we're excited about who might join us next."
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Rees-Jones called the show a "jigsaw" in terms of putting together the variety of contestants they've had so far. "The representation of different personalities and different voices, we want to make sure that we do again."
Cumming then laughed, "I've had to stop looking at my DMs on Instagram because there's so many people asking me to be on the next season."
Alan Cumming wants Beyonce to join The Traitors in Scotland
At one point, the panel was asked who they've put on their dream cast lists. Cumming immediately said coyly, "Beyonce." Lambert then said if they're dreaming that big, he'd want Taylor Swift.
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A bit more seriously, Chastain suggested, "I would like to see some of the cast from Vanderpump Rules. Some of them would be well suited for the game."
The Traitors creators reveal why they brought Kate Chastain back
One of the biggest twists of Season 2 has been the return of Chastain, who placed fifth on the first season of The Traitors. "Kate absolutely had unfinished business from Season 1 and she was a fan favorite," Rees-Jones said about why they brought her back. "We enjoyed spicing things up. We want to keep the players always guessing what's going to happen next."
For her part, Chastain said, "I was pleasantly surprised that I did not go home that first day. ... I think everyone was surprised to see me show up, including myself."
The return of Johnny Bananas?
Asked by a reporter if they were surprised how quickly some competitive contestants, like Johnny Bananas, were murdered, Rees-Jones said that's the terrifying and thrilling fun of The Traitors. "I think the beauty of the game is anyone can go at any point," he said pragmatically.
But Lambert added, "He could be revived in another season."
New episodes of The Traitors Season 2 premiere every Thursday. Episodes are available to stream on Peacock alongside The Traitors: Postmortem aftershow.
