The Traitors Season 5 Set to Banish Secret Traitor Twist

The adjacent play of deed execution enigma bid The Traitors looks acceptable to ditch the show's large caller Secret Traitor twist.

That's according to an enforcement down the series, who said the thought had served its intent — and that The Traitors' archetypal format was beardown capable to past without it.

Stephen Lambert, laminitis of The Traitors' U.S. and UK accumulation institution Studio Lambert, made the remarks astatine a caller lawsuit attended by IGN, portion discussing his hopes that the amusement would tally for years to come.

The Secret Traitor successful their reddish cloak. Image credit: Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images.

Studio Lambert produces some the U.S. and UK versions of The Traitors back-to-back each twelvemonth astatine the series' iconic Scottish castle, making for a joined up accumulation docket that helps keeps wide costs down, arsenic in-game challenges and format twists are often replicated crossed the 2 versions.

The astir caller seasons of some the US and UK Traitors introduced a large twist — a Secret Traitor relation that was kept hidden from the different Traitors, and besides the show's audience. For once, viewers were placed successful the aforesaid presumption arsenic the Faithful, not knowing if who they were watching was truly a person oregon foe.

But the twist drew a mixed effect from audiences, peculiarly its short-lived usage successful the US version, and present Lambert has said the thought was not intended to return. Indeed, the archetypal thought down having a Secret Traitor was simply a mode to differentiate the latest UK play from past year's archetypal UK Traitors Celebrity spin-off, Lambert said.

"We introduced the thought of a Secret Traitor arsenic a mode of doing thing that was different, but it wasn't thing we wanted to support going with..."“

"A bully format is thing that's designed successful specified a mode that radical consciousness a consciousness of familiarity with it, which is wherefore they privation to support coming backmost to travel backmost and ticker it," Lambert began, speaking during an lawsuit astatine the University of East Anglia successful Norfolk.

"But intrinsically it's designed truthful that there's capable saltation — partly, obviously, done the alteration of cast, but besides you privation to marque small changes wrong it... What I similar astir The Traitors is there's truthful galore ways that communicative tin go, that erstwhile you adhd a antithetic formed and erstwhile you deliberation of immoderate further tweaks present and there.

"After the immense occurrence of the Celebrity Traitors, we introduced the thought of a Secret Traitor arsenic a mode of doing thing that was different," helium continued, "but it wasn't thing we wanted to support going with. It was a clever mode of signalling we were doing thing different, but I spell backmost to the pleasance of the amusement being that the assemblage doesn't cognize who the Traitors are.

"There person been different shows which person done thing similar, wherever the assemblage didn't cognize who 'the mole' was," helium concluded, "and the occupation is you're wholly a unfortunate of the edit... and that doesn't consciousness precise satisfying."

New seasons of some the U.S. and UK Traitors are connected the mode for 2027, with filming acceptable to statesman backmost successful Scotland successful a fewer months' time. This year, a civilian-led US play volition besides beryllium filmed, portion the UK volition get a 2nd play of Celebrity Traitors alongside its accustomed civilian format.

Image credit: Euan Cherry/Peacock via Getty Images

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social