Smash hit gameshow The Traitors has been renewed for a second season by the BBC.
In one of the least surprising bits of commissioning news of the year so far, the pubcaster has opted to greenlight a 12-part series two of the Claudia Winkleman-hosted game show in which a group of “faithfuls” try and smoke out three “traitors” while living in a castle. The group compete in challenges and each night one is “banished” from the castle and another is “murdered” by the traitors. The word-of-mouth hit was all the British TV industry could talk about over Christmas, coming in for praise for its high-octane drama, diversity and range of authentic contestants.
The show attracted more than 3 million viewers per episode overnight for the BBC when it aired around Christmas time and was the biggest new series for young people of the year, according to the BBC. Produced by Studio Lambert in the UK, the original Dutch format has been selling around the world, most recently airing on Peacock in the U.S, where it is hosted by Alan Cumming.
“We were delighted so many viewers of BBC One and BBC iPlayer loved the first season,” said Studio Lambert CEO Stephen Lambert.
“They told us they enjoyed the drama and entertainment of watching our players judge each other, often leaping to false conclusions, but also forming alliances and real friendships. We’re excited to be making a second season with Claudia as together we build on the success of the first.”
BBC Head of Entertainment Kalpna Patel-Knight praised the “ambitious and bingeable hit.”
More details will be announced in due course. The original version was created by Marc Pos, developed by All3Media’s IDTV & RTL Creative Unit and produced by IDTV. All3Media International is distributing the format worldwide and will sell the tape for both UK and U.S. versions. Executive producers for Studio Lambert Scotland are Mike Cotton, Sarah Fay and Toni Ireland, and the production executive is Abi Lambrinos.
Watch a reveal video featuring Winkleman below.
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