‘Despite it being my Mastermind subject, The Traitors can still take me by surprise’

As the self-appointed unofficial Traitors correspondent for Broadcast, this year was a smorgasbord of traitor-y delights, but I feel compelled to spotlight the Irish version and the UK celebrity spin-off as my franchise highlights.

I have spent several years proselytising The Traitors (BBC) to friends and family in Ireland, but RTÉ did a better job of recruiting them than I ever could. Despite the limited budget apparent on screen, The Traitors Ireland thrived on its casting, and a comical choice of traitors. An eleventh-hour change of vote had all of Ireland cheering with satisfaction; my only request for the next series is that RTÉ gives Kite Entertainment a bigger cheque to work with.

Studio Lambert’s casting team also needs a shout out for The Celebrity Traitors, because they have set a new standard for celeb spin-offs of ents formats. Despite being as utterly useless as the frustrating faithful of The Traitors Australia series two, I found the celebrities’ clear love of the show and their investment in catching traitors endearing.

And what can I say about Alan Carr that hasn’t been said at length elsewhere? Simultaneously the worst and best traitor to ever do it (more obvious than Linda, more cutthroat than Harry), Alan secured his place among the ranks of elite (and entertaining) traitors. Kate Garraway’s pure incompetence at the game and Celia Imrie’s anxious toot mark them out as other MVPs of the series.

Due to the cloak-and-dagger nature of the show, it can be hard to root for traitors because of the subsequent faithful heartbreak, but the faithful’s reaction to Alan’s reveal was so unexpectedly sweet it showed that, despite it being my Mastermind subject, The Traitors can still take me by surprise.

STREAMING SHOW OF THE YEAR

The Studio, Apple TV

My biggest gripe with this Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg-created show is there were not enough episodes. The scathing sitcom follows studio exec Matt Remick (Rogen) who is promoted to head of struggling film outfit Continental Studios, after the surprise ousting of his predecessor and mentor Patty (Catherine O’Hara).

The Studio

He and his band of constantly panicked executives (played by Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn and Chase Sui Wonders) scramble from one – usually self-induced – emergency to the next, from trying to get the perfect ‘oner’ shot for a film, to tying themselves in knots in recruiting a non-problematic cast for The Kool Aid Movie.

The Studio’s setting lends itself to celebrity cameos, but not since Bojack Horseman have I seen a swathe of stars so game to send themselves up. From Charlize Theron’s blink-and-you-miss-it appearance comforting a weeping Martin Scorsese to a duplicitous Olivia Wilde and Zoë Kravitz who accidentally ingests too many shrooms at Matt’s “old school Hollywood buffet”, the night before Continental’s upfronts.

The absolute standout turn is Bryan Cranston as Continental chief Griffin Mill, and I would argue Griffin’s drugged-out rampage in Vegas is one of the greatest physical comedy performances ever put on screen – up there with the ‘Get On Your Feet’ ice rink scene from Parks & Rec (my favourite comic scene ever). I cannot wait for The Studio’s take on the film festival season, overlong standing ovations and high-level mergers.

 Top five UK broadcaster shows  Top five streamer shows
1 The Traitors, Studio Lambert for BBC1/Kite Entertainment for RTÉ   1 The Studio, Apple TV
2 Big Boys, Roughcut TV for Channel 4   2 Pluribus, Apple TV
3 Boyzone: No Matter What, Curious Films for Sky Documentaries   3 LOL: Last One Laughing UK, Initial and Zeppotron for Prime Video
4 Once Upon A Time in Space, Keo Films for BBC2   4 The Perfect Neighbour, Netflix
5 Storyville: The Srebrenica Tape, BBC4   5 Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, Passion Pictures for Disney+

Marian

  • Marian McHugh is a reporter, Broadcast

Topics

Broadcast’s shows of the year

Shows of the Year 2025

Members of the team pick their favourite programmes of 2025