US broadcast network’s order follows success of Peacock’s celebrity version of the format

traitors US

Alan Cumming will return for NBC’s version of The Traitors

NBC has ordered a non-celebrity adaptation of The Traitors, following the Dutch format’s success on sibling streamer Peacock.

The NBC version is described as an “all-new civilian version” of the Peacock show, which features celebrities and socialites.

NBC’s Traitors will again be hosted by Alan Cumming, who fronts the Peacock series, and has started its casting call. Production is set to start next year through All3Media’s Studio Lambert, which also produces the Peacock show.

Broadcast revealed that a ‘civilian’ version of the show was being explored in 2023.

The format is based on the De Verraders format created in the Netherlands by All3Media’s IDTV and developed with POSVIDEO, in cooperation with RTL Creative Unit. All3Media International sells format rights globally.

Sharon Vuong, executive vice president of unscripted programming at NBCU Entertainment, said: “With our resident host and gameplay master of ceremonies, Alan Cumming, on board to introduce complete strangers to new epic missions and twisted gameplay, this new version for NBC offers a unique opportunity for the cast and audience to meet each other for the first time and we know it will be incredible to watch.”

Studio Lambert chief, Stephen Lambert, added that the civilian players’ stories and strategies “will make the gameplay even more unpredictable - and, we hope, even more addictive for viewers.”

Peacock landed its version of The Traitors following the 2021 unscripted development partnership between NBCUniversal and the BBC, which has also spawned US and UK versions of Destination X.

Both the BBC and Peacock adaptations of The Traitors are filmed at the same location. However, the BBC show initially featured only ‘civilians’, with the first celebrity version set to air later this year.

Peacock’s celeb show, meanwhile, debuted its third season earlier this year, receiving five Emmy nominations and a place in Nielsen’s original streaming series chart top 10 for five weeks. A fourth season will launch on the streamer next year and a fifth run has already been ordered.

The well-travelled format has now been acquired in more than 30 territories, having debuted on RTL 4 in the Netherlands in 2021.

NBCUniversal’s Lat Am division recently confirmed it would be remaking the format in the region for the first time, having previously aired the Peacock version.

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