The Traitors (US)/Season 2

The Traitors (US)/Season 2
Season Information
Version	US
Season	2
Host(s)	Alan Cumming (main series) Andy Cohen (reunion)
Network	Peacock
Filming Location	Ardross Castle, Ardross, Highland, United Kingdom
Filming Date	September 20 to October 8, 2023
Production Company	Studio Lambert
Episodes	12
Premiere	January 12, 2024
Finale	March 7, 2024
Maximum Prize	US$250,000
Final Prize	US$208,100
Cast
Contestants	22 overall players 21 initial players 2 original Traitors 19 initial Faithfuls
Traitors	Dan Gheesling Phaedra Parks Parvati Shallow (from Episode 2) Kate Chastain (from Episode 9)
Winning Faction	Faithfuls
Winner(s)	CT Tamburello Trishelle Cannatella
Runner(s)-up	MJ Javid
Season Chronology
Previous Season	Season 1
Next Season	Season 3

The Traitors Season 2 is the second season of The Traitors (US). Just like its predecessor, it is released on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, with the first three episodes released on January 12, 2024, and then new episodes weekly at 9pm ET on Thursdays.

Background

After the success of Season 1, a series renewal was officially announced on February 2, 2023. Although the plan was initially to continue with the first season's theme of celebrities vs. civilians, applications for civilian participants were soon closed, as production decided to shift towards a cast of all reality TV veterans.

Still featuring Alan Cumming's dog Lala.

After months of speculation and the names of various reality stalwarts thrown around, the finalised cast was flown to the UK between September 19 to 20, 2023. The first officially confirmed contestants were Real Housewife Larsa Pippen and her boyfriend Marcus Jordan. Peacock later confirmed the full cast list, including many speculated names (and surprises such as Love Island UK winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and former British politician John Bercow) on September 21, 2023. Alan Cumming's dog Lala was also announced as his sidekick for the season, with an order for 11 episodes and a reunion special. The first trailer dropped on December 14, 2023, alongside the official launch date of January 12, 2024 - exactly a year after Season 1.

Aftershows

The new season included an official after-show, The Traitors: Postmortem, featuring “additional footage and interviews with eliminated contestants”. It will be uploaded onto both Peacock and its YouTube channel.

Title card for The Traitors: Postmortem.

Episode Titles

Unlike most international editions of the show, the US edition gives each episode non-generic titles.

Episode	Title
1	Betrayers, Fakes and Fraudsters
2	Welcome to the Dark Side
3	Murder in Plain Sight
4	The Funeral
5	A Killer Move
6	Backstab and Betrayal
7	Blood on Their Hands
8	Knives at Dawn
9	A Game of Death
10	The Weight of Deceit
11	One Final Hurdle
12	Reunion

Unique Characteristics & Twists

• Pre-existing Relationship: Dating couple Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan were cast on the show together, competing as individual contestants.
• Early Recruitment: On top of committing a Murder on their first night, the Traitors were also allowed to Recruit a Faithful from the start of the game onwards, before any Traitors were Banished.
• Armoury Removal: Shields were no longer given out at random through Armoury visits; instead, contestants had the chance to go for Shields during Challenges.
• Murder in Plain Sight: At the end of Episode 3, there was no Traitor's conclave. Instead, the Traitors had to retrieve a Poisoned Chalice from a book and persuade a Faithful to drink from it before midnight, in order to Murder them.
• Mid-Game Intruder: In Episode 5, at the start of the Roundtable, Kate Chastain was introduced as a surprise new contestant.
• The Sacrifice: In Episode 7, there was no Banishment. Instead, Alan called the group to a firepit and told them they would be shortlisting potential candidates to be Murdered that night. The Shield holders would initiate a chain of safety by granting immunity to Murder a contestant of their choice; that contestant would then select the next contestant to grant immunity to, until a total of five contestants remained unchosen. They would be the Sacrificed, eligible to be Murdered.
• Traitors' Ultimatum: At the end of Episode 8, there was only one Traitor left. They had the option of offering an Ultimatum to a Faithful of their choice, who would either be obliged to accept Recruitment or be Murdered otherwise.

Cast

Note: Image does not include Kate Chastain, who joined mid-game as an intruder.

The cast was comprised of 22 celebrities, with a mix of veterans from both competitive (e.g. The Challenge and Survivor) and non-competitive (e.g. The Real Housewives and Bling Empire) reality shows, as well as a few high-profile names like boxer Deontay Wilder and British ex-Speaker John Bercow.

Winner: Faithful    CT

Winner: Faithful    Trishelle

Banished: Faithful    MJ

Banished: Traitor    Kate

Banished: Faithful    Sandra

Murdered: Faithful    Shereé

Banished: Traitor    Phaedra

Murdered: Faithful    John

Banished: Faithful    Peter

Murdered: Faithful    Kevin

Banished: Traitor    Parvati

Murdered: Faithful    Bergie

Banished: Traitor    Dan

Banished: Faithful    Janelle

Murdered: Faithful    Tamra

Banished: Faithful    Larsa

Murdered: Faithful    Ekin-Su

Quit: Faithful    Deontay

Banished: Faithful    Maks

Murdered: Faithful    Marcus

Banished: Faithful    Peppermint

Murdered: Faithful    Bananas

Name	Occupation/ Notable For	Faction	Result	Exit Episode	Finish
CT Tamburello	The Challenge	Faithful	Winner	Episode 11	1st
Trishelle Cannatella	The Challenge	Faithful	Winner	Episode 11	1st
MJ Javid	Shahs of Sunset	Faithful	Banished	Episode 11	3rd
Kate Chastain	Below Deck	Traitor (from Episode 9) Faithful (Episodes 5-8)	Banished	Episode 11	4th
Sandra Diaz-Twine	Survivor	Faithful	Banished	Episode 11	5th
Shereé Whitfield	The Real Housewives of Atlanta	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 11	6th
Phaedra Parks	The Real Housewives of Atlanta	Traitor	Banished	Episode 10	7th
John Bercow	Former Speaker of the British House of Commons	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 10	8th
Peter Weber	The Bachelorette	Faithful	Banished	Episode 10	9th
Kevin Kreider	Bling Empire	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 9	10th
Parvati Shallow	Survivor	Traitor (from Episode 2) Faithful (Episode 1)	Banished	Episode 8	11th
Bergie Bergersen	Love Island USA	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 8	12th
Dan Gheesling	Big Brother	Traitor	Banished	Episode 6	13th
Janelle Pierzina	Big Brother	Faithful	Banished	Episode 5	14th
Tamra Judge	The Real Housewives of Orange County	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 5	15th
Larsa Pippen	The Real Housewives of Miami	Faithful	Banished	Episode 4	16th
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu	Love Island UK	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 4	17th
Deontay Wilder	Boxer	Faithful	Quit	Episode 4	18th
Maks Chmerkovskiy	Dancing with the Stars	Faithful	Banished	Episode 3	19th
Marcus Jordan	Basketball player	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 3	20th
Peppermint	RuPaul's Drag Race	Faithful	Banished	Episode 2	21st
Johnny Bananas	The Challenge	Faithful	Murdered	Episode 2	22nd

Voting History

Episode			1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9-10		10	11
Traitors' Decision			N.A.	Bananas	Parvati	Marcus	Ekin-Su	Tamra	Bergie	Peter	Bergie	Kate	Kevin	John	Shereé	N.A.					Finale
Banishment			N.A.	Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Janelle	Dan	N.A.	Parvati	Peter		Phaedra	Sandra	Banish Again	Kate	Banish Again	Tie	MJ
Finish	Vote		N.A.	17-2-1		10-2-2-2-1-1	8-4-1-1-1	9-5	11-1-1		7-4	5-4		6-1	4-1	3-1	3-1	2-1	1-1-1	2-1
1		CT	No Vote	Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Janelle	Dan	John	Parvati	Phaedra		Phaedra	Sandra	Banish Again	Kate	Banish Again	MJ	MJ	Winner
		Trishelle	No Vote	Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Dan	Dan	No Vote	Phaedra	Phaedra		Phaedra	Sandra	Banish Again	Kate	Banish Again	CT	MJ	Winner
3		MJ		John		Dan	Kevin	Janelle	Dan		Parvati	Peter		Phaedra	Sandra	Banish Again	Kate	End Game	Trishelle	Trishelle
4		Kate						Janelle	Dan		Parvati	Peter		Phaedra	Sandra	End Game	Trishelle
5		Sandra	No Vote	Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Janelle	Dan	Shereé	Parvati	Peter		Phaedra	Kate
6		Shereé		Peppermint		Janelle	John	Janelle	Dan	Phaedra	Parvati	Peter		Phaedra	Murdered
7		Phaedra		Peppermint		Ekin-Su	Kevin	Janelle	Dan	CT	Parvati	Peter		CT
8		John		Peppermint		Maks	Kevin	Dan	Dan	Peter	Parvati	Phaedra		Murdered
9		Peter		Peppermint		Kevin	MJ	Dan	Parvati	No Vote	Phaedra	Phaedra
10		Kevin		Peppermint		Peter	Larsa	Janelle	Dan	Shereé	Phaedra	Murdered
11		Parvati		Peppermint		Kevin	Larsa	Janelle	Dan	No Vote	Phaedra
12		Bergie		Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Dan	Dan		Murdered
13		Dan		Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Janelle	Phaedra
14		Janelle	No Vote	Peppermint		Maks	Larsa	Dan
15		Tamra	No Vote	Peppermint		Maks	Kevin	Murdered
16		Larsa		Peppermint		Dan	CT
17		Ekin-Su		Peppermint		Maks	Murdered
18		Deontay	No Vote	Peppermint		Maks	Quit
19		Maks	No Vote	John		Ekin-Su
20		Marcus		Peppermint		Murdered
21		Peppermint		Trishelle
22		Bananas		Murdered

Key:

Winner

Banished Traitor

Banished Faithful

Murdered

Quit

Shielded

Immune

Recruited

Rejected

Traitor

Faithful

Season Overview

Episode 1

Airdate: January 12, 2024

• Traitors Selected: Dan & Phaedra
• Mission Synopsis: Beacon Lighting
  Together, the 21 contestants worked together to build a giant beacon and set it alight in the middle of a loch, by gathering and rearranging the puzzle pieces for the beacon first. To guide the group, a replica of the puzzle was also hidden among bottles scattered along the loch shore. In order to set it ablaze, all players must have left the water; however, they were first tied up to a pole, and needed to untangle themselves first, and deciding whether to go for a Shield (two in the loch and one on land), start the puzzle or help someone untie themselves first. Completing the Mission within 40 minutes would earn the group $15,000.
• Prize Earned: $30,000 out of $30,000
• Shields: CT, Deontay & Janelle

Episode 2

Airdate: January 12, 2024

• Recruitment: Parvati (Accepted)
• Murdered: Bananas
• Mission Synopsis: Scarecrow Search
  The group of 20 contestants were split into three groups, each with their own marked paths. They encountered three questions about their fellow contestants based on a previously-completed questionnaire, with each possible option associated with a scarecrow that had a key on their neck. They had to guess the correct option, carry the scarecrow to a locked box and attempt to open it with the scarecrow's key. If they succeeded, they would be eventually guided to a 'field of gold' full of scarecrows, which they dissembled to try and find ten hidden gold coins. Additionally, three Shields were hidden in scarecrows. The group had 30 minutes to complete entire Mission and win up to $20,000.
• Prize Earned: $16,000 out of $20,000
• Shield: Dan
• Banished: Peppermint (17-2-1)

Episode 3

Airdate: January 12, 2024

• Murdered: Marcus
• Mission Synopsis: The Traitors' Cemetery
  The 18 contestants had 15 minutes to find the gold hidden in the various graves, crypts and tombs in the cemetery at night. To find the gold, the contestants needed to use tools scattered around the cemetery to break things open. The gold would only be counted if it was placed in a wheelbarrow at the cemetery entrance. To make things more difficult, searchlights traversed across the cemetery; any contestant caught in them were immediately eliminated from the game and any gold they were carrying. Only 9 players will allowed to search at a time so the rest of the players were a substitute incase a player is caught and eliminated from the game. 3 Shields was also hidden somewhere in the cemetery.
• Prize Earned: $19,500 out of $20,000
• Shields: Janelle, Peter & Tamra
• Banished: Maks (10-2-2-2-1-1)

Episode 4

Airdate: January 18, 2024

• Quit: Deontay
• Murdered: Ekin-Su
• Mission Synopsis: The Funeral
  The contestants took a long and slow walk to the Murdered contestant's final resting place; along the way, they were given a series of questions hinting at who was safe, allowing those who were the correct answer(s) to enter the carriage instead of walking with the procession, and eliminating them from consideration. The three contestants left then stepped into coffins at the burial plot, with the group voting on who they believe was Murdered. If the majority could correctly guess which contestant was Murdered, they earned $20,000 for the prize pot.
• Prize Earned: $0 out of $20,000
• Banished: Larsa (8-4-1-1-1)

Episode 5

Airdate: January 25, 2024

• Murdered: Tamra
• Mission Synopsis: Bird Calls
  The 14 contestants were split into three pairs of 'runners' who ran about the castle grounds with a marked map, and a group of eight that stayed behind in the castle. Within a time limit of 20 minutes, the runners located various stations, where they heard a bird call after blowing their whistles. They then imitated this call back to the castle group via radios; the castle group then had to search among various stuffed birds to find the one that made the right call, as well as where it could be found (with only one guess per bird call). Each correct bird call identified (with a maximum of 6) netted $2,500, alongside a bird in the Walled Garden that would net the runners that mimicked it Shields if the castle group guessed it correctly.
• Prize Earned: $10,000 out of $15,000
• Shields: Bergie & Trishelle
• Intruder: Kate
• Banished: Janelle (9-5)

Episode 6

Airdate: February 1, 2024

• Murdered: Bergie (Blocked by Shield)
• Mission Synopsis: Catapult Build
  The 13 contestants had to make their way to an incomplete giant catapult, collecting catapult pieces along the way to fully assemble it. Once complete, they then had to fire a golden cannonball and make sure it hit the distant target to win $20,000. They had one hour to complete the Mission. Along the route, Shield cannonballs could also be collected, and each contestant holding these cannonballs would be eligible to fire them at the target as well. The contestant whose Shield cannonball came closest to the target bullseye would then win a Shield.
• Prize Earned: $20,000 out of $20,000
• Shield: Shereé
• Banished: Dan (11-1-1)

Episode 7

Airdate: February 8, 2024

• Recruitment: Peter (Rejected)
• Mission Synopsis: Navigating the Woods
  The twelve remaining contestants were split into six pairs, and tasked with carrying $24,000 worth of gold through the woods. While making their way through the woods, each pair would encounter trivia or puzzle questions with two options they could pick from. They then had to follow a rope course based on their choice and have one member attempt to pick up a scroll along the way; if they were correct, they could continue on, but if they were wrong, they would be stuck in a bog or booby trap. The gold would only be banked if at least one member of each pair completed the course successfully. In addition, the pair that banked their gold the fastest would win Shields.
• Prize Earned: $8,000 out of $25,000
• Shields: Kevin & Sandra
• Marked for Sacrifice: Bergie, Kate, MJ, Parvati & Trishelle

Episode 8

Airdate: February 15, 2024

• Murder: Bergie
• Mission Synopsis: Cabin in the Woods
  The contestants were dropped off at a cabin in the woods and met legendary Big Brother player Will Kirby, where they found the entry to a network of escape tunnels, a map and instructions. Only five contestants could enter the tunnel at one time, while everyone else stayed behind to read the map, control the tunnel lights and communicate with those underground. The contestants had to locate gold hidden in various parts of the tunnel network, avoid any dead ends and escape the tunnels through a well within 30 minutes, all while avoiding a range of annoyances (both above and underground) meant to gross them out. Up to $20,000 could be discovered and won, but for every contestant left in the cabin or tunnels when time ran out (or chose to exit through the cabin door instead of the tunnel), $1,000 was deducted from the total. Additionally, a Shield was hidden in one of the tunnels.
• Prize Earned: $11,000 out of $20,000
• Shield: Trishelle
• Banished: Parvati (7-4)

Episode 9

Airdate: February 22, 2024

• Ultimatum: Kate (Accepted)
• Murder: Kevin
• Mission Synopsis: Knockout Comp
  Each contestant had a stained glass window with their name on it. They then had to take turns to fire from a crossbow at a window of their choice. The contestants' task was to shatter all the windows except one - whoever's window was left standing would win a Shield. In the meantime, each missed crossbow shot before this was accomplished would cost the group $250 from a starting pot of $25,000.
• Prize Earned: $15,250 out of $25,000
• Shield: CT

Episode 10

Airdate: February 29, 2024

• Banished: Peter (5-4)
• Murder: John
• Mission Synopsis: Big Dig
  The seven contestants had to dig up golden nuggets from a huge pile of dirt worth $150 each. They then had to cross a series of floating platforms to the other side of a pond and deposit the nuggets on the plate of a balance scale. They had 20 minutes to dig up, transport and deposit as many nuggets as they could, with up to $30,000 worth of gold hidden in the dirt, and any gold dropped into the water lost forever. A Shield was also hidden in the dirt, which could be banked by depositing it on the balance scale as well.
• Prize Earned: $28,350 out of $30,000
• Shield: MJ
• Banished: Phaedra (6-1)

Viewership

The season instantly became a bigger hit than the first one, becoming Peacock's biggest reality premiere with 75% more views from Season 1. The show was the second most watched TV program on Peacock when it was first released. After its first two full weeks, it debuted at #9 for Nielsen's Streaming TV Original Series Chart, with about 384 million streaming minutes (including all episodes from Seasons 1 & 2) for the week of January 15 to 21, 2024.

Trivia

• This is the first season in the international franchise:
  • To feature a returnee contestant as a full-fledged player (the first outright returnee was Frank Evenblij as host of De Verraders Halloween).
  • To have a mid-season intruder that was not in the game from Episode 1.
  • Where three or more Traitors were the only contestants that received votes at a single Banishment (Episode 6).
  • To feature a game cycle with no contestant leaving the game (since no Murder or Banishment took place in the Episode 7 cycle).
  • Where the runner-up was someone with the same role as the winner(s).
• This is the first season in the US franchise:
  • To have only two Original traitors at the start of the game; the first franchise worldwide for The Traitors to this was second Norwegian season.
  • To have episodes dropped weekly, rather all the episodes dropped at once.
• The first eliminated contestant and the winners of the season are from The Real World and its spinoff, The Challenge.

References

The Traitors (US)
Seasons	Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3
Hosts	Alan Cumming • Andy Cohen
Filming locations	Ardross Castle