Prime Video today announced the premiere date for the Indian adaptation of BAFTA and Emmy winning reality show ‘The Traitors’. Hosted by Karan Johar, this new unscripted show is set to launch on Prime Video on 12th June, 2025.
‘The Traitors’ will have 20 contestants who are housed together in a royal palace and compete for the covered title and a cash prize of up to ₹1 crore by participating in various physical and psychological challenges. Among them lurk the chosen Traitors, whose mission is to eliminate the Innocents one by one under the cover of night, all while keeping their true identities hidden. The remaining players, the Innocents, must join forces to expose the Traitors.
The date announcement video launched today features Karan Johar who gives an idea of what ‘The Traitors’ is going to be about and also drops hints on some of the contestants which include Apoorva Mukhija aka Rebel Kid, Urfi Javed, Elvish Yadav, Karan Kundra and Munawar Faruqui among others.
While the fans of these internet sensations specially Elvish Yadav are pretty hyped up about the show, many others feel it’s going to be a cringe fest curated for the elites.
Such attitude towards the show stems from the fact that most Indian reality television has been disappointing at most with boring concepts, fake dramas and fights, over the top and staged controversies and more.
So how is ‘The Traitors’ going to be any different and can it improve the image of reality shows in India?
Well there are chances it might. That’s because ‘The Traitors’ has been a hit internationally just within a couple of years after it was first launched in Netherlands in 2021. The show has since been adapted in 20 countries and moreover some 30 versions of it have been commissioned globally.
Apart from this, the fact that Prime Video has pulled in some pretty known internet faces who have been centre of various controversies but also have quite a fan base, is bound to attract viewers.
But will this be enough to prevent ’The Traitors’ from facing backlash (which has already started online) for being too niche, fake and dramatised? Maybe not. But then again aren’t reality shows all about the spice!
One other thing that has caught viewer attention is the front face of ‘The Traitors’ – Karan Johar. After two back to back contentious seasons of ‘Koffee With Karan’, the filmmaker is returning as host for a new reality show but will he be able to move beyond his polarising image where he has often been blamed for stirring unnecessary controversies and drama by fueling gossips, doing lame jokes and pretentious conversations?
On the other hand Karan might be the perfect host for Prime Video’s ‘The Traitors’. He knows how to explore complex interpersonal dynamics and his experience in dealing with the inside spicy talks might come in handy too. After all ‘The Traitors’ runs on the themes of manipulation, mind games, backstabbing, and betrayal and Karan might just bring that much needed pinch of salt to the show with his ability to extract secrets and push emotional buttons.
Based on a format created and developed by IDTV and RTL Netherlands, the Indian adaptation of ‘The Traitors’ is produced by BBC Studios India Productions. Directed by Nishant Nayak and written by Juhi Goklani, ‘The Traitors’ will start streaming only on Prime Video from 12th June, 2025, with a new episode premiering every Thursday.
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