What Is the Story About?
The show inspired by a Dutch show is about 20 people who are locked in a palace in Jaisalmer. There are innocent people and then there are traitors. A majority of them are innocent but a few are murderers.
This is based on a thought experiment that proves the fact that a minority with access to powerful information will always rule over a majority that is uninformed.
Precisely how class works. A tiny group of rich people have all the powers but the remaining vast majority continues to struggle.
The innocent people have to identify the traitors. The show has many familiar contestants like Karan Kundra, Anshula Kapoor, Maheep Kapoor, Elnaaz Norouzi, Uorfi Javed, Raftaar and more.
Analysis
Remember when you were a teenager? There used to be sensational shows on MTV that parents won’t want their kids to watch.
Shows like Roadies, Splitsvilla, Love School, India’s Next Top Model and whatnot.
They had some tropes. They would pick sensational people who would scream, create drama and fully entertain everyone on the way.
Now take the same concept to a much grander budget. You have the new show.
Reality TV thrives on tension, betrayal, and the thrill of not knowing what’s coming next. The Traitors, in its Indian debut, arrives with all the right ingredients, a huge palace in Jaisalmer, a mix of 20 contestants, and Karan Johar in full drama mode as host. The setup is promising: innocents must unmask hidden traitors among them before they’re picked off one by one. On paper, it sounds addictive.
And for the first few episodes, it is. There’s a strange thrill in watching alliances form, suspicions bubble up, and players try to read each other at the account of being a traitor. The tasks while not mind-bending are visually rich and help shift the group dynamics. Karan, in his usual flair smiles when he is shown hiding secrets. Wow, so dramatic.
But cracks do appear. The casting feels uneven. Some contestants, mostly influencers or prior reality TV regulars, perform rather than play. Moments that should feel tense or shocking are drowned in overproduced music and dramatic cuts. The game demands subtlety and at times, the show just doesn’t trust its own audience to pick up on it.
Still, there’s something watchable here. When the format breathes, when players aren’t trying to ‘perform’ their roles, The Traitors captures a kind of repackaged experience for the OTT audiences. So if you loved those MTV shows then you will most certainly not hate The Traitors.
This is a show that knows what it wants to be, even if it doesn’t always know how to get there. With tighter editing, smarter casting, and a little less drama-for-drama’s-sake, The Traitors could still become the addictive social experiment it was meant to be.
Highlights?
Production value
Drama
Drawbacks?
Outdated
Overly dramatic
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
The Traitors OTT Show Review by Binged Bureau