The Traitors USis back for a fourth season with a brand-new cohort. The new cast not only includesreality televisionstars but celebrities from all walks of life. Fans have been googly-eyed about the cast, taking to social media to gush over the latestReal HousewifeorSurvivorto play the game. However, when I took a second look and really started to think about whoPeacockcast in this latest season,I realized it was a total miss. Betweenrepeating casting formulas from previous seasons and casting celebs with controversial backgrounds, I thinkThe Traitors USmissed the mark on this one.
Why Does ‘The Bachelor’s Colton Underwood Continue to Get a Platform?
WhenColton Underwoodwas first cast inThe Bachelorfranchise, he seemed like a diamond in the rough. He’s a former NFL player, has a smile worth a million bucks, and, to the surprise of everyone, was a virgin. He first appeared onBecca Kufrin’s season ofThe Bachelorette,where he was so well-liked he was cast as the leading man onThe Bachelor.He fell in love withCassie Rudolph,and after an epic fence jump, the two ended the season together. Nearly two years later, the two called it quits, but things got messy quickly.Cassie claimed that Colton was stalking her and placed a tracking device on her, which led her to issue a restraining order against him.The order has since been dropped, but the controversy was clouded by Colton’s shocking announcement in April 2021.Colton came out as gay during an appearance onGood Morning America,which pretty much swept everything he has done under the rug.
Fast-forward to the present day, when Colton was announced as one of the contestants on this season ofThe Traitors. Why do controversial men continue to get platforms on television? Networks keep putting men likeTom SandovalandJax Tayloron television, boosting their platforms and enabling their terrible behavior towards women. Although Colton was extremely brave for coming out to the world, it shouldn’t have taken away from the fact that he allegedly stalked Cassie.He needs to be held accountable for his actions, and that starts with avoiding casting him on television.
‘The Traitors’ Is Repeating Its Casting Formula From Previous Seasons
If you compare the casts from all four seasons ofThe Traitors,you will noticethey copy and paste the same casting formula. We first have to mention that they are recastingDorinda MedleyfromThe Real Housewives of New York City. I love Dorinda, don’t get me wrong, but let’s reprise her role onRHONY, notThe Traitors. The show has cast its token drag queen of the season.Monet X Changewill be playing the game, just asBob the Drag Queendid last season. Production has continued casting relatives of well-known celebs. FollowingDylan Efron’s success last season,Donna Kelce, mother of NFL playersTravis KelceandJason Kelce, has been cast for this season. Of course, you have theReal Housewives,Big Brother, andSurvivorplayers, who always appear each season. As exciting as it is to see reality television favorites,the casting formula is repetitive and, quite frankly, is getting boring.They need to take a lesson out ofDancing With the Stars’playbook and spice it up so fans can’t predict who’s going to be cast.
‘The Traitors’ Season 4 Cast Features ‘Real Housewives’ Royalty and a ‘Love Island USA’ Heartthrob
Alan Cumming will continue to host the successful Peacock series.
‘The Traitors’ Cast This Season Are There For the PR — Not to Play the Game
This season’s casting seems like less of a social experiment or a game and more like a PR opportunity. We all know the show has become wildly successful. According topreliminary Nielsen streaming data,The Traitors USachieved a series high of viewing minutes during the week of January 6-12th. It not only exceeded the previous best but also madeThe Traitorsthe most-watched unscripted series in the U.S. during that week. The buzz around Season 3 also translated to social media, with engagement up 15% from the premiere of the previous season.
Long story short, being on the show gives the casta tremendous amount of exposure. We saw how Tom Sandoval went from the most hated man in America to one of the most watched men on television. The show is only continuing to gain popularity, which leads me to believeseveral contestantswill put on a show for the sake of viewership rather than actually playing the game.
Trust me, when I first looked atThe TraitorsSeason 4 cast, I was excited too. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a total miss. The show needs to stop giving controversial celebs platforms, make their casting less formulaic and predictable, and cast people who will actually play the game rather than show up for their next five minutes of fame.
The Traitorsis streaming on Peacock in the U.S.
The Traitors (US)
