Discover the reality show that dethroned RuPaul at the Emmys and surprised producers

At the 2024 Emmys, the biggest surprise was the victory of the series “Hacks” over “The Bear” in the best comedy category. However, it was in the categories dedicated to reality shows that the unexpected really stood out, with “The Traitors” emerging as an unexpected phenomenon.

Peacock’s production managed to surpass the popular “Drag Race”, winner in five of the last six years, and Alan Cumming he defeated RuPaul, who had a streak of eight consecutive victories as best presenter. This success It surprised even the program’s producers.

In an interview with Notícias da TV, Mike Cotton, one of the producers of “The Traitors”, expressed his disbelief at the triumph. “We never thought we could win. I was surprised just to be nominated, considering that this category tends to award the same programs year after year. We’re only in the second season, we’re still a young reality show,” he confessed Cotton.

Cotton even reflected on expectations before the ceremony: “It’s cliché, but we already considered ourselves winners just by being nominated. I really believed that ‘Drag Race’ would win again and all the experts predicted another victory for RuPaul. So it was a shock. We are very grateful to the members of the Television Academy who voted for us.”

Traitors

“The Traitors” is a sophisticated, high-budget adaptation of the popular social game known as “The Sleeping City” or “Mafia”. In this reality show, participants are divided into Faithful and Traitors, with secret identities. Each night, the Traitors choose someone to eliminate, while the entire group participates in an anonymous vote to banish a suspected contestant from the castle where the show is filmed. If at the end there are only Faithful left, they share the prize; otherwise, a Traitor could take everything.

The origin of the format dates back to the Netherlands and quickly spread internationally. In the United States, for the second season, a cast composed exclusively of celebrities from other realities was chosen, abandoning the previous mix of anonymous and sub-celebrities. Sam Reedanother producer of the program, believes that this decision was crucial to its success.

“In the first year, the division seemed more between celebrities and civilians than between Faithful and Traitors. So we decided to unify the cast and that brought viewers from other competitive shows like ‘Survivor,’ ‘Big Brother,’ ‘The Bachelor,’ and ‘Real Housewives'”, he explained reed.

Cast selection

THE careful selection of participants is vital to the success of the program. reed commented: “The right choice of participants solves most of the challenges we face. And our cast really shined.”

Cotton adds: “Choosing the cast is like setting up a jury; we seek diversity in life experiences to enrich judgments about who is Faithful or Traitor. We have people with different skills: physical competitors from ‘Survivor’, strategists from ‘Big Brother’, manipulators of the ‘Housewives’, even a politician”.

Both producers ensure that do not interfere in the game after its entrybeginning, allowing participants to guide the narrative autonomously. “The pre-game planning is extensive, but after that they take control,” he said. Cotton.

“The Traitors” already has two seasons available on Universal+, with the third scheduled to debut next year. reed adds: “This authentic format without external directions makes the experience genuine and electrifying.”