I think that it’s safe to say that the hottest reality game show around the world is The Traitors. Alan Cumming steals the show with the American version for NBC – The Traitors: New Blood, but there are 40 other versions of the show airing all over the world.
Each week the contestants continue navigating deception, suspicion, and the threat of banishment from the “Round Table”. The goal of the “Faithfuls” (the innocents) is to find the “Traitors” (the liars) hiding in plain sight. For the Faithfuls, this involves clever sleuthing work and the ability to read other contestants’ poker faces.
Sure, the task looks so simple from the safety of own sofas at home, but would you be able to spot a Traitor if you were playing as a Faithful? I’m not sure that I could.
“Poker faces are all around us in our daily lives, but they’re not always easy to recognize,” says Chris Mawson, founder of Power Up Gaming. “One key to recognizing and deciphering a poker face is learning to spot microexpressions. These are fleeting, subconscious facial movements that reveal genuine emotions and are hard to fake or suppress. While they happen in the blink of an eye, with focus and practice, you can train yourself to pick up on them and gain a deeper insight into what someone might really be thinking or feeling.”
How to Spot a Traitor’s Poker Face
Since quick-fire facial movements like microexpressions only last half a second, you really need to be aware of and focus on every little change in expression. Here’s what to look for:
Surprise: If someone is surprised, their eyebrows are likely to be raised and curved. You may notice horizontal wrinkles across the forehead too. Notice if their eyelids are open, with the white of the eye showing above and below the pupil. Their jaws might be slightly open with no tension or stretching of their mouth.
Fear: When a person is trying to hide fear or anxiety, their eyebrows will be raised and drawn together, usually in a straight line. They may also show wrinkles in the center of the forehead just between the eyebrows, but not across. Their eyes may have the upper white showing, but not the lower white.
Disgust: Hiding disgust is difficult; however, there are some subconscious facial movements to look out for. The eyes may narrow, and the nose may be slightly wrinkled. Look out for a quick flash of the upper teeth, too.
Anger: Look at the person’s eyebrows, and notice if they are lowered and drawn together, with vertical lines between them. Their lips may also become tense, with corners down, or in a square shape. Another good way to know for sure is if their nostrils flare.
Happiness: Happiness is the most difficult emotion to fake, and it’s easy to spot a fake smile if you know the trick. Notice if they have crow’s feet near the outside of their eyes. If they don’t, and their lips are open in a smile, chances are they aren’t conveying genuine happiness.
Sadness: Sad microexpressions are not very noticeable and can be difficult to detect. However, they usually last slightly longer than the other microexpressions. Look to see if the inner corners of the eyebrows are drawn in and then up, and the corners of the lips are drawn down. The lower lip may also pout slightly.
Contempt: If you think someone dislikes you or disagrees with your opinion, there is one thing to look out for. If one side of their mouth rises slightly, chances are you’re right. This is the only asymmetrical microexpression, and it’s one of the easiest to spot.
Different Versions of ‘The Traitors’ Streaming Now
The first country to air the first season of The Traitors was the Netherlands which aired their show on March 13, 2021. Since that time, 40 other versions of the show have sprouted up across the globe.
Alan Cumming starred on Peacock’s Traitors show for four seasons before NBC began airing The Traitors: New Blood (“with everyday people”) this year. Personally, I don’t know if anyone can do a better job of hosting the show than Cumming who truly relishes the role as a fictious version of himself. But here are three others who do a fine job eating the scenery with their shows. Each show is currently streaming on Peacock.
The Traitors: Canada
Karine Vanasse
Karine offers her own bonkers choice of outfits and slightly off-kilter speech delivery for The Traitors: Canada. When we watch Cumming, we know that he is playfully playing a character, but with Vanasse, we’re not so sure. She is just having fun, right? Right?
The Traitors: Australia
Rodger Corser
Corser plays a heightened version of himself while also adopting a “Lord of the Manor” type of character found in movies like Clue or Knives Out for The Traitors: Australia. His take on the character has been described as mischievous, theatrical and self-aware and he often breaks the fourth wall.
The Traitors: United Kingdom Claudia Winkleman
I love Claudia’s approach to hosting The Traitors: United Kingdom. She’s not nearly as over-the-top as Alan or Karine. She hosts the show with her heart on her sleeve. While watching some of the games that the players have to play, Claudia can be seen truly rooting for all of them
News: ‘The Traitors’ are Coming to London’s West End
In case you haven’t gotten your fill with The Traitors on TV, next year you can witness the show on the stage. Premiering next May at the Gillian Lynn Theatre in London’s West End, The Traitors: Acts of Betrayal will be presented with a cycle of five plays each week.
Written by John Finnemore and directed by Robert Hastie, the British version of the series will be adapted for the stage which will feature all of the same characters but with different ones serving as Traitors each night.
“Eleven fictional characters from across the country play the game – a farmer, a mortician, an intelligence officer, a young entrepreneur, a cleaner, an auctioneer and more,” states the theatre’s website. “Each night the characters learn truths about themselves while playing a game of lying.”
To make the show all that more real, actor Nick Mohammed, who starred on Ted Lasso and was a finalist in the first series of UK’s The Celebrity Traitors, will host the show. “The production does something the television show cannot. It shows what happens if different characters are chosen to be the Traitors. There are five different versions, each with the same eleven characters, each with the same beginning, but characters banished or murdered early in one version emerge victoriously in another. Each play stands alone as a complete, self-contained drama.”
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