“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”, purrs the ever-iconic Alan Cumming, with that famously impish smirk. Good to see that theatre training be put to good use, the Shakespeare quotes coming thick and fast as the host sashays around Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. This is where he presides, never knowingly subtle, over more than twenty contestants, all hoping to win prize money of thousands of dollars. The scene is thus set for Series 3 of The Traitors US, where nerve and backbiting come into play, and the Traitors must ‘murder’ (send home) the innocent Faithfuls.
This series, halfway through now in the UK, is completely ridiculous- the epitome of camp, with everyone dressed to the nines, extremely suggestible and increasingly paranoid. I wanted Dorinda, one of the Real Housewives, to stay in, because she was funny and strong, but of course she was banished early doors. Likewise Bob The Drag Queen, a vision in electric blue feathers with zingers to match, but Boston Rob, a veteran of gameshow TV in the US, put paid to him with a whispering campaign and some barely concealed homophobia. What an asshole, the manosphere vibes are strong with this one.
Essentially, this American series makes the most recent UK edition, hosted by everyone’s charming auntie Claudia Winkleman, look like a Sunday school picnic. Everything is bigger: the epic music; the put-downs, the scheming, the cleavage, the challenges. Even the resident peacocks put on big colourful displays beside the castle. And no-one, absolutely no-one, is safe. Boston Rob is emerging as the clear villain this series, plotting ruination while looking like a failed Beastie Boy directed by Martin Scorsese. But all that could change once somebody is recruited as a Traitor and gets a sniff of power.
Personally, I wouldn’t rule out sneaky, eccentric Carolyn yet, with her many changing facial expressions and bizarre tactics. All archetypes are present and correct here: bimbos, wannabes, badasses and backstabbers. It’s an armchair psychologist’s delight.But the very best factor in the show is the script, with all the curling epithets delivered by Cumming as though he was tasting chocolate for the first time. ”Mmmmm”, he drawls. as the players receive yet another nasty plot-twist in the game. ”How very JUICY”.
Available to watch on BBC I Player
Hit The North 