Are you friend or foe? Are you a faithful or ... a traitor? In one week, fans of "The Traitors" will see a fresh group of 22 new gamers on the upcoming fifth season of the hit competition show.
And this season will be a little different. Not only will "The Traitors" be making its network television debut, airing on NBC instead of dropping straight to Peacock, but the cast will be made up of civilians instead of celebrities and reality TV stars.
"As the series makes its network television debut, a new name captures the essence of what this season is all about," a press release said. "In lieu of celebrities and socialites, Emmy-winning host Alan Cumming will open the doors to his now infamous Scottish castle to 22 everyday Americans, hand selected
from a nationwide search resulting in more than 60,000 hopeful applicants."
To reflect the twist, this season of the show has been cheekily dubbed "The Traitors: New Blood." The cast list was revealed in August, and among the 22 contestants are two from Florida.
Here's when "The Traitors" Season 5 is set to premiere, the cast list and how to watch the show.
Watch 'The Traitors' with Peacock
When does 'The Traitors' 2026 premiere?
"The Traitors: New Blood" will premiere in one week, next Thursday, Sept 17, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The premiere will be a two-hour extended episode.
'The Traitors: New Blood' cast features 2 from Florida
There are two Floridians in "The Traitors: New Blood" cast.
Here's the full cast list:
- Abbey Benjamin, a nurse from Mangham, Louisiana
- Abby Lee, an astrophysicist from St. Paul, Minnesota
- Arisa Thomas, a dog groomer from Los Angeles
- Ben McDonnell, a barrel racer from Granbury, Texas
- Clyde Moser, a teacher from Charleston, South Carolina
- Dr. Jay Vinnedge, a physician from Oklahoma City
- Joe Vanella, a funeral director from Wantagh, New York
- Katie Fites, a marketing manager from Jacksonville, Florida
- Kim Daily, a lawyer from Houston
- Kriste Lewis, a realtor from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Logan Smith, a realtor from Gatlinburg, Tennessee
- Madeline Kostopulos, a construction manager from San Diego, California
- Mark Zgoda, a personal trainer from Phillipsburg, New Jersey
- Michael Foote, a lawyer from New York City
- Morgan Cook, a content creator from Midland, Michigan
- Niyyah Hayes, a therapist from Indianapolis
- Shane Beatty, an iron worker from Staten Island, New York
- Sherry Kuehl, a writer from Leawood, Kansas
- Tomica Adams, a pilot from Boston
- Victor Vollbrechthausen, a business executive from New York City
- Wyatt Gillespie, a designer from Ligonier, Pennsylvania
- Xavier Scruggs, an MLB analyst from Wesley Chapel, Florida
How does 'The Traitors' show work?
Based on the original Dutch show, the U.S. version follows the same premise — a group of contestants must work together on "missions" to add money to their overall prize pot. However, hidden amongst the "faithful" contestants are the "traitors," whose goal is to eliminate the faithful and claim the prize for themselves.
Think of the party game "Mafia," but with a quarter of a million dollars at stake. In Peacock's version, contestants stay in an ancient castle in Scotland. Award-winning Scottish actor Alan Cumming has been the host of "The Traitors" since its American debut in 2023.
Every night, the selected "traitors" of the group meet in the castle's turret after all of the "faithful" have gone to sleep and choose one person to "murder." Each day at breakfast, the contestants who "survived" the night enter the room in small groups. As the contestants enter, each traitor tries their hand at keeping it cool and minimizing suspicion, acting as surprised as a faithful would when it is revealed who was "murdered" the night before.
Every night after dinner but before the traitors meet in the turret, the entire group has a roundtable discussion in which they attempt to reveal and banish a traitor by casting votes. The banished player reveals if they were a traitor or a faithful after they are banished.
What differs the upcoming fifth season from past seasons, though, is that the contestants are all regular people. Previously, contestants were celebrities, public figures or reality stars, with a significant amount of contestants coming from other gaming shows, like "Survivor" or "Big Brother." The first season of the U.S. version of "The Traitors" was a mix of regular people and reality stars.
When do new episodes of 'The Traitors' drop?
New episodes of "The Traitors: New Blood" will air on NBC on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET and be available to stream the next day on Peacock. And, if you're looking for something to watch while you wait for the Season 5 premiere, you can stream seasons 1-4 of "The Traitors" on Peacock now.
Watch 'The Traitors' with Peacock
Lianna Norman and Samantha Neely are trending reporters for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, lotteries, rocket launches, Florida wildlife, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ‘The Traitors’ returns next week with 2 Floridians. When, how to watch
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