From 30 October on Prime Video, the first four out of six episodes will be available (the last two will be released on 6 November) of The Traitors Italia, a local adaptation of the Dutch De Verraders format which has been remade in dozens and dozens of countries since its debut in 2021.

In a nutshell, The Traitors is a program in which a group of famous people (at least in the Italian version, in other countries contestants unknown to the public have also participated) are locked up for ten days in a house and must pass various tests and eliminations trying to find the culprits of fictitious murders: put like this it may seem like a kind of Big VIP Cluedo, and in fact it is partly so, but to find out more here’s how it works, who participates and why to see, or avoid, The Traitors Italia, which is discussed in depth review find the official trailer.

The Traitors Italia: we took part in the preview of the new reality show

Who is there, where does it take place and how does The Traitors Italia work

The show, recorded about a year ago in a castle in Trentino, is hosted by Alessia Marcuzzi (who had already presented Red Carpet on Prime) and the cast of contestants of the game is made up of: the director Michela Andreozzi (Pensati Sexy, to name a title available on Prime), the showgirl Paola Barale (unforgettable in the first Wheel of Fortune and Buona Domenica), the hosts Filippo Bisciglia (Tempation Island) and Mariasole Pollio (PrimaFestival), the actors Alessandro Orrei (Mare Fuori), Giancarlo Commare (Qui non è Hollywood) and Giuseppe Giofrè (Amici), the comedians Pierluca Mariti (Red Carpet), Tess Masazza (LOL 2) and Yoko Yamada (Italia’s got talent 13, Il Baracchino), the singer (of Almamegretta) and actor Raiz, the content creator and actress Aurora Ramazzotti, the chef Daniele Resconi and the Maestro/comedian Sergio Conforti better known as Rocco Tanica from Elio e le Storie Tese.

Fourteen contestants, of which eleven are Loyal (not Fausto) and three who are initially chosen as the Traitors: it is not a big spoiler if we tell you that the three chosen are Giuseppe, Mariasole and Rocco.

The game works like this: at night the traitors meet to decide who to kill, during the day the loyal survivors must understand who the traitors are and try to chase them out of the house, risking eliminating one of them. If there is even just one traitor in the final trio, they will win the prize money of a maximum of one hundred thousand euros which will be gradually accumulated through various tests in which the competitors will have to use all their physical energies and a little also their mental ones. If, however, the loyal ones banish the three traitors from the house, they will divide the spoils set aside, but we will find out this in a week.

Between an “assassination” of the Traitors, a “round table” to banish the alleged culprits and the daily trials which also offer immunities up for grabs, the participants in the game confabulate and scheme, all passing themselves off as loyal, a bit like, for those who play cards, in a game of trumps on call that lasts for ten days.

What we liked and what we didn’t about The Traitors Italia

Apart from the references to card or board games and other reality shows that have been hosted in the past by Alessia Marcuzzi, this show is not very different from Million Dollar Secret, which in turn is similar to any game in which a group of people have to find the culprits: at the beginning, when everyone is blindfolded to choose the traitors, the old Lupus in Tabula also came to mind.

The feeling of “already seen, already experienced”, however, is not a problem (except, at most, for the lawyers of All3Media International) of The Traitors. Also because, compared to certain similar shows made in America which always seem to take place in papier-mâché locations, here the Trentino locations are truly wonderful.

And in such an interesting context, we also overlook the fact that games to accumulate prize money have the problem that it is not clear why the competitors are divided into teams if there is no competition but necessary collaboration between everyone, including traitors.

What struck us most, and in a certain sense made us uncomfortable, is actually the element that works best in The Traitors Italia, namely the interactions that are created between the competitors. Lies, double games, low blows, various embarrassments: we were impressed to see certain dynamics, sometimes a little petty, between famous people who, in the end, participate in a game that will not change their careers and lives much (as can happen to a normal person who wins one hundred thousand euros).

As the game progressed, we got the feeling that the relationships between these entertainment professionals really deteriorated, in an almost petty way.

Seeing the usually cheerful and jovial Rocco Tanica darkened and intent on dissembling and lying, for example, made us almost tender, thinking about how much fun he would have had on the other side of the fence. Just as we were sincerely sorry to observe the competitors raising suspicions about others, very often inappropriately, with words and tones that on some occasions almost touch the personal.

On the one hand, it is a sign that the game has really entered the minds of the competitors and that therefore The Traitors Italia is a show that works. On the other hand, we wouldn’t want to be in the competitors’ shoes when they find themselves having to work together.

Rating: 6.9