The Traitors Italia: why the psychological reality show is captivating Italians

In recent years, Italy has been inundated with reality shows. Many of them re-propose predictable dynamics: the love story that blossoms between the sheets of a house crowded with twenty contestants, the extreme and ruthless daily life on a desert island, or the social experiment where couples are divided and tested by groups of single tempters. These formats, while still followed and appreciated, perhaps also thanks to the wave of irresistible trash amplified by memes that quickly go viral, risk being drastically overwhelmed by a recent novelty. The Traitors Italia is in fact the Italian version of the American reality show that is rapidly conquering a large segment of users. Here's why, in our opinion, it has all the credentials to revolutionize the landscape of Italian reality shows.

When psychology meets strategy

"By order of the traitors, you have been murdered." A sentence that echoes in every episode, but which constantly has a certain effect. Let's start with a brief introduction, so you can better understand what The Traitors actually is. It is a reality show based on the Dutch series De Verraders, inspired by the mechanics of Mafia or Werewolf. In our case, the first season was published on Prime Video, produced by Fremantle Italia. A group of contestants stays in a particularly evocative castle: on one side there are the faithful, on the other, cunning and silent traitors. The latter will gather in conclave at the stroke of midnight, choosing their next victim to murder during the night. A symbolic death, but it's so convincing it almost seems real.

The aim of the faithful is to uncover the traitors by banishing them during the round table (or "round table" pronounced perfectly in Giuseppe Giofrè's style, if you know what we're talking about). Here, various dynamics come into play: psychology, the game that merges with emotions, with confusion, sometimes with true delirium and paranoia. What is true? What, on the other hand, is false? Lies and strategies, mixed with manipulations, can make you doubt anything. In this case, we observe firsthand how capable a person is of pretending, planning real staging capable of keeping us on the edge of our seats the whole time.

What attracts even more, in addition to the dynamics of the reality show, is perhaps precisely the seeing some familiar faces show themselves in completely new guises. It's as if they are laid bare, a kind of Hunger Games or Squid Game where games and psyche intertwine in such an extreme and adrenaline-pumping way that it keeps you on edge the whole time. Heart-pounding funerals that, although staged, appear incredibly real, people who begin to doubt even their own convictions, and minds manipulated so subtly that it feels like being in a fatal Battle Royale, rather than a simple game.

This goes beyond the game

In addition to the psychological component, which plays a crucial role in the entire series, the spontaneity and authenticity of the contestants' reactions have a decisive impact. A kind of natural mechanism that is triggered after emotional pressures, judgments, criticisms, and the spirit of survival. And at that point, it's natural to ask: do such strong emotions stem from the desire to continue playing, and thus aspire to the prize, or is the format so brilliant that it brings to light deeper dimensions, which go beyond the purely material aspect? We opt for the second option.

We were struck by a phrase from a contestant following a particularly heated response from another participant (we avoid spoilers so as not to ruin your experience). To his exaggerated reaction, she replied with: "Don't talk to me in that teacher's tone, otherwise this goes beyond the game." An apparently trivial answer, but one that actually fully reflects what happens within those walls. The game is no longer a simple game: having to find a traitor, having to defend oneself from accusations, having to pretend and constantly think about the next move, can be exhausting and trigger a chain reaction of consequences. What is even more fascinating is observing the looks of those who have been unjustly accused or, even better, of those who are about to be discovered and must conceal the worry in their eyes.

The wonderful Italian settings

In addition to a surprising Alessia Marcuzzi, a host who perfectly embodied the role of the Queen of the Castle, the settings are nothing short of extraordinary and contribute decisively to the overall success of the reality show. The daily missions, aimed at increasing the team's prize money, take place amidst extremely evocative and convincing scenarios. These are two castles in Val di Non, in Trentino-Alto Adige: Castel Valer and Castel Nanno, a true tribute to Italian wonders.

An unconventional narrative

What distinguishes The Traitors Italia from classic reality games is the narrative focus. In Big Brother, we find apparently similar dynamics like nominations, but the relational aspect is completely different and is based on simple cohabitation. In this case, the viewer knows the lies and experiences constant tension: they experience the paranoia and doubts of the faithful, but also witness the cunning stratagems of the traitors, almost as if they were both faithful and traitor at the same time. If we want to make a more precise reference to the formula of this reality show, then we cannot fail to mention "Lupus in fabula" (Werewolf), whose focal points are deduction and bluff. The Werewolves, in that case, must kill all the villagers without being discovered, and exactly as in The Traitors, the game takes place in alternating turns between night and day.

In any case, the choice of cast can certainly play a crucial role in the entire experience. Precisely for this reason, the choice of traitors can completely overturn the game, just as the role of some faithful can truly bring to life a reality show that would risk appearing monotonous or too simple if the wrong characters were present.

Is The Traitors Italia one of the best reality shows?

The success of this format certainly varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom, the finale of the 2025 season recorded approximately 9.91 million average viewers, a rather impressive figure. The Australian version, however, seems to have attracted only a niche of loyal viewers. The Traitors Italia could be among the most successful versions and has all the credentials to continue to win over large segments of viewers. From the extraordinary settings of Trentino, to the well-chosen cast and the simply brilliant format, Italy definitely needed a similar novelty. Could this be the beginning of a series of highly successful seasons?