BBC & NBCU Order The Traitors Adaptations

BBC and NBCUniversal have ordered British and U.S. versions of the hit Dutch psychological adventure format The Traitors.

The Traitors sees contestants move into a castle and work as a team to complete a series of challenging missions to earn money. However, three of those contestants are secretly traitors who will attempt to deceive their way to the prize by eliminating other contestants.

The original Dutch version was created by Marc Pos and developed by All3Media’s IDTV and RTL Creative Unit. It launched earlier this year on RTL4, and a second season was ordered after just two episodes aired.

The U.K. series was ordered by Kate Phillips, director of BBC Entertainment, for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Jenny Groom, executive VP of entertainment unscripted content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming ordered the U.S. version, which will be released as a Peacock original series. Studio Lambert Scotland will produce both adaptations.

Studio Lambert’s Creative Director Tim Harcourt and Deputy Creative Director Mike Cotton will oversee productions of both versions. Toni Ireland will serve as showrunner with Abi Brooks as production executive.

Filming will commence in the Scottish Highlands in 2022.

Phillips said: “The Traitors is a high stakes entertainment series full of false promises and paranoia. Set against the stunning Scottish landscape, I can’t wait for these very different Highland Games to begin where the biggest rule of all is trust no one!”

Groom commented: “The Traitors is a gripping social experiment, and we can’t wait to bring this to the U.S. as a Peacock original series. Studio Lambert has had amazing success with immersive formats, and we are excited to partner with them on this. We know that U.S. audiences will absolutely love the twists and turns of the show.”

Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert, said: “We are hugely excited to be making two versions of a show with spectacular challenges and mind games involving suspicion and trust. The Scottish Highlands offers some of the most stunning scenery in the world, and we’re delighted both NBCU and the BBC agreed this was where we should bring our American and British contestants to play the game.”