The Traitors: New Blood has launched its civilian edition with 22 everyday Americans competing for a prize of up to $250,000.
The new reality-competition series premiered on NBC on Thursday, September 17, 2026, with a special two-hour opening episode, while new episodes became available to stream on Peacock the following day.
The programme is hosted by Alan Cumming and places ordinary contestants inside a castle in the Scottish Highlands, where they must determine which members of the group are secretly working as Traitors.
The 22 contestants were selected from more than 80,000 applicants, making the season a significant change from previous editions that featured celebrities and established reality personalities.
Contestants are divided into Faithfuls and Traitors, with the Faithfuls attempting to identify and banish the hidden Traitors before the end of the competition.
The Traitors, meanwhile, secretly eliminate contestants while attempting to remain undetected and reach the final stages of the game.
If the Faithfuls successfully eliminate all the Traitors, they share the available prize, but a surviving Traitor can take the prize for themselves under the game’s rules.
The civilian format has also changed the atmosphere of the competition, according to Cumming, who said contestants without previous reality-TV experience become more emotionally immersed in the game.
“They take it more seriously,” Cumming said.
He added, “For real people, it’s a huge amount of money” because the prize can change contestants’ lives.
Cumming also described the new season as having “a lot of screaming,” reflecting the emotional intensity created by contestants who are experiencing the format without the familiarity of professional reality television.
The opening episode also introduces a new twist involving potential Accomplices, giving the hidden Traitors an additional strategic challenge as they attempt to expand their alliance.
NBC has scheduled another two-hour episode for Thursday, September 24, before the series moves into its regular one-hour Thursday-night format from October 8.
The programme will continue airing on NBC on Thursdays, with episodes made available for Peacock streaming the following day.
The launch gives the franchise a new civilian dimension as contestants with no established reality-TV profiles compete in a game built around secrecy, alliances, deception and deduction.
