A non-spoilery comparison review of the two re-launched series of The Traitors in Australia and New Zealand. Watching Traitors AU S03 after watching Traitors NZ S03 you would not think they are made by the same production team. And I'm not really sure why. The whole point of having both shows made by the same team is to save money by splitting costs and essentially using the same framework for both seasons. The key thing in this game is the personalities and two groups of people playing the exact same game can come to completely different results, so production just needs to set things up so that players can drive their own decision-making. And I have no complaints about the New Zealand cast, not really, we had some interesting and memorable characters. Other regions have done this sort of split production, most obviously USA & UK, but also Canada & Québec. It's a pretty common thing in competiton reality from what I can tell because the sets and the crew are the expensive part, setting those up just once and then reusing them in a block of time is way more efficient. The USA/UK comparison seems to be the most apt in this situation though, because I get the feeling this production took direct inspiration from that split. People who watch both USA and UK know the differences between the two seasons though and its largely in the editing, the tone set by the host, and the reality stars vs civilian contestants. The USA version is edited for maximum drama and housewives screaming at each other and so on. Alan Cumming is a bit catty and over the top like a drag queen. UK is more sedate and intimate in its editing and has a more compassionate vibe, especially coming from the host Claudia Winkleman who can sometimes barely hold back how emotionally invested she is in the contestants. But both shows have a similar look and feel, both shows have sweeping drone shots and dramatic B-roll of the host narrating things, both have a lavishly detailed set, both have the same or similar challenges. Traitors NZ is an all civilian cast so naturally resembles the UK more. I loved Madeline Sami in her other work, but I felt like she didn't really have a personality or a character to play, she was just being herself, saying some lines. Her outfits were bland and forgettable and honestly the fact that all of her jackets and coats had the sleeves too long was driving me up the wall. Get this woman a tailor. The mansion seems to have been dressed the same for both shows in a fairly bland B&B style with a bit of extra gloomy artwork. I wish that had been given a bit more pop in both series, but it really compounded the effect of "just some people on vacation in a house" vibe of NZ. The missions in NZ also lacked a coherent theme or motivation beyond the money. Most of the missions had little effect on the game, much like the original first seasons of Traitors, but the game has innovated a lot since then and it seems like every country has figured out its better if there's something in the missions that either creates some jeapardy, changes the game, offers a clue to the Traitors, or otherwise has some effect on the actual gameplay. Not just gathering money. NZ was severely lacking in that kind of innovation this season. It was also almost completely lacking in new twists or mechanics. The optional Traitor thing has been done before and always is a bust because of course someone is going to choose to be a Traitor given a chance. The offering money to people to leave thing has been done before, as has that person returning to the game. And the secret mother-son relationship. These were all very small and weak swings that all were misses and duds. Twists don't necessarily cost money to come up with and I'm sure there are lots of clever game builders working over there in Aotearoa who pitched good ideas, but it seems like an intentional decision to make the game as vanilla as possible. In which case we need an interesting cast and lots of focus on strategy, but we didn't get that either? From podcast interviews what I'm hearing is that a lot of funny, interesting stuff happened that never made it to screen and lots of people were playing strategic games but because they had no airtime it made them look stupid and random. It's puzzling. The main thing I find challenging to understand is why if they're copying the UK model are they lacking in so many hallmarks of the UK show? For example, discussing each person's backstory and what they want the money for. Discussing whether someone came in wanting to be Faithful or Traitor. Showing people developing friendships and bonds and then struggling with that. Close ups of cool pieces of set dressing. Sweeping drone shots of the landscape. It's also quite puzzling that most of the Australian Traitors missions are unique, or have much more impact on the game, either creating divisions between players or forcing players to make decisions between shields and money. Even the more straightforwardly physical missions had an element of decision-making required that had consequences on the game or revealed something about the group dynamic. This difference is especially obvious when AU is airing right after NZ. Part of what has made the UK show so popular is that it looks like a premium BBC show. AU also looks pretty premium. NZ looks cheap. Perhaps to make the budget disparity more obvious, the AU version has made a pretty lavish marketing effort including a premiere meet-and-greet, lots of podcast interviews, and I'm sure plenty of advertising within Australia. Did New Zealand's version get the same push for visibility? I'm not sure. Of course for the most part, most people will only watch the show from their own country, especially if only one series is available legally streaming on whatever their particular streaming platform is, so only people like myself who watch a lot of series will notice the difference. Maybe they've done market research and figured New Zealanders like a more sedate bland product. Who knows. I just hope the next NZ season picks up some more, they deserve better. ⇄ Reply: mastodon+email ＄ Tip: ko-fi+liberapay Traitors AU vs Traitors NZ was last edited: 5 days, 16 hours ago