The Traitors NZ/Season 1

***The Traitors NZ Season 1*** is the first season of *The Traitors NZ* that premiered on August 4, 2023, and aired every Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm.

## Background

The existence of a New Zealander version of The Traitors was first revealed on November 3, 2022, with Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ's Head of Networks Glen Kyne describing the concept as 'a whole lot of mayhem, chaos and fun'. On March 12, 2023, the New Zealand Herald revealed some gossip about the upcoming series, such as it featuring an even split between celebrities and civilians, possibly filming at the Chateau Tongariro, and three potential names for the host: Teuila Blakely, Shavaughn Ruakere and Joel Tobeck. However, when a teaser trailer for the series was first released on April 22, 2023, the host was instead revealed to be controversial TV personality Paul Henry returning to hosting.

The official launch date of August 7, 2023 and pictures of the first few cast members was announced on July 2, 2023. The show aired every Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm, although the first episode was released early online on Three's streaming platform ThreeNow, on August 4, 2023.

## Unique Characteristics & Twists

* **Celebrities vs. Civilians:** Unlike most other international versions of the show featuring either all-celebrity or all-civilian casts, this season adopted a cast of about 50-50 celebrities competing against newcomers to reality TV.
* **The Bribe:** During Episode 1, Paul had the contestants divide themselves into two groups, based on how likely they thought they would win. He offered both groups an opportunity, first the group that rated themselves as less likely to win, and then the more likely group: if they did not feel confident about winning the game, they could try and be the first contestant to run to a pedestal located some distance away. The first to do so would leave the game immediately with NZ$10,000 of the prize fund.
* **Traitors' Ultimatum:** At the end of Episode 7, there was only one Traitor left. They had the option of offering an Ultimatum to a Faithful of their choice, who would either be obliged to accept Recruitment or be Murdered otherwise.

## Contestants

 **Winner: Faithful**

 **Winner: Faithful**

 **Banished: Traitor**

 **Banished: Faithful**

 **Banished: Traitor**

 **Banished: Faithful**

 **Banished: Faithful**

 **Murdered: Faithful**

 **Banished: Traitor**

 **Murdered: Faithful**

 **Banished: Traitor**

 **Banished: Faithful**

 **Murdered: Faithful**

 **Banished: Traitor**

 **Banished: Faithful**

 **Murdered: Faithful**

 **Banished: Traitor**

 **Murdered: Faithful**

 **Quit: Faithful**

## Voting History

1. ↑ Sam J decided to take the bribe Paul offered and leave the game.

## Season Overview

### Episode 1

*Airdate: August 7, 2023*

* **Bribed:** *Sam J*
* **Prize Losted:** NZ$10,000 out of NZ$70,000
* **Traitors Selected:** Dan, Loryn & Matt
* **Secret Mission Synopsis:**
This is a Secret Mission for the Traitors, as they must sink a ball of seven in a standard round of pool table at the night mixer. If any of them manage to sink within 45 minutes, they will earn NZ$1,000 for the group, and if all three of the Traitors managed to sink the ball within the time range, they will earn a total of NZ$3,000 for the group.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$2,000 out of NZ$3,000
* **Mission Synopsis:**
There were four misplaced silver coins in the lodge by Paul. When the host rang the bell, the group must spread across rooms to find the four silver coins within 7 minutes. With each of the silver coin being founded, NZ$1,000 will be added to the prize pool, meaning the maximum prize they could earned would be NZ$4,000.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$3,000 out of NZ$4,000

### Episode 2

*Airdate: August 8, 2023*

* **Murdered:** *Kimberly*
* **Mission Synopsis:** Church Match
The contestants were split into two teams (1 with 9 members and the other 8) and one representative from one team at a time went into the confessional booth to hear a Bible verse from Paul and they can hear it only once. They would then relay this information to their team and use the Bible to find the sentence – leading to a clothing item worn by one member of the masked congregation. There were a total of six Bible verse in the Mission, and each correctly-identified item earned NZ$1,000 for the pot.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$5,000 out of NZ$6,000
* **Banished:** *Loryn* (13-1-1-1-1)

### Episode 3

*Airdate: August 14, 2023*

* **Murdered:** *Christen*
* **Mission Synopsis:** Name That Tune
The contestants were split into two teams (1 with 8 members and the other 7). One team will head to the campanologist area where they will find three music sheets and a set of hand bells. They would then use hand bells to play the music sheet to the other team, who would then try to identify and match the music they were playing to one of the three music boxes. Once the team had found the matching music box, they must tried to locate a sculpture in the garden using an abstract photo of that sculpture in the music box. Once they have found the sculpture, they must take a picture of it and give it to Paul. If they managed to deliver a photo of the correct statue within 7 minutes when the bells started to ring, they would earn NZ$1,500 for the pot.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$4,500 out of NZ$4,500
* **Banished:** *Mike* (8-3-2-2)

### Episode 4

*Airdate: August 15, 2023*

* **Recruitment:** Brooke *(Accepted)*
* **Mission Synopsis:** Spot The Differences
The contestants were divided into 3 groups (2 groups of 5 members and the other 4) and were wearing forensic suits. One group at a time, they must enter Christen's Room and memorize as many objects in the room for an uncertain amount of time before the "spirits" tear the room apart. Once they leave, they only have 1 minute to locate 5 objects that were switched. Each correctly-identified item within the time limit earned NZ$300 for the prize fund, and the group that identified the most correct items would also gain access to the Armoury.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$2,100 out of NZ$4,500
* **Armoury Access:** Brooke, Dan, Fili & Robbie
* **Shield:** Robbie
* **Banished:** *Matt* (6-4-3-1)

### Episode 5

*Airdate: August 21, 2023*

* **Murdered:** *Brodie*
* **Mission Synopsis:** Barrel Transport
The contestants had 20 minutes to transport buckets of wine to Paul on the top of a nearby hill. Along the path were several buckets valued between NZ$100 and NZ$750; the heavier the bucket, the harder it would be to transport. All buckets must have a wine level that is above the white line in the bucket before making it across the finish line in order to count towards the prize fund based on their valuation. The first three buckets that cross that finish line will earn their carrier, which is a maximum of two people per bucket, a trip to the Armoury for a chance at the Shield.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$5,000 out of NZ$5,000
* **Armoury Access:** Anna, Brooke, Colin, Dan & Fili
* **Shield:** Fili
* **Banished:** *Fili* (9-1-1-1)

### Episode 6

*Airdate: August 22, 2023*

* **Recruitment:** Robbie *(Accepted)*
* **Mission Synopsis:**
The contestants were split into 3 teams (2 teams with 4 and the other with 3), separating by their colour outfit. Each team will nominate someone to enter the sheep pen. Based on a description provided by their teammates, which they will get from the sheep mugshot poster, the person in the pen will need to identify the sheep's name, which the team will then pin their rosette to the mugshot and ring the bell. As each team is searching for the same sheep, the team that does so the fastest will win NZ$2,500 for the pot. There are a total of 3 rounds to play, and the first team to correctly identify the most will earn their team a trip to the Armoury for a chance at the Shield.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$7,500 out of NZ$7,500
* **Armoury Access:** Dan, Justine, Robbie & Sam S
* **Shield:** Robbie
* **Banished:** *Robbie* (9-1-1)

### Episode 7

*Airdate: August 28, 2023*

* **Murdered:** *Dylan*
* **Mission Synopsis:** Kidnapped
Three contestants were selected by the Traitors, including themselves, to be "kidnapped" and taken to a boat shed by the lake. The remaining contestants at the Breakfast will be split into 2 teams of 3 and find them within an hour. The hostages had a notepad and a tablet providing information to search for a set of trivial questions about their castmate and a code that they would use to question their rescuers using a coin-operated telephone, a limited amount of coins, and two phone lines to communicate. After solving the trivial questions, the answers to each trivial question will form the coordinates on the map provided to both teams at the car. Once the team travels to the location, they must unlock the door by using the 4-digit code that the abductees provided to them. The first team to find them will win NZ$8,000 for the prize fund and a trip to the Armoury.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$8,000 out of NZ$8,000
* **Armoury Access:** Dan, Justine & Kings
* **Shield:** Dan
* **Banished:** *Dan* (5-4)

### Episode 8

*Airdate: August 29, 2023*

* **Recruitment:** Colin *(Accepted)*
* **Murdered:** *Justine*
* **Mission Synopsis:**
The contestants were split into 3 pairs and a solo player. Each pair will sit opposite each other, blindfolded, and tied to a chair in a room. When the light goes off, they must remove their blindfolds and start counting. As time goes on, scary sounds and noises will be played to distract them from counting. When the players think they have counted the precise time, they will yell the signal to stop the timer and switch the light on. In order to win the Mission, they must count a total of 13 minutes and 13 seconds as close as possible, with a maximum of 60 seconds in between. If the pair or a solo player manages to count to the nearest 13 minutes and 13 seconds, they will earn NZ$2,000 for the pot. And the pair or solo player to count the closest to the accurate count will earn a trip to the Armoury for a chance at the Shield.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$4,000 out of NZ$8,000
* **Armoury Access:** Anna & Julia
* **Shield:** Anna
* **Banished:** *Vanda* (5-1-1)

### Episode 9

*Airdate: September 4, 2023*

* **Murdered:** ~~Anna~~ *(Shield)*
* **Mission Synopsis:** Laser Dodge
The contestants took turns making their way across a laser-filled room, full of artifacts each assigned a different value. They had 13 minutes to transport as many valuable artifacts as they could across the room and deliver them to Paul; however, extra lasers were added after each successful attempt. Additionally, if someone sets off a laser, one minute is taken off the clock.
* **Prize Earned:** NZ$6,000 out of NZ$7,500
* **Banished:** *Kings* (3-2-1)

### Episode 10

*Airdate: September 5, 2023*

* **Mission Synopsis:**
The contestants were taken to 5 different locations across Auckland, where, upon arriving at their destination, they will receive an instruction from Paul on their tablet about 5 Fear Factor-inspire missions they would complete as follows:
- Anna: Get "The Traitor" logo tattooed on any part of her body.
- Brooke: Lying in a bathtub and getting covered by maggots and cockroaches for 3 minutes.
- Colin: Eat a platter of delicacies consisting of a heart, a tongue and an eyeball of an animal.
- Julia: Submerging herself in a cryotherapy chamber for at least 3 minutes at a temperature of -140oC minimum.
- Sam S: Get a monk's haircut, which is shaving the top and underneath of his hair while leaving hairs around the back and sides.

If 4 and only 4 players manage to complete the task and 1 person does not do it, the group will win NZ$12,000 into the final prize pot.

* **Prize Earned:** NZ$12,000 out of NZ$12,000
* **Banished:**
	+ *Colin* (3-2)
	+ *Julia* (3-1)
	+ *Brooke* (2-1)
* **Winners: *Anna & Sam S***

## Trivia

This is the first season where:

* the first elimination was via Quitting;
* a contestant who did not win the game walked away with some of the prize fund;
* a contestant served as a Traitor without committing any Murders (in officially licensed versions);
* all the Original Traitors were Banished before the finale (although *Oi Prodotes/Season 1* gets around this by putting the penultimate Banishment's result in the finale);
* and the Faithfuls successfully Banished the most Traitors - six.

## References

1. ↑ Glen Kyne on why a back-stabbing reality show could be NZ's favourite series in 2023 and the streaming future of Warner Bros. Discovery ANZ | Newshub — November 4, 2022
2. ↑ Spy: Three’s new show The Traitors NZ shrouded in secrecy | New Zealand Herald — March 12, 2023
3. ↑ Spy: Paul Henry back on NZ television to head new reality show The Traitors | New Zealand Herald — April 22, 2023
4. ↑ Post by Three | Facebook — July 2, 2023
5. ↑ Cast Of The Traitors NZ Revealed, Premieres Next Month On ThreeNow And Three | Scoop — July 9, 2023
6. ↑ Rec Room: All the new stuff you can watch this weekend… | The Spinoff — August 4, 2023