The Traitors: High-stakes mind games, stunning visuals, and just enough drama!

With deceit and lies that don't fail to entertain, Amazon Prime Video's The Traitors is the ultimate guilty pleasure for every reality TV fan.

We all love a bit of drama, and when you come across a show that is designed to build tension, we are all eyes for it! The first three episodes of Amazon Prime Video's latest reality TV adaptation fairly succeeds in doing just that. The Traitors, the much-anticipated Indian adaptation of the globally successful reality format, made its debut with a grand setting, an eclectic line-up of contestants, and the promise of thrilling mind games that serves every reality TV fan well.

Much like its international counterparts, the show divides participants into two secret sections: the “Innocents” and the hidden “Traitors,” chosen by the host, Karan Johar. Every night, the traitors “murder” one player in secret, while the group gathers daily at the Round Table to vote and banish who they believe is betraying them. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Rajasthan’s Suryagarh Palace, the production looks spectacular as the show introduces 20 contestants, including Anshula Kapoor, Raftaar, Karan Kundrra, Jasmine Bhasin, Uorfi Javed, Harsh Gujral, Lakshmi Manchu, Ashish Vidyarthi, Apoorva Mukhija, Purav Jha, and Sufi Motiwala. These participants are competing in a game built on deception, strategy, and trust, where a ₹1 crore cash prize hangs in the balance.

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With grand visuals, paired with film-like production, and a cinematic sheen rarely seen in Indian reality TV said, the format remains inherently intriguing. Karan Johar fits into the role of host with his witty and theatrical presence and adds his signature drama that’s equal parts entertaining and effective. That said, at times, it does feel a bit overdone. Some one-liners and dialogues come across as unnecessarily dramatic, even unintentionally funny.

One of the most gripping parts of the show has to be the games that pin both a teams against the other in each episode. These aren’t just there to build the prize pot but also to crank up the tension and get everyone second-guessing each other. While their idea  is simple on the surface like treasure hunts, coordination tasks, or puzzle-solving, they’re sneaky by design. Meanwhile, the scale and setup of these challenges that the makers have poured in serious money in, adds up to the fun.

When it comes to the contestants, some performances really stand out! The group is a mix of personalities, and I particularly loved how Apoorva Mukhija remains unapologetically herself on the show. She brings her signature sass and biting commentary, roasting fellow contestants in a tone that’s unmistakably hers. Sufi Motiwala is another early highlight with his crisp one-liners and effortless comic timing cut through the tension and often caught me off guard. Definitely one of my personal favorite elements so far. What’s particularly interesting is observing the contrast in how contestants are playing the game. Some are taking the competition very seriously and you can see it in the way they strategize, form alliances, and read between every line. Others seem hilariously unfazed. At one point, you have players whispering in corners, convinced of elaborate betrayals, while someone else is casually napping through it all. That contrast is both bizarre and wildly entertaining.

However, the show does stumble when it leans too heavily into manufactured drama. While conflict is expected and often encouraged in reality formats, there’s a fine line between organic tension and scripted theatrics. At times, it feels like the show drifts into Bigg Boss territory, with unnecessary emotional outbursts overshadowing the psychological format it’s built on. For example, when one contestant is eliminated after being suspected of being a Traitor, the exaggerated sadness that follows, after the group realizes he wasn’t, just feels overdone and unintentionally funny.

Still, there’s enough intrigue and unpredictability to suggest that the game may become better in later episodes. While the early episodes lean a little too much into surface-level drama at the cost of the show’s strategic core, there's plenty of potential. If it can shift focus back to the psychological gameplay that made the global versions so compelling, this big-budget experiment may yet come into its own. For now, it’s entertaining and offers just the right amount of guilty pleasure one seeks in a reality TV show, at least at the start.

The Traitors is now streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

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