The Traitors Australia is back for 2023, and host Rodger Corser is “looking forward to it”. It’s Australia’s most devious, treacherous reality television competition, and following the debut of other international franchises, like The Traitors US and The Traitors UK, there’s more anticipation for Season 2 of The Traitors Australia than ever before. We spoke to Rodger and got the scoop on everything viewers can expect from the new season.
On the International Success of The Traitors Australia
Chatting to The Latch over the phone, Rodger Corser says that he and the Australian Traitors team “didn’t see” the international interest in the show coming. Now, he’s hoping that momentum keeps up for The Traitors 2023.
“Season 1’s had a life since it aired on broadcast last year,” he says. “I think a lot of people came to the show late — it was reviewed on social media and also in international media really favourably after we aired here, so yeah, I think it’s maybe going to bring some more people to the table this time around, for Season 2.”
As one of the first English-language international adaptations of the original Dutch series, De Verraders, Rodger says that “the first season was a bit of an unknown thing” when they went into The Traitors Australia last year.
After The Traitors Australia aired, The Traitors US and The Traitors UK followed. Soon, The Traitors Australia found itself with an international fanbase.
“Their fans were straight away quite die hard fans, and then they just searched other versions and found ours,” Rodger explains. “And then you know, a lot of the feedback was that our gameplay — especially the last couple of episodes — was even more fun and dramatic to watch.”
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Why Rodger Thinks The Traitors Australia Is Such a Success
Rodger credits the success of The Traitors Australia to “a bit of pot luck”, mixed with great casting.
“Endemol Shine, who produce our show, and 10, have a big history of doing shows like this,” he says. “They know what they’re doing, they know who to cast, they know the right balance.”
Within the casting, Rodger says that it’s about striking the right balance between the tense gameplay and lighthearted fun.
“You don’t want it to be overly dramatic, where everyone’s not getting along and it turns into an episode of Real Housewives or whatever!” he says. “We want people, also, to have a great time and to have those fun, incredible, roll around the floor laughing kind of moments. And then you’ve got these sort of paranoia and all the cliques and the worrying about being stabbed in the back at the same time. So it’s kind of the perfect rollercoaster of emotions.”
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How The Traitors Australia Has Evolved for Season 2
For Season 2, Rodger says it was all about leaning into what worked, and tweaking what didn’t.
“The gameplay’s even smoother,” he says, “or there’s more to it. And another thing we’ve done is to lean in even further with the lighter or more comedic moments, as well.”
Noting that “these types of things can get pretty dramatic”, Rodger says that “it’s important to have a bit of levity” to balance it all out.
“And we don’t mind taking the mickey out of ourselves, as well!” he adds.
For this season, Rodger says they looked at the other English speaking franchises, as well as going back to De Verraders.
“When we shoot, we have representatives from the original Dutch version who hold the rights,” Rodger explains. “They come out, because you can’t just totally run away with the format, because it’s an international format.”
The result, he says, is that they’ve “brought some things back” from De Verraders that they hadn’t used in Season 1.
“It might look like we’re copying the international versions,” he says, “but we’re actually just going back to the Dutch version!”
What’s Different on The Traitors Australia 2023
Last year, our contestants worked together on challenges to win bars of silver for the prize pot. This year, they’ve split the contestants into two teams.
“We sort of thought that maybe let some players coast a little bit, because maybe the more athletic or people who are really engaged in those outdoor activities, always seemed to be the ones shining,” Rodger explains. “So pretty much every challenge now has some element of personal jeopardy involved.”
While the silver is still going into the prize pot that will eventually go to one or two lucky contestants, the introduction of teams comes with another level of gameplay.
“We have two different coloured tracksuits, which is pretty outstanding,” Rodger says of the teams. “We have the reds and the blues. Whichever team wins, the winning team gets a chance to win a Shield of Protection.”
Essentially, the Shield of Protection is like Australian Survivor‘s Individual Immunity.
“Out of that team of seven or eight, someone can not be murdered that night,” Rodger says. “So it just makes everyone work a little bit harder in the challenge and adds that layer of personal jeopardy, which we thought really kind of fuelled those challenges this year.”
The Traitors Australia airs at 7.30pm, Sunday — Tuesdays, only on 10 and 10 Play on Demand. Missed the first season? Catch up now on 10 Play.
Want more The Traitors? Read all our content here, and check out the stories below:
- ‘The Traitors’ Is Back for 2023, and Luke Toki Is Entering the Mansion
- Rodger Corser Spills on What We Can Expect From ‘The Traitors’
- The Stunning Hotel Where ‘The Traitors’ Was Filmed
- The Rules of ‘The Traitors’, Explained
- Meet Michelle, the Admin Behind Reality TV’s Favourite Facebook Groups
- Well Well Well, It’s Time to Meet ‘The Traitors’ of 2023
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