The world’s most thrilling psychological reality television show is heading to Africa
Primedia Studios, African media giant Primedia’s trailblazing television content and distribution hub, has acquired the rights to create a localised version of the reality show phenomenon The Traitors.
With this license deal between leading independent distributors All3Media International and Primedia Studios, the IDTV format that has taken the world by storm will be produced on the African continent for the first time.
Since its launch in the Netherlands in 2021, The Traitors has spawned over 25 successful local adaptations in Europe, Australasia, and North America, keeping audiences on the knife’s edge with its wicked plots of deception, detection, treachery, and trust.
The format’s hit international versions include BBC One’s BAFTA-winning UK rendition, which reeled in 8 million viewers for its Season 2 finale and has been commissioned for a third and fourth season, and the highly acclaimed US adaptation on NBC Universal’s streaming service Peacock. In the US, where The Traitors has already nabbed recent prestigious accolades, such as The Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Reality, it has received four nominations for the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards in September.
A global format phenomenon, The Traitors has been adapted around the world, travelling to territories including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Furthermore, the multiple-award-winning global tour de force was crowned “Format of the Year” by the global media consultancy K7, unseating The Masked Singer after four years of domination.
“We are super-thrilled, incredibly proud, and honoured to collaborate with our trusted partners All3Media International to add a fresh format of this calibre to our content slate,” said Jan du Plessis, President of Primedia Studios. “The Traitors is currently the ‘it-show’ in the world of unscripted television, keeping the industry and millions of international viewers abuzz. Securing the rights to produce a unique edition of The Traitors on South African soil is a massive feat for Primedia Studios. It underlines our mission to conjure up top-notch entertainment by localising the best and most sought-after big international formats for diverse African audiences.”
Lizzy Ribeiro, All3Media International’s Sales Executive for Africa, added, “It’s so exciting The Traitors is travelling to South Africa through our brilliant partners at Primedia Studios. This adaptation marks the format’s first time in Africa, and I have every confidence Primedia Studios will bring audiences across the region the chance to enter an addictive psychological world packed with the double-crossing, deceit and betrayal that has cemented The Traitors as a must-watch production around the world.”
The Traitors originated in The Netherlands with the Dutch title The Verraders and was created and developed by Marc Pos and IDTV Creative Director Jasper Hoogendoorn, in cooperation with RTL’s Creative Unit, for broadcast on RTL 4, the most-watched free-to-air commercial station in the country. The Verraders clinched the prestigious Rose d’Or “Golden Rose” Award for Best Reality and Factual Entertainment, amongst the many showpiece statuettes.
The Traitors is the ultimate game of deception, skill and trust. In an atmospheric castle, a group of eager contestants come together. Their mission? Completing a series of challenges with the objective of earning a cash prize. The catch? Some of the contestants are chosen to be traitors and will devise a plan to steal the prize instead of sharing it among the rest. In this nail-biting psychological adventure in which treachery and deceit are the name of the game, will they be unmasked in time?
More information about Primedia Studios’ execution of The Traitors will be announced in due course.