The Traitors Premieres with a Surprise New Twist: Find Out Who’s the Secret Traitor

The Traitors’ new season is already unlike any that’s come before.

The first three episodes of season 4 of the hit Peacock series premiered on Thursday, Jan. 8, and introduced a new crop of 23 players. Shortly after the group’s arrival at Ardross Castle in Scotland, host Alan Cumming revealed to them that the “game will begin faster than ever before” and, in just moments, he’d be picking his first-ever secret Traitor.

“This game is full of surprises,” Alan said. “I am about to pick my very first Traitor right here, right now. Players, 23 chests stand before you — one [for] each [of you]. Inside your chests, 22 of you will see nothing and remain Faithful for now. But one player will see the Traitor card, and a life of scheming and sabotage begins as they become my first Traitor.”

“Never before in my game has a Traitor been chosen in plain sight,” he continued. “Use this opportunity: study and observe your fellow players’ moves from this moment on. Let us begin.”

The cast of ‘The Traitors’ season 4.

The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Candiace Dillard Bassett was the first cast member called up to her chest, followed by the rest of her castmates: Natalie Anderson (The Amazing Race), Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho (Survivor), Mark Ballas (Dancing with the Stars), Rob Cesternino (Survivor) , Monét X Change (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Stephen Colletti (Laguna Beach), Ron Funches (comedian), Maura Higgins (Love Island), Donna Kelce (Jason and Travis Kelce’s mom), Kristen Kish (Top Chef), Tara Lipinski (Olympic figure skater), Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives of New York City), Tiffany Mitchell (Big Brother), Eric Nam (singer), Michael Rapaport (actor), Rob Rausch (Love Island USA), Lisa Rinna (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai), Ian Terry (Big Brother), Colton Underwood (The Bachelor), Johnny Weir (Olympic figure skater) and Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta).

“Players, I hope you paid attention because my first Traitor has been chosen,” Alan told the group. “The deception has begun, and now I ask you this question sooner than ever before: Who here can you trust? Later tonight, we shall convene at the roundtable where I will pick the remaining Traitors. But, for now, it’s time to enter my castle. The game has begun.”

Later at the roundtable, the contestants were blindfolded as Alan tapped the shoulders of the three other Traitors: Candiace, Lisa and Rob R.

When Candiace was tapped, she said she felt like she “won Miss United States.”

“The game is called The Traitors — it’s not called The Faithfuls,” she said. “The game is about main characters, and I am obviously a main character.”

Candiace Dillard Bassett on ‘The Traitors’ season 4.

Lisa and Rob R. were similarly thrilled with their new positions as Traitors.

“This feels really right,” Lisa said, adding that she wished she could call her husband Harry Hamlin to “tell him.”

Lisa Rinna on ‘The Traitors’ season 4.

Rob R. said he thinks he’ll “make a good Traitor.”

“I’m hard to read,” he said. “I’ve been told that by every girl I’ve ever dated, and I’m extremely competitive. I like to win.”

Rob Rausch on ‘The Traitors’ season 4.

That night, the three Traitors took their oaths and were given their cloaks. They then met for the first time in secret, while Alan gave the secret Traitor their own special cloak and told them to “try to stay in the shadows.”

When Alan reconvened with Candiace, Lisa and Rob R., he told them that the secret Traitor “will not know your identities, nor you theirs.”

“The Secret Traitor will work alone, but don’t be scared, they’re on your side,” he said. “Each night they will decide which players are on the short list for murder. You must select who to murder only from this list. One more thing: the secret Traitor will continue to produce the short list until you are given a chance to unite with them as one. Traitors, the murdering begins tomorrow. Good night.”

The next day, the players embarked on their first mission. They were split into three groups and had to compete to find the 12 coffins “worth gold” out of 100 on the loch (or lake), to tow back on their boat and place in an empty grave. They were given 45 minutes to get as many coffins into graves as possible.

At the end of the mission, Ron, Rob R., Donna, Eric, Michael, Ian, Dorinda, Rob C. and Mark all had coffins in their graves, putting them at risk for elimination. The secret Traitor then chose Rob R., Ian, Mark and Eric for their short list for murder.

Ian was ultimately chosen for the first murder. For the Traitors’ next murder, they chose to murder Rob C. in plain sight after the secret Traitor put him on a short list with Monét, Tara and Kristen.

The secret Traitors’ identity remained a mystery to both their fellow Traitors and to viewers until episode 3, when Donna was voted out at the group’s second roundtable.

“I know I’m the sacrificial lamb, and I know that I had a blast meeting every single one of you,” Donna told the group. “On that note, I think I’m gonna go, but you got yourself a Traitor!”

Donna’s reveal was met with lots of cheers from the players. She revealed that her plan was “to be this sweet mom on the side, and then at night be this devious Traitor that is going to be murdering people.”

“It’ll be just a hoot,” she said. “I can’t wait.”

Donna Kelce in ‘The Traitors’ season 4.

After being voted out, Donna said “playing a Traitor was tough, but I gave it my best shot.”

“This has been a dream come true,” she said through tears. “These are happy tears that I get to do this at this point in my life. It’s just the joy of being in the game.”

Throughout the season, the players will work together on a series of missions to build a prize fund worth up to $250,000. Hidden amongst the Faithful are the Traitors, whose goal is to eliminate the Faithful and claim the prize for themselves. The Traitors murder the Faithful one by one each night in secret, while the Faithful try to uncover the Traitors and banish them from the game. If the Faithful contestants banish all the Traitors, they will share the prize fund, but if a Traitor (or Traitors) makes it to the end, they will steal all the money.

The first three episodes of The Traitors are streaming on Peacock now. New episodes air every Thursday.