To understand the success of “The Traitors,” you have to play Lupus in Fabula A new reality show is coming to Prime Video that makes the game come alive

What The Traitors stages is a typical evening among friends. One of those you’d never want to be part of. An evening where friendships, families, and loves end very badly. There’s a game to play, some time to spend together, and the promise of fun. And it all ends with stabs and regrets, slaps in the face (emotional and, why not, even physical), and grudges that will echo through the ages. This is well known not so much by those who took part in The Traitors in its reality version - such as the one released in Italy on Prime Video - but by anyone who’s ever played a game of Lupus in Fabula and perhaps lost a few friendships along the way. After all, it’s still just a game, something worth remembering. It must be acknowledged that the streaming platform has adapted the show with flair and skill. The result is better than Red Carpet – Vip al tappeto, another reality show also hosted by Alessia Marcuzzi, and better than the latest seasons of Lol - Chi ride è fuori, which, by now, has lost all its spark.

Will there be a second season of The Traitors?

The reality show definitely has the potential to launch a second season. And it keeps it thanks to that typical evening among friends atmosphere, where - even though we all know it would be wiser to drop it and play a game of Monopoly or Rummy instead - we somehow always end up falling for it again. After all, even with Monopoly (and especially Rummy), drama is never too far away. The show’s charm lies in its high degree of surprises and unexpected strategies, making it a truly interactive game. There’s the pleasure of watching contestants scheme, moving around the castle - sometimes genuinely, sometimes deceitfully - trying to figure out whom to eliminate and why. Added to this, compared to the real version, is the opportunity to follow the contestants’ strategies, observing whether they succeed in carrying them out with the desired effects. But what exactly is The Traitors about? Much like the classic Lupus in fabula, the challenge consists of selecting a certain number of «traitors» (the wolves in the traditional game), who each night must «kill» their companions, known as the «faithful» (the villagers in the original game). If the traitors manage to eliminate most of the faithful, they win the game. However, if even one of the traitors reaches the final, victory automatically goes to the «bad guys».

Based on entertainment that evolves from a friendly table game to a media format, the streaming adaptation expands the concept through the introduction of challenges designed to add more content and determine the prize pool to be won. These challenges also serve to fuel or deflect suspicion among the contestants throughout the game. For those watching at home, it’s a way to keep things lively, even though it’s during the moments of confrontation and debate that things really heat up. This is evident from the energy and commitment shown by the participants (Michela Andreozzi, Paola Barale, Giancarlo Commare, Giuseppe Giofrè, Pierluca Mariti, Tess Masazza, Alessandro Orrei, Mariasole Pollio, Raiz, Daniele Resconi, Yoko Yamada, Filippo Bisciglia, Aurora Ramazzotti, and Rocco Tanica), who sometimes react in exaggerated and over-the-top ways compared to what’s actually at stake.

In those moments of maximum tension, it’s worth mentally returning to that table among friends and remembering that - even safe at home in your own living room - anyone can find themselves living through tragedies worthy of Shakespearean dramas and intrigues. It takes very little: being nominated by a friend or «killed» by the wolves during the night can seem to have irreversible consequences on the group’s fate. With The Traitors, at least, all this happens in a protected context. Not for the contestants, though, who will probably remember the stabs they received from their companions even after the game is over.