Alan Cumming is opening the gates to his Scottish Highlands castle once again — but this time, it won’t be celebrities walking through the door.
NBC is launching a civilian spin-off of Peacock’s Emmy-winning competition reality series The Traitors, giving everyday people the chance to play the ultimate game of deception. Dubbed The Traitors: New Blood, the new version will once again be hosted by Cumming.
The two-time Emmy-winning host revealed the news last August during the inaugural Televerse 2025 conference at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The NBC edition began production in early 2026, and will finally premiere in September.
Read on for everything to know about The Traitors: New Blood.
THE PREMIERE DATE
“The Traitors are out for new blood,” NBC announced June 18 on social media. The first two episodes of The Traitors: New Blood will debut Sept. 17 in a special two-hour extended premiere. New episodes will continue to air Thursdays at 8 p.m. PT/ET on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock. “A word of caution: don’t be late,” Cumming teased in the announcement video.
THE CAST
Twenty-two everyday Americans have been hand selected from a nationwide search resulting in over 60,000 hopeful applicants. The identities of these new players will be announced at a later date.
WHAT THEY SAID
“In this new version for NBC, we’re excited to bring along The Traitors‘ highly addictive fan base as we discover the next generation of legendary gamers and schemers,” said Sharon Vuong, executive vice president of unscripted programming at NBCUniversal. “With our resident host and gameplay master of ceremonies, Alan Cumming, on board to introduce complete strangers to new epic missions and twisted gameplay, we know it will be incredible to watch.”
Stephen Lambert, CEO of Studio Lambert — which produces both the Peacock and NBC versions — added, “We’re thrilled to be working with NBC to open up the experience to a new group of civilian players, whose stories and strategies will make the gameplay even more unpredictable – and, we hope, even more addictive for viewers.”
ODDS & ENDS
The Peacock edition of The Traitors has become one of the most talked-about reality shows on television. To date, it has been nominated for 10 Emmy Awards and won eight: competition program (2024 and ’25), host (2024 and ’25), directing (2025), casting (2023), cinematography (2025), and picture editing (2025)
The format challenges players — dubbed either “Faithful” or “Traitors” — to build a prize fund worth up to $250,000 through team missions. But the hidden Traitors work in secret to eliminate Faithfuls one by one, with the ultimate goal of stealing the money for themselves.
Note that Season 5 of the original celebrity version of The Traitors is expected to come to Peacock in January.
This item was published Aug. 14, 2025, and updated June 18, 2026, with new information
