Traitors and 15 minutes d of fame

[mids2019]

Are contestants in the traitors participating for the slim chance of winning some money or it about the chance of a brief period of fame and with the right agent becoming a z list celeb?

I personally feel looking at some the post competition highlights contestants very much hope they have displayed enough of their personality to try and stick in the public imagination such that the media will take further interest in them. Such game is fleeting though and I wonder how many are left with a feeling of disappointment as they face back into obscurity and their old jobs thrown from the light of national attention!?

Fame not game

A mixture. Some do it for the experience.

Could they not just fancy playing the game!

Yes some definitely are seeking this. Many of them already have an an online presence as influencers etc. Faraaz shares food reviews on instagram. Minah and Francesca from last year are both now on tv quite a bit I think.

I think when things like this come out of is all about the game and the concept is a really good one. The players immerse themselves in a novel experience and the results make good television. However like the Apprentice (and big brother back in the day) I think producers tend to seek out 'personalities' to compete and it is those with some pretension to fame that seek to enter. At this stage I actually think a show becomes tired and the audience becomes a little cynical about how much is being scripted and acted.

I didn't particularly like the back story of Jade, not because I am not utterly sympathetic about her family tragedy, but because it makes it look like the producers are deliberately seeking a back story that can be fed to the press to keep interest alive

I think when things like this come out of is all about the game and the concept is a really good one. The players immerse themselves in a novel experience and the results make good television. However like the Apprentice (and big brother back in the day) I think producers tend to seek out 'personalities' to compete and it is those with some pretension to fame that seek to enter. At this stage I actually think a show becomes tired and the audience becomes a little cynical about how much is being scripted and acted.

I didn't particularly like the back story of Jade, not because I am not utterly sympathetic about her family tragedy, but because it makes it look like the producers are deliberately seeking a back story that can be fed to the press to keep interest alive

They can be hoping for a tv career after or increased followers on insta to make money. I don’t mind that as long as they play the game properly/well. If it ended up like love island with a load of people pretending to be interested in each other for fame I wouldn’t watch it. I think because they choose a range of people from different backgrounds it’s unlikely that will happen.

I think your right in that the range of backgrounds is a draw but I do think has time goes on the people wanting to enter and devote time to the game will want a 'return' in terms of media profile and similarly the producers will look for more outlandish characters to drive interest.

I feel sometimes the contestants may be led up the garden path with promises Traitors will lead to a guaranteed permanent slot in the tabloids or a massive following on SM. In reality have the contestants just gained the ability to put ability to lie convincingly on their CV?

I noticed a few of them were aspiring actresses/actors - so yes I think there is also the hope that the show leads to something else.

I started to watch the show after a friend recommended it and not only did I think the concept was awful but found most of the participants vapid.

I tend to assume that quite a few of the contestants are hoping for a TV / acting / modelling career, and are gathering material for a show reel. Lots of professionally filmed footage of them in different lights, outfits and settings, to show a potential agent how they look on screen, how they sound, and demonstrating that they can work around a camera crew etc.

Years ago I knew a few people who were on a performing arts course, and they were always applying to go on game shows for those reasons. One was on Blind Date.

Harriet will have made a mint from selling her books.

I was disappointed to see Alexander from last year, who I loved at the time, turn up on celebrity mastermind and describe himself as a reality tv star or something like that. I appreciate it that the MM producers may have advised him, but I had thought somehow he was better than that. He also turned out to be pretty thick, so it was doubly disappointing.

I would also assume that some of them were approached to apply because of their online presence/influencing. Same thing happens in many reality tv shows. The producers need people who will perform as it were.

Really interesting

It’s definitely more noticeable this year. Maybe because of the increasing popularity of the show? But I’m in that stage of “they’re annoying me on social media now” phase 😂

I agree. I thought this was a great season and really liked all the participants for the most part and loved the two traitors.

I did get the distinct impression that the producers are trying to attach a human interest story to each player (at the dinner) and that spoilt it for me. I want to watch the show for the show and I think it’s perfectly fine for someone who does not need the money, does not have a tough backstory to be a participant.

Stephen was on TV the other day, he’s left his job - maybe he had to, to participate but that’s not how it sounded. Jade from what I read also comes for a well-off family and Rachel is from a well-regarded family and siblings in the city and has been working in a good role for many years.

I like the premise of the show but if it becomes more about the producers trying to dig out non-existent stories, to tug at the heart strings, then Traitors isn’t about the game anymore.

That’s a bit harsh. He raised a lot money for mencap (more than if he’d won). Being intelligent isn’t necessarily the same thing as being good at mastermind either.

Definitely it's less about alliances, strategy and psychology but more about the personality. The participants aren't competing for the money IMHO but for the fame (something money finds hard to buy). Maybe it's the buzz of being talked about by a whole country?

There is something maybe a little more honest about the celebratory traitors as they are working in an environment they are used to. Again my fear is for those that get dumped out early having sacrificed time and potentially money to participate who then have to re enter thr job market etc... Also there must be a come down from having been briefly famous.

I read an article the other day which said it was unlucky none of the contestants thus far had really "succeeded" in turning their appearance into a long term career, with the heavy implication that that was what most of them expected, which seemed a bit odd - there's no reason to indicate that's what most of them wanted.

Yes there's probably a mix but a lot of people are just interested in the game. Particularly with a lot of younger people these days, and some of the specific types of careers the contestants have (personal fitness trainer, comedian, disability model, writer, interiors consultant etc.) they're probably used to constantly "selling" themselves and presenting a certain way on social media anyway, which is why it's probably not a huge change of their "public persona" to dip a toe into being a z list celebrity.

Some of them could be just pushing the celeb element in order to get more exposure for their main careers rather than wanting to be a " tv personality" specifically.

Others might just be taking advantage of the various opportunities (turning up to the opening of an envelope) for the sheer fun of it and to make a bit of money while they have the chance, with the full understanding their 5 minutes of fame is a brief window.

Very possibly butbI do still feel some of them are hoping the minor celeb thing sticks and they can get an agent to get them work on game shows, cookery shows etc. I don't think the participants would be entirely open about this as it would be bad form.

Yes it is fun but people have IMHO taken time to participate as well as the risk of being in the public eye. How would an appearance on traitors go down with a new employer for instance