The highly-anticipated premiere of “The Traitors” Season 4 is set to hit Peacock’s ever-expanding streaming catalogue on Thursday, January 8.
Featuring former “Survivor” castaways, as well as reality stars from franchises like “Dancing with the Stars,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Big Brother” and “The Real Housewives,” the return of the Emmy-winning murder-mystery competition series will see its latest cast of characters journey to Scotland to compete for a prize pot worth up to $250,000.
While “Survivor” alumni like Cirie Fields, Paravati Shallow and “Boston Rob” Mariano have celebrated mix results on past seasons of the Alan Cumming-hosted series, this season’s representatives – Rob Cesternino (“Survivor: The Amazon”; “Survivor: All-Stars”), Yam Yam Arocho (“Survivor 44”) and Natalie Anderson (“Survivor: San Juan del Sur”; “Survivor: Winners at War”) – are opening up about their strategies to be the last reality star standing on “The Traitors” Season 4.
Rob Cesternino Teases ‘Goldilocks’ Strategy to Win ‘Traitors’
PeacockAfter making his reality TV debut on the cast of “Survivor: The Amazon” in 2003, followed shortly thereafter by a second appearance on “All-Stars” in 2004, Rob Cesternino was described as “the smartest player to never win” the series by its longtime host Jeff Probst.
Despite the glowing review, and his undeniable contribution to the world of reality TV garnered through his award-winning “Rob Has A Podcast” network, Cesternino has never been invited to return to the series for a third appearance.
Shortly after being snubbed from the cast of the show’s upcoming 50th season, Rob was announced as one of three “Survivor” alumni that would be appearing on the cast of the fourth season of Peacock’s “The Traitors.”
With two decades of untapped competitive energy to draw on, Cesternino said in promotional material for the upcoming season that he plans to employ a “Goldilocks” strategy to win the murder-mystery competition and walk away with at least a portion of the $250,000 prize pot.
“You kinda want to be Goldilocks. You don’t ever wanna get too hot or too cold,” he said. “I think that that is something that keeps you safe from the Traitors and the roundtable.”
It remains unclear, however, as to whether or not Cesternino will be chosen as one of Cumming’s eponymous “Traitors,” or if he’ll be tasked with rooting them out as one of the “Faithfuls.”
Regardless, he is hopeful that his middle-game strategy will allow him to fly under the radar to avoid being either murdered or banished before reaching the endgame.
Yam Yam Arocho Plans to Dominate: ‘I Don’t Make Mistakes’
PeacockAs the winner of “Survivor 44,” Yam Yam Arocho is the only “Survivor” alumni on the “Traitors” Season 4 cast who doesn’t know what it feels like to lose a reality competition series. As such, it’s no surprise that the former castaway feels confident in his ability to root out Traitors as a Faithful, or avoid detection as a Traitor.
If he’s tasked with playing the game as a Faithful, Arocho reported, “I’m gonna be paying attention to the mistakes [the Traitors] make. Because when they have power and they’re hungry, they’re gonna make mistakes. It’s inevitable.”
Should he be chosen as one of Alan’s Traitors, however, Yam Yam argued, “then there’s not gonna be mistakes.”
That being said, Arocho is far from the first “Survivor” winner to play “The Traitors.” In past seasons, “Survivor” champions like “Boston Rob” Mariano, Tony Vlachos, Parvati Shallow and Jeremy Collins have taken a stab at the murder-mystery competition, though not a single one of them has managed to replicate their success.
Will Yam Yam be able to make reality TV history as the first person to win both “Survivor” and “The Traitors”? Or will the honor go to his co-star and fellow “Survivor” winner Natalie Anderson instead?
Natalie Anderson Manifests ‘Traitors’ Victory: ‘The Universe Owes Me’
PeacockNatalie Anderson had, arguably, one of the most satisfying victories in recent “Survivor” memory, when she avenged her twin sister Nadiya’s first-boot elimination on 2014’s “Survivor: San Juan del Sur” by going on to win the “Blood vs. Water” season in a landslide.
After emerging victorious from her reality TV debut, Anderson went on to appear on series like “The Challenge” and “The Amazing Race” before returning to compete on “Survivor: Winners at War” in 2020, where she placed as a first runner-up.
“I’ve been on the only two reality shows that offer $2 million and I came in runner-up on both seasons,” Natalie told “Traitors” audiences ahead of the Season 4 premiere, adding, “The universe owes me $4 million bucks.”
As far as her strategy for walking away from the muder-mystery competition series with its meager $250,000 grand prize in hand, Anderson revealed, “My strategy for sussing out Traitors is to just go with my gut. My intuition is always right.”
Who Else is on the ‘Traitors’ Season 4 Cast?
In order for any of these “Survivor” alum to win “The Traitors,” they’ll have to outwit, outlast and outplay fierce gamers from series like “Big Brother” (Ian Terry, Tiffany Mitchell), “Dancing with the Stars” (Mark Ballas) and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (Monet X Change), as well as socially savvy personalities acclaimed for their roles on shows like “Love Island” (Maura Higgins, Rob Rauch), “The Real Housewives” (Candiace Dillard Bassett, Caroline Stanbury, Dorinda Medley, Lisa Rinna, Porscha Williams) and “The Bachelor” (Colton Underwood).
Also joining the cast are Olympic figure skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lapinski and actors Stephen Colletti and Michael Rapaport. “Top Chef” champion Kristen Kish, singer-songwriter Eric Nam, and comedian Ron Fuenches round out the Season 4 cast.
Fans can catch “Survivor” stars Rob Cesternino, Yam Yam Arocho and Natalie Anderson on “The Traitors” Season 4 when it makes its grand streaming debut on Thursday, January 8, exclusively on Peacock.
