Peacock May Have Found Its Next ‘Traitors’ In New Reality Series

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BURBANK, CA - OCTOBER 20: The NBC peacock logo hangs on the NBC studios building on October 20, 2008 in Burbank, California. NBC Universal plans another round of major cuts totaling $500 million from the next yearly budget in spite of recent strong quarterly reports. The cuts come as the media sector copes with recent market turmoil that sent stock prices for many major conglomerates plunging to all-time lows, as much as 70 percent for the past year. NBC Universal stations are facing a serious local ad slump while its parent company, General Electric, is facing financial problems with heavy reliance on financial services in an environment of frozen credit. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

When “The Traitors” became a huge success for Peacock, it was only a matter of time before the streamer would find a way to repeat it. There are only so many versions of the celebrity (and now civilian) competition series that Peacock can license, and now it’s time to bring a completely different show. It looks like it’s managed that with the new series “Assassins.”

From Sony’s B17 Entertainment with Scarlett Johansson executive producing, “Assassins” has just gained the greenlight from the NBCUniversal streamer. It’s time for the hunter to also be the hunted.

What Is ‘Assassins’ About?

The new competition series is similar to the popular college campus game. Everyone is assigned a target, but they are also a target for someone else. The hunter is the hunted, and the hunted is the hunter. Nobody is safe, and this globe-trotting competition will use wit, strategy, and alliances to eliminate players for the chance to win the big prize. Of course, how can you make alliances when the person hunting you could be in that group?

There has already been a similar version of this series developed, called “The Ultimate Tag.” The Fox series ran for one season in 2020 and is more like the college campus game, but it came at a time when the world shut down due to the pandemic. Other networks have also tried similar shows, such as CBS’s “Hunted” and the British series “The Runner.”

With the success of “The Traitors,” it’s clear that there is an interest in watching strategy gameplay. Having the right setting and leadership is important, and “Assassins” could succeed by bringing a mixture of “The Traitors” and “The Amazing Race.”

Peacock Has Found Its Winning Strategy in ‘The Traitors’

Peacock has recently renewed “The Traitors” for three more seasons. This will be the celebrity version, which somewhat kicked off the success. The very first season of the U.S. version of the show involved a mixture of celebrities and civilian players, and then the second season opted for a full celebrity cast. That’s the way the competition continued until the most recent season, “The Traitors: New Blood,” which is a full-civilian cast airing on NBC and Peacock.

The UK opted to do things the other way around, with a full-civilian cast from the beginning. There have since been celebrity versions of the series.

It’s not clear if “Assassins” will involve celebrities, civilians, or a mixture of both for its first season. There has been an interest in civilian seasons, as it allows the audience to look for clues and tells in a way that they can’t with reality stars they already know.

Peacock has figured out the winning strategy. Viewers want more than a show that asks questions and gives answers. They also want something that brings out some of the worst traits in human nature. “The Traitors” brings teamwork, strategy, betrayals, and manipulation all in one, without producer interference. The manipulation comes from the players, as they form alliances, and it creates a more authentic experience in the competition. “Assassins” promises to offer the same.