There was a bittersweet feeling amongst many households in Ireland at 21:35 on Tuesday September 23rd. The finale of season one of The Traitors Ireland. Was there only twelve episodes? Was there life before August 31st when six hundred thousand people across this island sat down with their cups of tea to see if the Irish could make a good go with their version of The Traitors? I can’t honestly remember.
I had no idea what to expect when the series was first to air, I had never seen any of the other Traitors series and purposely avoided any information on them.
For me, a big reason why the Traitors Ireland worked so well and was beloved by many was the authenticity and relatability of the contestants. Do we not all have an uncle like Paudie? Who plays dumb but is one step ahead of the game, or a colleague like Oyin, who doesn’t say much but takes everything in, or the local Garda who is slightly too big for his boots, I will refrain from naming a name here, but you can piece that one together yourselves. Whether or not they were playing characters as so many of the contestants tried to convince us that they were, it was hard not to identify them with people we know in our daily life.
There is something undeniably wholesome about a show like the Traitors. It’s not so much the content, but it’s the sense of community that it brings. The Traitors brought with it this sense of laughter and togetherness that isn’t often seen with modern television, not in the inter-generational sense that this show was watched. The varied ages of its contestants were like the varied ages in viewership. I watched with my parents who are in their fifties, talked about it in my part-time job with many pensioners, and if it weren’t for the late start time I would imagine there would be many children watching too. I would like to make it clear that I have not been paid to endorse or big up this series, I was just a major fan.
The viewership speaks for itself. According to RTÉ, “Across the 12 episodes, the series pulled in an average of 557,000 live and viewed on the same day as live (VOSDAL) viewers, with a 50% share of viewing. On RTÉ Player, it has been streamed 3.7 million times.” In reading and watching interviews with various members of the production cast it is evident that nothing happened by accident on this series. Each contestant was chosen methodically as were the different aspects of the daily challenges.
While there were many memorable contestants, both likeable and unlikeable, the true star of this series was Siobhán McSweeney. For many it would be hard to see her as anything other than her breakout role as deadpan Sister Michael in Derry Girls, and many felt that Claudia Winkleman’s shoes were big ones to fill across the pond, but McSweeney appeared to effortlessly fall into the role of host. The level of aura that followed her in every scene was second to none. If the series is to return, it would be impossible to imagine anyone else to take on that role. The notable use of Irish designers in her outfits was also a touch of class.
Looking at the finale itself, ultimately, the winners Oyin, Vanessa and Kelley have gained a lot of support online (a special note for whoever was in charge of the social media for the series, someone deserves a raise) when they were announced as the joint winners of the nearly €43k prize. In my humble opinion, Traitors Nick and Ben shot themselves in the foot when they made the decision to vote Faye out, thus eliminating their last true friend in the series.
And so, while there has been no official greenlight for series two, the RTÉ socials have put out callouts for contestants, so it can be assumed that things are looking good. So long Traitors, hope to see you soon.
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