When “The Traitors” executive producer Mike Cotton and his colleagues brought the first season of Peacock’s reality competition to American audiences, doing so with a cast of unknowns scheming for a six-figure prize seemed risky. So they mixed first-time reality TV contestants with a starry lineup of former “Survivor” and “Big Brother” players and alumni from Bravo series “Below Deck,” “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” “Summer House” and “Shahs of Sunset” — plus Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.
That experiment allowed producers to learn quickly how future cast members might play the game. “There are already two sides of the game, the faithful and the traitors,” Cotton explains. “But then within our cast, it was really interesting how the former reality stars approached the games with the skills they brought with them. We thought it needed to go one way or another.”
And so it did. Embracing unscripted TV fame (and fandoms), “The Traitors” has become one of the central platforms for a very 21st century form of celebrity: the professional reality star. Subsequent seasons have added past participants from “The Real World,” “The Bachelor” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a member of the British royal family, future Taylor Swift mother-in-law Donna Kelce and even returning “Traitors” players like Season 1 villain Kate Chastain.
Of course, such casting gimmickry has been a mainstay in the reality competition space for years. As the “Survivor” phenomenon grew, producers not only began to flag potential returning players but also recognized the qualities that appealed to viewers: “Things like confidence, vulnerability, humor, resilience and the ability to reveal who you are when the pressure is most intense,” says “Survivor” host and executive producer Jeff Probst. “Star players absolutely helped sharpen our instincts as producers.”
The CBS series’ current 50th season boasts a lineup of 24 fan favorites, including “The White Lotus” creator and Season 37 runner-up Mike White. “The benefit of bringing players back is simple: Compelling people create compelling seasons,” says Probst. “The audience already has a connection to them, the stakes are higher from Day 1, and it’s incredibly fun to watch great players get another shot.”
The benefit for the stars themselves varies, but whether the result is more prize money, more followers, more brand deals or, yes, more reality TV offers, the opportunities can be plentiful. Multiple-time “Survivor” competitor Cirie Fields won the inaugural season of “The Traitors.” Season 4 winner Rob Rausch, who signed with UTA in March, has partnered with brands like DoorDash and Sonic and appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Poppi soda. Gabby Windey, a former “Bachelorette” and “Dancing With the Stars” runner-up, won Season 3 of “The Traitors” and will soon host the dating competition “Love Overboard.” And Zac Efron’s brother Dylan, who won Season 3 with Windey, followed up “The Traitors” by placing fourth on “Dancing With the Stars” and landing brand deals of his own with the likes of Kohl’s.
Not everyone sets out on their reality TV journey expecting to stay. Kristen Kish, the winner of “Top Chef’s” 10th season, says she “chose a life and a career in kitchens so I could cook … ‘Top Chef’ carries a weight, and to win a show like that isn’t to say ‘I want [my own] TV show.’ It’s to say that I actually used my skill set to come out on top.” Buoyed by her win, Kish released her first cookbook in 2017 and opened the Austin restaurant Arlo Grey in 2018. But when longtime host Padma Lakshmi stepped down, Kish received an unexpected opportunity to return to the culinary competition by stepping up as its new host, a role she assumed in 2024.
The authenticity that has helped Kish win over fans in a new role on “Top Chef” is key in reality TV, and vital for anyone looking for career longevity in the space.
“The audience knows if you’re authentic or not,” says Ryan Revel, a talent manager who represents “The Challenge” alum Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and former “Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Sandoval, Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor. (He’s also an executive producer on Bravo’s “Vanderpump” spinoff, “The Valley.”) For Sandoval, who joined “The Traitors” after his cheating scandal rocked the Bravoverse, continuing to appear on reality TV was a chance at career rehabilitation. “It’s a risk, because you don’t know how long anyone is going to last [on ‘The Traitors’], but it helps sustain their brand, keep them in the public’s mind and keep them relevant,” says Revel, adding, “I don’t think Tom did it to stay relevant [as much as he did it] because it’s fun and he’s getting more opportunities out of it.” (Sandoval most recently appeared on Peacock’s pseudo-“Traitors” parody “House of Villains.”)
Mainstays embrace the symbiotic relationship between reality shows, even those aired by different networks. “I think seeing former ‘Survivor’ players on other shows absolutely benefits the ‘Survivor’ brand because it’s a testament to the strength of our players,” says Probst. “It says a lot about the impact they made on ‘Survivor’ and the reputation they earned as elite players and compelling personalities.” And Kish, who appeared on Season 4 of “The Traitors,” explains that she said yes for a strategic reason of her own: “The past couple of years, we’ve gone against ‘The Traitors’ at the Emmys, and I have gone against Alan Cumming in the hosting category,” she says. “If you can’t beat him, you might as well join them, right?”
Then there’s the even more tried-and-true path of breaking into acting. Several of Mike White’s original “Survivor” co-stars have made cameos on the first three seasons of “The White Lotus,” and a few of his fellow “Survivor 50” players have not-so-subtly pitched themselves as potential hotel guests. As for Probst, he’s sticking to the comfort zone of leading the Tribal Councils. “If I ever show up on ‘White Lotus,’ I’d almost certainly be the dead body at the beginning,” says Probst, “and fans would probably say, ‘Well, he definitely had that coming. Now let’s see how it happened.’”
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