They wear flashy outfits and navigate twists while going for gold in programming watched by millions. They are figure skaters — but they aren’t competing at the Winter Olympics in Italy, or even on ice.
These skaters are Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, the American Olympians turned skating commentators who are competing on the reality game show “The Traitors.” In the fourth season of the American version, which started airing on Peacock last month, they have emerged as fan favorites from a cast studded with (mostly reality) stars.
On “The Traitors,” a murder-mystery game animated by lies, deception and trickery, contestants eliminate one another as they vie for a cash prize. Ms. Lipinski, 43, and Mr. Weir, 41, have stood out less for their gameplay — which is questionable at best — than for their sweetness on a show that can often be vicious.
“In a game where interpersonal conflict and being backstabby gets you a lot of attention, moments of empathy and emotion stand out even more,” said Gibson Johns, who has a podcast, “Gabbing With Gib,” about reality TV and pop culture. “For that to shine through on ‘The Traitors’ speaks to just them as people and how they’re able to connect with viewers.”
The pair’s endearing onscreen chemistry stems from a genuine friendship. Though Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir had overlapping careers as professional skaters, they said in a joint video interview that their bond was forged later, when they were preparing for roles as commentators at the 2014 Winter Olympics for NBC (which shares a parent company with Peacock).
Both recalled showing up at NBC Studios back then with the same Celine handbag and becoming fast friends. Ms. Lipinski described their connection as instant. “We were just kind of sitting there talking,” she said. “Immediately it just clicked, and it felt so natural.”
Those who have watched Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir since their joint career turn know that their friendship is no secret. They have reprised their roles as NBC Olympic commentators, including at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, and they even share an Instagram account.
Christine Cowan, a senior vice president of talent and casting at NBCUniversal, the parent company of Peacock and NBC, said that Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir’s longtime presence at the Olympics as NBC commentators had a lot to do with them appearing on “The Traitors,” which is airing simultaneously with this year’s Winter Games.
Casting the pair was the type of brand synergy that Jack Donaghy, the fictional NBC executive played by Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock,” would get behind.
“They make great TV,” Ms. Cowan said.
Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir received the news that they had been cast on a phone call together. They immediately decided to enter “The Traitors” with an alliance, but to pretend to be strangers while filming at the Scottish castle where the show is set. Viewers are let in on their strategy as the show progresses.
“I called Johnny, and I was like, This is our plan,” Ms. Lipinski said. “We’re going to go in and we’re going to just pretend like we didn’t know each other.”
To communicate without tipping off other contestants, they developed a secret code that involved hand and eye signals, among other things, Mr. Weir explained.
“We would brush fingers when walking through the hall,” he said. “At some point, we were kind of gossiping about people but using figure skating jumps instead of names.”
So far, their approach has worked: Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir have made it through eight episodes without being eliminated. The ninth episode airs Thursday evening.
Among the people most surprised by how long Ms. Lipinski and Mr. Weir have lasted on “The Traitors” are the skaters themselves.
Though they rose to the top of their sport — Ms. Lipinski won an Olympic gold medal in 1998, and Mr. Weir skated in the Winter Games held in 2006 and in 2010 — the two have decidedly less talent for detecting lies, a skill integral to the guessing game that is “The Traitors.”
“Tara and I are both very honest people, and we tell you what we think and how we feel, and we also generally think the best of people,” Mr. Weir said. “So the game itself is not necessarily built for people like us who aren’t good at lying or scheming.”
Ms. Lipinski thought she had a good gut instinct, but after filming “The Traitors,” she said, “I was like, I need to re-evaluate everything in my life.”
Their cluelessness — and their forthrightness around the fact that they’re not exactly good at the game — has inspired countless memes, winning the pair new fans on social media.
“We’re besties, and that’s the relationship that we really have,” Mr. Weir said. “So I think people respond to the genuine nature of how we are as people.”
Describing her bond with Mr. Weir, Ms. Lapinski used the word “rare.”
“I just love doing life with him and working with him,” she said. “Being able to work on the show together was everything.”
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