Reality TV fanatics were excited when Big Brother legend Danielle Reyes was cast on Season 3 of The Traitors. The 53-year-old is known for her ability to manipulate and outsmart her opponents, so fans had high hopes she would perform well on the Peacock show. Unfortunately, Danielle’s Traitors performance has been far from impressive. She’s made some pretty big errors and many viewers believe her chance to win is non-existent.
Danielle is not the only Big Brother player who didn’t fare well in Alan Cumming’s Scottish castle. Big Brother winners Cody Calafiore and Dan Gheesling also didn’t do so hot despite their reputations. It begs the question, Why are Big Brother legends so bad at The Traitors?
I have a few theories…
Big Brother players have big egos on The Traitors
Big Brother players enter the castle confident in their ability to outsmart the competition. The Traitors casts reality stars from a variety of reality shows, including some non-competition-based series like Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules. BB players usually underestimate contestants who don’t come from a competition show, believing it will be easy to deceive them but that is often not the case. In Season 2, it was Real Housewives star Larsa Pippen who first suspected Dan Gheesling was a Traitor.
BB stars enter the castle with a motive. They want to preserve their reputation as one of the greats and secure another competition win, but sometimes, they let their ego derail their game.
Big Brother alum Will Kirby (who has yet to appear on The Traitors) shared why he believes BB players struggle to find success in the castle in a 2024 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“I think some Big Brother players went on The Traitors to show that they ‘still got it’ — only to realize that they actually ‘never had it,'” he told the outlet. “It takes an extremely unique skill set to do well on these types of shows, and anyone can get lucky once, but it’s really hard to repeat that success.”
I think Danielle, Cody, and Dan’s success on Big Brother can be attributed to more than luck. Each of the aforementioned players made their mark on the CBS show because they are master strategists, but I agree with Will that the pressure of proving they “still got it” is why they flop on The Traitors.
Big Brother players don’t change their strategy on The Traitors
Another reason BB players are unsuccessful on The Traitors is that they don’t change their strategy. There are similarities between the two games but they aren’t the same beast. The route to win Big Brother doesn’t work on a show like The Traitors. The BB players that appear on the Peacock show always feel a need to either control the Traitors Turret or be vocal at the roundtables, which I find so puzzling. There is no prize for making big moves on The Traitors.
There is only one explanation I can think of. It is possible that BB players are so used to having to persuade a jury that it messes with their heads. A BB jury doesn’t like to reward players who skate through undetected. But that is what The Traitors is all about. If you want someone out of the game, you let someone else do the talking. BB players struggle to take a backseat to the action. They want to make grand speeches, but that usually doesn’t fare well in the castle.
Big Brother players can’t get themselves out of trouble on The Traitors
Disguising your threat level is an element of Big Brother, but you can still succeed in the game once you’ve been outed as a “game player.” If a player becomes a target, there are a few ways they can evade elimination. They can win a Head of Household or Veto competition, which will protect them from being voted out. They can also make deals with the other houseguests, persuading them to vote in their favor.
There are fewer ways to evade capture on The Traitors. Once the players suspect you are a Traitor, there is no reason to keep you around. The format of the game makes it impossible to make silly mistakes. Big Brother is such a long game that there is room to recover from a blunder, but that luxury is absent from The Traitors. It’s a fast-moving train with little room for error.
Of course, Danielle is still going strong, as is Britney Haynes. Despite the criticisms, maybe they’re about to end the curse? Time will tell…
The Traitors is available to stream on Peacock.
TELL US – WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER ON SEASON 3 OF THE TRAITORS? WHO DO YOU WANT TO WIN?
