Dutch TV format De Verraders conquers the world

This is just the new Big Brother

The Traitors conquers the world as The Traitors. This fresh format was invented by our neighbor here on Pilotenstraat. Okay, that sounds like someone suddenly got an idea after trimming their geraniums and filling in the last box of their sudoku. That's not the case. Our neighbor here on the street is Marc Pos, one of the best directors in the country, and it turns out he is now the new John de Mol when it comes to coming up with a concept that the whole world talks about. And watches. Also quite handy when it comes to a TV show.

Reviewers from English quality newspapers firmly check all their available stars and stumble over the superlatives. ‘It is a study of human behavior that is demoralizing, but one that you want more of,’ says The Telegraph. Or: ‘You become addicted,’ says The Guardian, further praising the masterful casting.

The British presenter of the show initially did not want to present it. She would have to go to Scotland for the recordings, and she wasn't interested in that at all. Until she saw the Dutch version. ‘My children weren't getting fed anymore, I hadn't brushed my teeth, I watched the Dutch version crying.’ And then that train to Scotland was no problem at all. After a Dutch, Belgian, and English version, the format is now also going to America, Australia, Norway, and Portugal.

And as is fitting for a good format, it also took six years here before a channel director dared to take the plunge. One thing is for sure: at the next MIPCOM in Cannes (the TV fair), it will be crowded at Marc Pos's booth. Although I think he is now residing in a suite at Eden Roc.