The Traitors: New Blood Cast, Premiere Date and How to Watch the All-Civilian Season
The Traitors: New Blood premieres Thursday, September 17, bringing a major change to the NBC/Peacock reality competition: all 22 contestants are everyday Americans rather than the celebrities and reality-TV personalities who have populated recent seasons.
Hosted by Alan Cumming, the new edition sends the civilian cast to the Scottish Highlands for the familiar game of alliances, deception and hidden Traitors. The contestants are competing for a prize of up to $250,000.
The timing is driving renewed interest in The Traitors: New Blood as the premiere arrives on NBC following the show’s Emmy-winning run on Peacock. NBC has also positioned the civilian edition as a way to bring the franchise to a broader network audience.
When Does The Traitors: New Blood Premiere?
The Traitors: New Blood premieres Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
The premiere is a special two-hour, two-episode event. Two more episodes are scheduled to air back-to-back on September 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, after which the series continues with new episodes on Thursdays.
The episodes will be available to stream on Peacock the following day.
Who Is in The Traitors: New Blood Cast?
The 22-person cast was selected from a nationwide application process that attracted more than 80,000 applicants.
The contestants are:
- Abbey Benjamin — Nurse, Mangham, Louisiana
- Abby Lee — Astrophysicist, Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Arisa Thomas — Dog Groomer, Los Angeles, California
- Ben McDonnell — Barrel Racer, Granbury, Texas
- Clyde Moser — Teacher, Charleston, South Carolina
- Jay Vinnedge — Physician, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Joe Vanella — Funeral Director, Wantagh, New York
- Katie Fites — Marketing Manager, Jacksonville, Florida
- Kim Daily — Lawyer, Houston, Texas
- Kriste Lewis — Realtor, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Logan Smith — Realtor, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
- Madeline Kostopulos — Construction Manager, San Diego, California
- Mark Zgoda — Personal Trainer, Phillipsburg, New Jersey
- Michael Foote — Lawyer, New York, New York
- Morgan Cook — Content Creator, Midland, Michigan
- Niyyah Bilal Hayes — Therapist, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Shane Beatty — Ironworker, Staten Island, New York
- Sherry Kuehl — Writer, Leawood, Kansas
- Tomica Adams — Pilot, Boston, Massachusetts
- Victor Vollbrechthausen — Business Executive, New York, New York
- Wyatt Gillespie — Designer, Ligonier, Pennsylvania
- Xavier Scruggs — MLB Analyst, Wesley Chapel, Florida
NBC confirmed the full lineup ahead of the premiere.
What Makes New Blood Different?
The biggest change is the cast.
Previous U.S. seasons of The Traitors have become known for putting reality-TV veterans, celebrities and other recognizable personalities together in the Scottish castle. New Blood instead uses civilians who were not established reality stars.
The result is a cast ranging from an astrophysicist and physician to a dog groomer, funeral director, pilot, teacher and ironworker. Contestants range in age from 23 to 65.
Alan Cumming returns as host, providing the main connection to the existing Traitors format.
How Does The Traitors Game Work?
The contestants are divided into Faithfuls and Traitors.
The Faithfuls must identify and banish the hidden Traitors during the game’s roundtables. Meanwhile, the Traitors secretly work to eliminate Faithful contestants while attempting to remain undetected.
Challenges help build the prize fund, while the social-deduction element forces contestants to decide whom they can trust.
If the Faithfuls eliminate every Traitor, they can claim the prize. If a Traitor survives to the end, the outcome can shift in favor of the remaining Traitor or Traitors.
Where Was The Traitors: New Blood Filmed?
The new season returns to the Scottish Highlands, with the competition centered at Ardross Castle.
That familiar setting remains in place even though the contestants are dramatically different from previous U.S. casts.
Why Is The Traitors: New Blood Trending Now?
The immediate reason is the September 17 premiere.
NBC is introducing The Traitors: New Blood as the franchise’s first U.S. all-civilian edition, while the series is also arriving after The Traitors‘ recent Emmy recognition and continued expansion.
Interest has also intensified because viewers are now getting to know the 22 newcomers just before they enter the castle, while the identities of the initial Traitors remain part of the show’s central mystery.
The new format gives longtime viewers a different question to consider: how will people with no established reality-TV personas approach a game built around lying, alliances and suspicion?
How to Watch The Traitors: New Blood
Viewers in the U.S. can watch The Traitors: New Blood live on NBC beginning September 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
New episodes will stream on Peacock the following day. Peacock’s official listing confirms the Thursday schedule and the next-day streaming arrangement.
Watch The Traitors: New Blood on Peacock
For viewers searching for the New Blood cast, premiere date or streaming information, the key distinction is that this is a new civilian edition of the franchise—not a continuation of the celebrity-focused casting approach used in recent seasons.
FAQs
When does The Traitors: New Blood premiere?
The Traitors: New Blood premieres Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
How many contestants are in The Traitors: New Blood?
There are 22 civilian contestants in the new edition.
Who hosts The Traitors: New Blood?
Alan Cumming returns as host.
How can I watch The Traitors: New Blood?
The series airs on NBC and streams on Peacock the following day.
What is the prize on The Traitors: New Blood?
The contestants are competing for a prize of up to $250,000.
