Season 3 of The Traitors, which streams on Peacock, returns the “cast entirely people we know” concept from Season 2 of the reality hit. So amongst those who will be deemed “traitors” or “faithfuls” are a host of notable faces – and infamous rabble rousers – from established reality universes like Survivor, Big Brother, and The Real Housewives, as well as a handful of relative newbies, like real life British aristocrat Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Gabby Windey and Wells Adams from The Bachelorette, and Sam Asghari from “used to be married to Britney Spears.” Of course, you also have a big draw in the terrific Alan Cumming, who returns as host of the US version of The Traitors, and who wastes no time in announcing a few radical new twists to the game as his contestants converge on Ardross Castle in Scotland. “Things are about to get murrrrderrrroussss,” Cumming says, adding about six deliciously extra syllables to that significant final word.   

Opening Shot: “Come friend come foe, come one come all, to the Highlands,” a costumed Alan Cumming says, welcoming us back to the world of The Traitors. “To see who lives and who falls.” His intonation for this little couplet is giving puppetmaster; it’s also giving Vincent Price in “Thriller.”

The Gist: Cumming’s silent “followers,” clad in Eyes Wide Shut masks, greet his 21 initial players, who arrive at the castle in black Land Rovers. Tom Sandoval is wearing a kilt, because of course he is. Two-time Survivor winner Tony Vlachos notes how people being familiar with his competitive reputation will likely be a problem. There is lots of Real Housewives representation with Dorinda Medley (New York City), Robyn Dixon (Potomac), Delores Catania (New Jersey), and Chanel Ayan (Dubai). Big Brother veterans Danielle Reyes and Britney Haynes also circle each other warily, while Bob the Drag Queen brings an energy befitting the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I’m a gay guy from New York City,” Bob says in a confessional cutaway, “so Alan’s an icon. He looks stunning and my heart is racing, because it’s about to get real.” 

Cumming will soon choose three “traitors” from this bunch, who will keep that special designation secret as they scheme to remove the remaining “faithfuls.” There will also be reality show-style “missions” along the way, designed to both fuck with the contestants and contribute cash to the $250k grand prize. But before the official commencement of gameplay, and before Cumming even gathers his players at the Round Table – the chamber where murderous traitors are made, and the faithfuls try to figure it all out – he has one of Traitors season 3’s biggest twists to introduce. It’s a mask-off moment as reality world titan Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano is revealed to participants in what is sure to be the role of major agitating factor in this season’s action.

You haven’t lived as a reality show fan until you’ve witnessed personalities from like ten different established franchises – and Britney’s ex-husband, and Zac Efron’s brother Dylan Efron – attempt to make the oars of a viking ship mock-up work. There is much shouting and “Heave! Ho!”-ing as the first Traitors mission gets wet. But the sequence also sets precedents for dramas and alliances to come, complete with players calling out behaviors they recognize in their fellow contestants. (Recognize from TV, that is.) Will it be the Survivor vets and Housewives versus everybody else? Will the lesser-known reality types band together? And what other wild cards exist up the tunneled sleeves of Alan Cumming’s embroidered cloak?

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Seeding The Traitors lineup with reality show people is a brilliant move, since in interviews, most of them describe the game’s intricacies and mental heavy lifting as honoring a higher tier of gamesmanship. Early on in Traitors, Bachelorette vet Wells Adams actively flees a room where some serious Survivor-style strategizing between Tony Vlachos, Jeremy Collins (San Juan del Sur; Cambodia) and Carolyn Wiger (Survivor 44) is already beginning.

Our Take: Look at its Survivor player polycule, or its Housewives contingent – The Traitors season 3 is leaning heavily and wonderfully into all of its players’ small screen histories. “I don’t think I’d do well as a traitor,” infamous Vanderpump villain Tom Sandoval tells host Alan Cumming as he lobbies for position, to which a smirking Cumming retorts, “But what if I made you one?” (It’s almost illegal how much fun Cumming is having as host.) And when she is left to wallow on a pontoon in a dark Scottish loch, Dorinda “Meddler” declares she’s pissed enough to begin feeling “a little Housewife right now.” Yes! Please do! In its standard format, Traitors is already able to generate a ton of deceit and scrumptious backstabbing. But add into its existing mix the collective and potentially chaotic energy of this many past reality competitions and appearances, and Season 3 of the series is operating at an absurdly potent level.

At the same time, that contingent of reality format vets on Traitors should also check their confidence at the Castle Ardross portcullis. While they have been conditioned to build in fake-outs and feints, series producers could easily use that competitive experience against them, especially with so much potential for new talent to rise up. Are you gonna bet against Nikki Garcia of the Bella Twins causing some trouble? She’s a WWE Hall of Famer! 

Sex and Skin: Nothing.

Parting Shot: The traitors have taken their oaths. Will one become “The Mindful Murderer”? Who is “all in to play”? Which one has been preparing for this role for so long, “I slept in a cloak”? Only Traitors season 3 can say. 

Sleeper Star: Maybe Dylan Efron? “I really do feel like the underdog,” says the Down to Earth with Zac Efron producer, Zac Efron sibling, and newly-minted reality show contestant. “I’m playing alongside all of these icons, people that I’ve been watching on TV for 20 years.”

Most Pilot-y Line: As a reality show conceit, it’s very fun in The Traitors to see the devious excitement of players deemed as such. “This is the game that I was meant to play. I’m here to take people out, one by one, and I can’t wait to start. I am just – I’ve never been so happy to be so bad…” 

Our Call: Stream It! Season 3 of The Traitors is its biggest yet. With a top-notch host in Alan Cumming, tricky, high-level game play, and a tantalizing cross-section of reality show talent as its players – competitive Survivor styles up against Real Housewives wiles, or reality randos confronting established format schemers – Traitors is taking reality competition to stylishly outrageous new levels.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.