Netflix’s latest reality TV offering has caused a stir online after it was compared to ITV’s Big Brother and the BBC’s surprise hit The Traitors.
The Trust: A Game of Greed was released on the streaming platform on Wednesday (10 January) and is currently among the Top 10 shows in the UK.
The “social experiment” follows 11 strangers across a wide range of ages and jobs after they receive a $250,000 (£196,000) prize pot that is meant to be divided between them equally. Contestants, however, can choose to vote each other out anonymously if they want a bigger piece of the pie.
“They all start as winners and they can all leave as winners … if they share,” presenter and former CNN host Brooke Baldwin explains.
The contestants will also have to face a series of tests and challenges that will force them to “confront their biggest insecurities, long-held secrets, and past histories” as they navigate “Trust ceremonies” over the course of eight weeks.
The show is being compared to The Traitors, the BBC show set in a Scottish castle and hosted by Claudia Winkleman. Some fans have declared that The Trust is even better than the British sleeper hit.
“The Trust >>>>>>The Traitors,” one X/Twitter comment read.
‘The Trust’ was released on Netflix on 10 January— (Netflix )
Others, however, said the “perfectly evil” show was simply a “watered-down version” of The Traitors, in which 22 contestants move into a castle in the Scottish highlands for a chance to win £120,000.
In the castle, some of the contestants are cast as “Faithfuls”, who must race against time to identify the “Traitors” among them before they’re “killed off”.
Reacting to the similarities between the two series, another fan wrote: “There’s a new show on Netflix called The Trust and the description is Big Brother meets The Traitors.”
“I think I’m entering my reality tv game shows era and I’m all for it. The Traitors 2 and The Trust start this week,” one person said.
“Also if ya’ll haven’t heard yet The Trust is another gem that just came out of nowhere recently (on Netflix) It’s like a mash of Big Brother x Traitors,” another fan praised the show.
“Do I really want to watch a brand new reality show that lands on Netflix TOMORROW NIGHT!! a show that has been described like Big Brother and The Traitors??” a similar comment read. “YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!! Right up my street, CAN’T WAIT!!”
The Traitors, which is aired on BBC One, became a word-of-mouth phenomenon after its first season was released in December 2022.
Its success was such that 130,000 people applied to participate on the show’s second outing, which premiered earlier this month. By comparison, the first season only received 3,000 applications.
The Trust is currently streaming on Netflix and The Traitors series two airs Wednesday to Friday at 9pm on BBC One.
