To celebrate the launch of The Traitors, the Sydney team were treated to a very special visit from the host with the most, Mr. Rodger Corser.
Before Rodger posed for photos and had a chat with the staff, he and Executive Producer Ciaran Flannery spoke about the filming process and what’s to come in Season 2.
Unfortunately for Rodger, it seems he can’t go anywhere without a couple of Traitors following him around, and the staff visit was no different.
Plus, Rodger sat down with The Water Cooler for an exclusive Q&A, but he refused to give us any spoilers. Rude.
The Traitors is such a unique concept to get your head around. Did you do anything differently as host coming into Season 2?
We had more fun with the whole concept. The producers and executive producers at 10 give me a lot of leeway, which is great.
I speak a lot more down the barrel to the audience, which is a lot of fun. I comment a lot more about what’s going on in the game play, especially in the challenges.
I raise an eyebrow and have a fun time trying to connect to the audience more this year.
Did you find the contestants were a lot more deceptive this season, learning some tips and tricks from Season 1?
Yes, that and the fact that we have some experienced reality TV stars on our show this year. They didn’t need any time to warm up to the game, they were straight in.
And, because the format of the show was new last year, it took the contestants maybe an episode or two to really understand the game and also for our audience to understand the game. But this time around we’re straight into the drama, action and fun because everyone knows exactly what they’re doing in the game.
How do you think you’d go if the roles were reversed, and you were a contestant?
Oh, it’s pretty hard to keep your poker face going, especially if you’re a Traitor.
If you go deep into the game as a Traitor and you’re in that hotel, that pressure cooker situation for three to four weeks, it takes a special type of person to hold up that lie for that long. And I don’t think we all possess those skills.
So, I don’t know how well I’d go, particularly up against our contestants!
There’s $250K up for grabs. With such a life-changing prize on offer, do you find the contestants start unravelling the closer they get to the end?
It definitely becomes more real when we’re down to single digit players. At the beginning it’s a big fun group and we’re having a great time and laughing a lot, but as we go on that prize becomes more real and they start to picture what that money can do for their own lives. Then it really does start to amp up.
People who were playing more honestly in the game start thinking “well it’s me or them and I’m choosing me”, so they start amping up their game and it becomes very dramatic near the end.
Have you developed trust issues since working on this show?
I’m kind of amazed at how well some people can lie to other people’s faces, it’s quite incredible. You start to wonder if people are doing that to you in real life (probably just my agent!).
No, luckily it is just confined to the game, and everyone understands you’re in a unique situation and everyone is playing an exaggerated version of themselves because it is a fantastical game.
Your old mate, Gyton Grantley features in this season. Can we expect some casual sabotage from you?
I’m very conscious not to play favourites with anyone so I do play a bit of a straight bat when it comes to that, but it was great to see Gyton.
He gets accused quite early on for being a Traitor because some people think as an actor, he may have an advantage in the game. Even though he comes across as everyone’s friend, maybe he’s best equipped to hide the fact that he’s a Traitor, so he cops some heat pretty early on.
But I do have to watch myself, especially this season because everyone is experienced and familiar with the game. A lot of people were looking to me to see if I had a poker face or a tell, or if I knew something they didn’t.
