NBC is giving reality TV fans who do not subscribe to Peacock the chance to experience one of the buzziest new reality shows in recent years without a subscription, as The Traitors series premiere is airing on NBC on Monday, January 22, at 10 pm ET/PT.
The US version of The Traitors (not to be confused with The Traitors UK, which is the same format just with a different host and cast) premiered on Peacock in January 2023. Hosted by Alan Cumming, the show mixed reality TV stars with some everyday people as they try to complete challenging tasks to a cash prize. However, among the group are designated "traitors" who are out to steal the money from their fellow contestants, known as "the faithful."
The episode airing on January 22 is The Traitors season 2 premiere, which originally premiered on Peacock on January 12.
As of right now, we can only confirm that The Traitors season 2 premiere episode is airing on NBC, as there does not appear to be another episode of the reality TV show set to air on NBC's available schedule.
If more episodes are not on the way but viewers who watch The Traitors on NBC want to catch more of the show, they are going to need a subscription to Peacock. The NBCUniversal-owned streaming service, which has the entirety of The Traitors season 1 available to watch right now and is also dropping new episodes of The Traitors season 2 weekly on the platform.
This is the latest example of a streaming service and network teaming up to air a previously streaming exclusive show for a wider audience. Paramount Plus and Paramount Network previously did this with the all episodes of 1883 (along with special premieres of Paramount Plus originals 1923, Tulsa King and others), while the hit Hulu original series Only Murders in the Building season 1 has been airing on ABC for the last few weeks and wraps up on January 23.
While not originally airing on a streaming service, the first three seasons of Yellowstone have been airing on CBS throughout the fall and early winter after it previously had only aired on the Paramount Network cable channel. Yellowstone season 3 continues on CBS on Monday, January 22, as well.
In addition to helping to promote their original content and encourage people to sign up for the streaming services, these moves have also been a way to help fill their primetime TV schedule while shows were impacted by the writers and actors' strikes for new labor agreements with studios in 2023.
The mainstay network shows are starting to return, which at least means for the time being these special airings of streaming service may be coming to an end for now, though it seems possible that similar strategies could be used for slower stretches in the TV season in the future.
*Editor's correction: we previously wrote that it was The Traitors season 1 premiere that was airing on January 22, but we have corrected it to The Traitors season 2 premiere.
Peacock's The Traitors series premiere airs on NBC immediately after America's Got Talent: Fantasy League at 10 pm ET/PT on January 22.
