{"id":524708,"date":"2026-06-08T15:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/524708\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:14:17","slug":"survivor-to-traitors-stars-are-making-careers-out-of-reality-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/524708\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Survivor’ to ‘Traitors,’ stars are making careers out of reality TV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When \u201cThe Traitors\u201d<\/a> executive producer Mike Cotton and his colleagues brought the first season of Peacock\u2019s reality competition to American audiences, doing so with a cast of unknowns scheming for a six-figure prize seemed risky. So they mixed first-time reality TV contestants with a starry lineup of former \u201cSurvivor\u201d<\/a> and \u201cBig Brother\u201d players and alumni from Bravo series \u201cBelow Deck,\u201d \u201cReal Housewives of Beverly Hills,\u201d \u201cSummer House\u201d and \u201cShahs of Sunset\u201d \u2014 plus Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.<\/p>\n

That experiment allowed producers to learn quickly how future cast members might play the game. \u201cThere are already two sides of the game, the faithful and the traitors,\u201d Cotton explains. \u201cBut then within our cast, it was really interesting how the former reality stars approached the games with the skills they brought with them. We thought it needed to go one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so it did. Embracing unscripted TV fame (and fandoms), \u201cThe Traitors\u201d has become one of the central platforms for a very 21st century form of celebrity: the professional reality star. Subsequent seasons have added past participants from \u201cThe Real World,\u201d \u201cThe Bachelor\u201d and \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race,\u201d a member of the British royal family, future Taylor Swift mother-in-law Donna Kelce and even returning \u201cTraitors\u201d players like Season 1 villain Kate Chastain.<\/p>\n

Of course, such casting gimmickry has been a mainstay in the reality competition space for years. As the \u201cSurvivor\u201d phenomenon grew, producers not only began to flag potential returning players but also recognized the qualities that appealed to viewers: \u201cThings like confidence, vulnerability, humor, resilience and the ability to reveal who you are when the pressure is most intense,\u201d says \u201cSurvivor\u201d host and executive producer Jeff Probst. \u201cStar players absolutely helped sharpen our instincts as producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kyle <\/p>\n

\u201cSurvivor\u201d host Jeff Probst, right, with contestant Kyle Fraser.<\/p>\n

(Robert Voets \/ CBS)<\/p>\n

The CBS series\u2019 current 50th season boasts a lineup of 24 fan favorites, including \u201cThe White Lotus\u201d creator and Season 37 runner-up Mike White. \u201cThe benefit of bringing players back is simple: Compelling people create compelling seasons,\u201d says Probst. \u201cThe audience already has a connection to them, the stakes are higher from Day 1, and it\u2019s incredibly fun to watch great players get another shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The benefit for the stars themselves varies, but whether the result is more prize money, more followers, more brand deals or, yes, more reality TV offers, the opportunities can be plentiful. Multiple-time \u201cSurvivor\u201d competitor Cirie Fields won the inaugural season of \u201cThe Traitors.\u201d Season 4 winner Rob Rausch, who signed with UTA in March, has partnered with brands like DoorDash and Sonic and appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Poppi soda. Gabby Windey, a former \u201cBachelorette\u201d and \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d runner-up, won Season 3 of \u201cThe Traitors\u201d and will soon host the dating competition \u201cLove Overboard.\u201d And Zac Efron\u2019s brother Dylan, who won Season 3 with Windey, followed up \u201cThe Traitors\u201d by placing fourth on \u201cDancing With the Stars\u201d and landing brand deals of his own with the likes of Kohl\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Not everyone sets out on their reality TV journey expecting to stay. Kristen Kish<\/a>, the winner of \u201cTop Chef\u2019s\u201d 10th season<\/a>, says she \u201cchose a life and a career in kitchens so I could cook \u2026 \u2018Top Chef\u2019 carries a weight, and to win a show like that isn\u2019t to say \u2018I want [my own] TV show.\u2019 It\u2019s to say that I actually used my skill set to come out on top.\u201d Buoyed by her win, Kish released her first cookbook in 2017 and opened the Austin restaurant Arlo Grey in 2018. But when longtime host Padma Lakshmi stepped down, Kish received an unexpected opportunity to return to the culinary competition by stepping up as its new host, a role she assumed in 2024.<\/p>\n

The authenticity that has helped Kish win over fans in a new role on \u201cTop Chef\u201d is key in reality TV, and vital for anyone looking for career longevity in the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe audience knows if you\u2019re authentic or not,\u201d says Ryan Revel, a talent manager who represents \u201cThe Challenge\u201d alum Johnny \u201cBananas\u201d Devenanzio and former \u201cVanderpump Rules\u201d stars Tom Sandoval, Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor. (He\u2019s also an executive producer on Bravo\u2019s \u201cVanderpump\u201d spinoff, \u201cThe Valley.\u201d) For Sandoval, who joined \u201cThe Traitors\u201d after his cheating scandal rocked the Bravoverse, continuing to appear on reality TV was a chance at career rehabilitation. \u201cIt\u2019s a risk, because you don\u2019t know how long anyone is going to last [on \u2018The Traitors\u2019], but it helps sustain their brand, keep them in the public\u2019s mind and keep them relevant,\u201d says Revel, adding, \u201cI don\u2019t think Tom did it to stay relevant [as much as he did it] because it\u2019s fun and he\u2019s getting more opportunities out of it.\u201d (Sandoval most recently appeared on Peacock\u2019s pseudo-\u201cTraitors\u201d parody \u201cHouse of Villains.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\"Rob <\/p>\n

\u201cTop Chef\u201d champion-turned-host Kristen Kish, right, says she went on \u201cThe Traitors\u201d in part to research her Emmy competition. Alan Cumming: \u201cIf you can\u2019t beat him, you might as well join them, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

( Euan Cherry \/ Peacock)<\/p>\n

Mainstays embrace the symbiotic relationship between reality shows, even those aired by different networks. \u201cI think seeing former \u2018Survivor\u2019 players on other shows absolutely benefits the \u2018Survivor\u2019 brand because it\u2019s a testament to the strength of our players,\u201d says Probst. \u201cIt says a lot about the impact they made on \u2018Survivor\u2019 and the reputation they earned as elite players and compelling personalities.\u201d And Kish, who appeared on Season 4 of \u201cThe Traitors,\u201d explains that she said yes for a strategic reason of her own: \u201cThe past couple of years, we\u2019ve gone against \u2018The Traitors\u2019 at the Emmys, and I have gone against Alan Cumming in the hosting category,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you can\u2019t beat him, you might as well join them, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the even more tried-and-true path of breaking into acting. Several of Mike White\u2019s original \u201cSurvivor\u201d co-stars have made cameos on the first three seasons of \u201cThe White Lotus,\u201d and a few of his fellow \u201cSurvivor 50\u201d players have not-so-subtly pitched themselves as potential hotel guests. As for Probst, he\u2019s sticking to the comfort zone of leading the Tribal Councils. \u201cIf I ever show up on \u2018White Lotus,\u2019 I\u2019d almost certainly be the dead body at the beginning,\u201d says Probst, \u201cand fans would probably say, \u2018Well, he definitely had that coming. Now let\u2019s see how it happened.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When \u201cThe Traitors\u201d executive producer Mike Cotton and his colleagues brought the first season of Peacock\u2019s reality competition…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[226514,12298,296,18,117,191623,19,17,204396,96898,226513,45089,1445,27017,11186,3300,120738,29352,128,26598],"class_list":["post-524708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-american-audience","tag-brand","tag-career","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-fan-favorite","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kristen-kish","tag-player","tag-probst","tag-producer","tag-reality-tv","tag-season","tag-star","tag-survivor","tag-top-chef","tag-traitors","tag-tv","tag-white-lotus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116715145084934314","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}