The Traitors has become a phenomenally popular reality series over the course of four seasons on Peacock so far, and The Traitors: New Blood brought Alan Cumming’s cabal of back-stabbers to network TV for the first time. Unlike the original series, which features celebrities as the contestants, the people fighting to survive on New Blood are ordinary people from across the country. They came to the show as major fans of The Traitors, which has been a benefit for some of them, but backfired for others on a weekly basis. That schedule is set to change this week.
The format of New Blood is the same as for the version on Peacock, without the element of celebrities trying to survive each other’s scheming. A group of Traitors works to sabotage and “murder” the Faithful over the course of each episode, with the Faithful none the wiser about who could end their journey on the show. All the while, they compete in different tasks on a daily basis, which inform the contestants on who they want to eliminate themselves via vote. Cumming is the Emmy-winning master of ceremonies.
Despite NBC often dominating the summer season on network television with reality shows like America’s Got Talent, the network saved The Traitors: New Blood to premiere in NBC’s fall 2026 TV schedule. If it’s enough of a hit, then it could help elevate the network’s entire Thursday night lineup. Unfortunately, fans will have an extra week to wait for another new episode.
Why There Is No New Traitors: New Blood Tonight (October 1, 2026)
NBC rewarded The Traitors: New Blood viewers during the first two weeks in September, with two episodes each Thursday night. Starting on October 8, the schedule will move New Blood to one episode each week, airing at 8 p.m. ET on Thursdays on NBC. That will place it directly before Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. ET, and then Law & Order season 26 at 10 p.m. ET. Unfortunately, that means that there will be no New Blood (and no new costumes from Alan Cumming) to be found on October 1.
Instead of The Traitors: New Blood, NBC will be airing Game 3 of Major League Baseball’s Wild Card series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. So, there will certainly be people fighting to stay in the series on NBC tonight; only, they will be doing so on the baseball field rather than in a Scottish castle alongside Alan Cumming.
When Will New Episodes Of Traitors: New Blood Air (& What To Expect)
While the MLB post-season will continue beyond October 1 until the World Series, NBC’s schedule is returning to its regular programming after the end of this week’s Wild Card race. In fact, The Traitors: New Blood is already scheduled to air one episode every Thursday until the finale on November 19. Viewers won’t have to worry about the reality series taking any time off after October 1, and the finale will be a two-hour primetime event.
NBC is sticking with The Traitors in the 8 p.m. ET time slot on Thursdays, which was an interesting departure for the network. The three hours of primetime on Thursday nights have traditionally been devoted to scripted TV shows. Considering the cancellations of Law & Order: Organized Crime and Manifest, as well as low ratings for Law & Order, a boon in the form of The Traitors: New Blood could be exactly what NBC needs on Thursdays. The October 8 return for the reality show will join the season premieres of Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order.
- Release Date
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January 12, 2023
- Network
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Peacock
- Showrunner
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Stephen Lambert
