★★★★★ 0/5

Big overseas hits, so why did The Traitors and Gladiators fail on 10?

Critics point to the programming and production of two big formats which succeeded overseas but failed to gain traction in Australia.

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They have been big hits in the UK but both The Traitors and a Gladiators struggled on Network 10.

Are Australian tastes that different from British, or is there something else in the commission and / or production that contributed to their failings in Australia?

The Traitors

10 screened two seasons of the whodunnit series produced by Endemol Shine Australia and hosted by the charming Rodger Corser at the historic Robertson Hotel in the NSW Southern Highlands.

At best the show attracted a loyal cult audience, hungry for its ‘whodunnit’ gameplay.

Under the previous Overnights ratings system, it frequently hovered at around 260,000 metro viewers. No question, 10 gave the show a red hot go with two seasons, no doubt looking to its success interationally where it has been a hit for the BBC and been awarded by National Television Awards and Royal Television Society Programme Awards. Peacock’s US adaptation, hosted by Alan Cumming, even won an Emmy Award.

Dan Monaghan, SVP Content & Programming, Paramount ANZ, tells TV Tonight, “Traitors had one of the most loyal audiences on TV; those who came, stayed, engaged and loved it… we just didn’t get a big enough piece of the pie to start with. It’s such a success in the UK it would be great to see it return if we could make it work.”

TV critic Colin Vickery also looked to the programming of the series in its first season.

“The Traitors had the indignity of following in the wake of The Real Love Boat which was a disaster for 10. That meant the Rodger Corser-hosted show was hobbled from the start. 10’s decision to put The Traitors up against the final weeks of ratings juggernaut The Block certainly didn’t help,” he said.

“That was always going to be a huge hurdle, especially given that The Traitors was a new format unknown to Aussie viewers. There is far more international buzz around the format in 2024 than there was in 2022. The one bright spot was that the people who tuned in to the premiere liked what they saw and stuck with the series. There simply weren’t enough of them.”

10 has confirmed it will not screen The Traitors in 2024 but has not ruled out revisiting it as a format later. That may not be enough to convince TV historian Andrew Mercado.

“10 tried really hard with their promos to rebrand The Traitors as a hit based on its UK ratings, but it didn’t work. Good on them for having another go with a format that some fans seem to love, but it just didn’t fly locally,” he said.

Gladiators:

10’s reboot of Gladiators by Warner Bros. launched just days after Britain also revived the series. Screening as a weekly Saturday night proposition the UK series was praised as a “phenomenal reboot” and a “smash hit.”

By contrast the Australian revival, hosted by Beau Ryan and Liz Ellis, draw a substantial summer audience of 395,000 metro viewers for its premiere, but only 196,000 returned for the second episode. On social media there were criticisms, notably for its lack of crowds in the venue as if it had been filmed in lockdown (it wasn’t).

Andrew Mercado was blunt in his assessment of both commission and production execution.

“Bravo to 10 for creating the biggest flop of the year within the first few weeks of the year with Gladiators. A fake sports show with a fake studio audience is hardly a viewing alternative to live tennis and cricket on Nine and Seven. It was as mind numbingly dumb as its ridiculous running time.”

Colin Vickery also questioned the programming of the show as summer fare.

“The premiere episode of Gladiators rated quite well but that opening figure halved in night two. That suggests that viewers didn’t like what they saw or felt it was better programmed once-a-week rather than multiple nights in a row. 10 constantly changing the launch date probably didn’t help. Also, Gladiators was the third different reality format on 10 in January in three years and because it had a sports element it didn’t offer the sort of alternative to Nine’s Australian Open tennis and Seven’s Cricket that The Bachelors and I’m A Celebrity did.”

Paramount’s Dan Monaghan defended the hosts but could not explain the audience loss.

“On Gladiators, we had a strong launch, but the audience fell away by night 2 more than we’d hoped and we made swift changes to get toward Survivor in Q1 quicker. The competition didn’t change from night 1 to night 2, so I can’t speak to why they didn’t have come back. Our Gladiators were so well cast, and Liz and Beau excellent hosts, sadly the series just didn’t maintain performance.”

Looking ahead…

The outlook is more promising with Australian Survivor now in its ninth season for the network with a passionate, devoted following. stronger ratings and critical acclaim. The New York Times included Australian Survivor in its round-up of the best TV episodes of 2023, saying: “American Survivor is still a delight, but this iteration currently wears the crown.”

In late March I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here returns for its 10th season, with Julia Morris joined by buzzy new co-host Robert Irwin. Its 2023 season held up well against tough competition at Easter.

Hopefully 10 took on board the audience feedback from The Traitors and Gladiators for future commissions.

82 Responses

  1. I loved both The Traitors and Gladiators, but it’s clear that the vast majority of viewers didn’t.

    I have no idea on how Ten can improve their reality viewership…

    1. I feel like the answer is in the question . . . no more reality. It’s dominated our screens for a quarter of a century, and every possibility had been tried, tested, and flogged to within an inch of it’s life. 10 could make a large profit if they moved a focus to some panel shows or other cheaper programming, or even if they put a larger focus on dramas for some actual alternative programming. We’re sick of reality, and that’s why we watch streamers.

        1. Personally, I just don’t think the “FTA audiences are still watching reality” line flies anymore. Audiences are still watching it because it’s the only option they’re being provided with. At 7.30, the alternative to reality is a documentary on SBS (not a huge audience for those) or a current affairs program on ABC.

          Not aimed at you, but critics and defenders of FTA TV keep pushing that one line, and I don’t think it’s a really fair comparison anymore. The numbers are down year on year because there are no alternative options being provided. And with the way people are starting to fall away from the streaming services as well, FTA could use this as an opportunity to provide a greater array of programming and entertainment options and bring audiences back, but no-one is willing to take the risk.

  2. The Traitors is such a great show. I am very disappointed it was not a success in Australia compared to the UK. I used my VPN to watch the latest UK version. If it aired on 7 or 9 maybe it might have more of a success. If the ABC had a bigger budget like the BBC perhaps it could screen on there. In the mean time Channel 10 could even look at broadcasting the international versions to gain some traction instead of leaving them to stream only. Something needs to give, there is no reason why the show can’t be a success here. It is a phenomenal show.

  3. I had no interest in watching The Traitors while it was airing, but recently they’ve been raving about the AU version on Las Culturistas. So I do plan on streaming it now!

  4. Contrary to what others are saying in the comments channel ten isn’t in dire straits. So they had two shows that failed. Big whoop. They’ve still got The Hunted, I’m A Celebrity, MasterChef, Amazing Race Aus Celebrity Edition to name a few still to air. It’s only feb so the network is hardly in any trouble at all.

  5. Gladiators, in my view, should not be aired in summer. In summer most of us are using the sunlight. This would be better aired in the winter just like the UK has recently doing. Traitors was up against stiff competition.

    1. Ten certainly could have scheduled The Traitors and Gladiators better to avoid stiff competition from The Block (The Traitors) and evening sunlight (Gladiators). Perhaps they would have fared better at Easter after MAFS ends but before Lego Masters starts?

  6. 10 are in big trouble and they need to make big changes fast. But do they have the guts too? People who are watching TV do not consider 10. The sport rights option is gone – they offered the highest bid for AFL and cricket and the sporting bodies did not want 10. So viewers will not be drawn to them via sport. They need something major to save them. Shows like Traitors are Ok and would rate well on 7 or 9. Nothing on 10 has much of a chance anymore especially against the competition. What amazes me is the dumb programming decisions and lack of alternative thinking. Traitors was up against tough competition so it is axed. It was not given much of a chance. Move it and attempt to save it! Same with Gladiators and Deal or No Deal. Put them on when the competition is weak(er) so 10 can build up an audience. It is really really sad. 10 have been in trouble before and got out of it but we are in different times nowadays. I wish them all the best.

    1. They aren’t in trouble at all. It’s only Feb and they’ve still got a number of shows still to come-The Hunted which does very well in the ratings, plus Amazing Race Aus Celebrity Edition, etc, so the network is hardly in trouble!!

    2. Personally, I don’t think 10 are in trouble. I know it’s February and they have the Matildas-Uzbekistan Football Olympic Games qualifiers this Saturday (away) and next Wed (home). The match next Wed will go up against MAFS. It is a chance that this will perform very well. But they still have other hit shows like I’m a Celebrity, MCA, HYBPA to come during the 1st half of the year. I would like 10 to perform well and increase the ratings.

      1. I really don’t think you can call the shows you listed as “hit” shows. Surely a hit show would be one that wins its time slot. HYBPA is the only one that does. When is third or fourth place going to stop being accepted as good enough.

  8. The first I’ve even heard of The Traitors is in this very article. 10 has a real problem. I don’t watch 10 at all, but I had at least heard of the return of Gladiators.

    It seems to me the same highly paid executive (now called vice-president *yawn*) has steered the 10 programming ship through all of its murky waters. She simply would not have lasted so long at a real network.

    1. If you are into Survivor for the social strategy and game play, it is a must watch.

      You can watch it on 10Play – they have the Aussie, Kiwi, British and American versions.

    2. You really didn’t miss anything people keep talking up traitors as a strategic game but there is absolutely none. Seriously the game in a nut shell is there are a bunch of people and a couple of them are secretly selected to be traitors and what they have to do is absolutely nothing. Then everybody votes somebody out, again based on nothing because nobody has done anything. Then as a bonus the traitors get to vote out another person in secret that can basically be anybody for any reason with no recourse and their gone. The traitors have all the power all the time and there is nothing for the faithful to work with. It would be like a Miss Marple if there were no clues, nobody had any information and the killer could ask her to leave at any point.

  9. I agree Network Ten doesn’t have the reach that Network 7 and 9 do. However it did take patience to get used to the concept . With the 1st series. I was intrigued with the concept but found the first episode very slow so didn’t preserve. However I was still intrigued the concept of the series so gave the 2nd series a go and was hooked. The casting must of been better and the editing of the show improved. So now I am watching the overseas versions. It would be nice to do away with the “celebrity” casting. But sometimes the audience needs to have someone they know to make them watch it. I actually went back and watched the 1st series with a better understanding. I think with the early exit of Gyton ( the actor and renowned voice over ) left an unknown cast. However casting Ash Pollard as a traitor . Was good idea as it was someone the audience knew and could recall how she will act in stressful situations. However the gem was the casting of the other traitors especially Sam.

  10. Networks need to stop airing multiple episodes in a week and reduce their runtime to 60 minutes, additionally, they should stop relying on celebrities for their programming.

  11. It’s all about the money. Gladiators was fine, but it’s biggest problem was it was too cheap. No crowd, looked budget and the same events each night. All of these choices in production would’ve come down to money. Channel 10 are just hanging on by a thread and have no money to put into anything, so they’ve commissioned a noisy show like Gladiators and then failed to invest money into it. Shooting in front of a crowd is expensive, making it look top notch like the UK version is expensive, and changing events each episode is expensive (extra bump in time and so on). All of these choices wouldve been made before a single second of the show was filmed, so it was designed to fail from the start.

    And then there’s the runtime and scheduling problems, but they’re endemic of all of channel tens productions, not just Gladiators.

    I still maintain the gameplay in the show was great, as was the comedic slant, but it’s just a pity you had to sit through 50 minutes of padding to get to it.

  12. I think Gladiators was always going to fail … while it may have been well produced for what it was, and was advertised well (the first episode did ok, especially by summer standards) but the lack of studio audience for that format is a almost instant deal breaker and the lack of variety in the games makes the show repetitive.

    However, I am annoyed that Traitors (for whatever reason) did not fire in Aus – the format had been very successful in US, UK, NZ and Canada as well as across Europe. It was well produced, but perhaps it could take a few pointers on how personal and intimate the UK version feels (the casting of normal contestants with a competitive edge and even how it is filmed. I hope it gets another shot, most likely on a streamer (noting the passionate fan base, they would be the type to sign up for a streamer to watch).

  13. The UK Traitors is superb television. The US version is almost as good. The trouble with the local version is that extra half hour – it equates to padding and unnecessary ‘real world’ back story that ESA love so much. Very slow. Also, the audience’s intelligence is severely underestimated – Traitors Season 1 here opened with the cliched and insulting dictionary definitions of ‘traitor’ and ‘faithful’ … like we don’t know what the terms mean (even in this reality show context).

    1. I agree that the over dramatic personal packages on Traitors were unnecessary (as they are in all the shows they are used on). I’d rather see the interpersonal dynamics and getting to know the players as they interact.

      However, US, UK and Aus have around the same episode runtime (around 60 minutes without Ads). However, with the US show on streaming and the UK show on the BBC they are a 60 minute viewing experience for local audiences and they both work. The Aussie version on commercial network as a 90 minute viewing experience to fit in adverts.

      I also don’t mind the definitions, as a bit of over dramatic camp

    2. Whilst I enjoyed the UK version tremendously I was not a fan of the US version or the Australian version. I think both decided to go down the path of rather than just casting unknowns casting ex-reality show contestants thinking that will somehow bring in a bigger audience whilst I think this actually damages the format. I believe the last US season even completely dumped the idea of casting anyone but ex reality show people.

      Plus of course Channel Ten’s insistence on thinking every show can be turned into a longer format which, once again, damages the concept. I think Gladiators is just a dated idea when compared to something like Ninja Warrior but of course it will work in the UK where they have a much more nostalgic outlook on their TV viewing.

  14. Maybe they should stick to the “short form tv” . Tv shows not longer than 60min ( 90min wayy to long). Shorter the Project. Maybe some 20min-25min tv series

  15. I really enjoyed the reboot of Gladiators and I hope Channel 10 bring back a second season. Maybe don’t put it on against the cricket and tennis. And maybe come up with more games as well. But Beau and Liz did a great job as hosts.

    1. I liked as well. The timing to air it was wrong I.e. summer time. Everyone is out enjoying the sunshine or playing sport. To me this would work more in winter as it did in the UK when we are more couch potatoes. Having said that I feel it could have been split into 2 shows per episode with an additional challenge throw in or trimmed down to 60 mins.

  16. Seriously, I don’t understand….at least they are trying to do something different than other stations…maybe the problem is demographic… young people don’t watch TV, they switched to streaming…

  17. In Gladiators case, it needed a few tweaks to it, mostly what they’ve done in the UK format.

    1. They used the exact same challenges for the heats. All the challenges should’ve been used from Day One, and it was totally random what the contestants played.

    2. It should’ve been one or two episodes a week at maximum. They saturated the audience with episodes, too hard, too fast. The original was once a week and it worked back then and it does in the UK now.

    3. The fake audience was a terrible idea. The hype and adrenaline of a real audience would have looked much better on-screen.

  18. Why not try running 3 or even 4 of these reality shows at once over numerous months – each one once per week, with a fixed night. EG Survivor Sunday, Traitors Monday, Bachelors Tuesday or something like that. Surely worth a try to be different? Seem so many are over all these shows being on multiple nights per week.

  19. I wish Ten would look at the UK editions for inspiration. especially with casting. They were a unique mix of unknowns you could cheer, both faithful and traitors. Don’t get me wrong, I think what Australia did best overall was the gameplay, especially in season 1. Roger was a great host, I still laugh thinking about him talking to the grave in season 1. And with two very different finales in both Australian seasons, I would and do still recommending people watch.
    Remove all celebrities, part of the fun is seeing people just like ourselves in the situation.
    Go all the way in with the campiness of the show.
    Target your true-crime and whodunnit audiences with the whole murder aspect. If marketed right, you could draw a lot in. Though knowing the Traitors, you would market as a How did they do it.?
    Make it clear, this isn’t the Mole, which I kept hearing people comparing it to. It’s not about sabotage, rather it’s about deduction and strategic gameplay to not get caught.

  20. Ten’s main problem is simply that not many people watch Ten, they have less than half the viewers of 7 & 9 and now less than the ABC (which spends the most). Any good shows Ten have are behind a paywall on Paramount+. I watched one episode of S1 of Traitors, Corser was good but the contestants weren’t and direction turned it into a collection of eye rolls. S2 looked like it had more interesting contestants but if people have already given up on a show that isn’t going to matter. Gladiators was too long, and exactly as I remembered it from when I was a kid. Nothing interested me.

  21. Particularly if shows do well in the UK, they should do well in Australia. It’s not like the vast variance between the ARIA charts and the American Billboard charts.

    I’d be inclined to say it is a network and marketing issue. It could be the same for Big Brother and Neighbours. If The Traitors and Gladiators were on Nine or Seven, the outcome could’ve been different. Also Gladiators was once a hit for Seven, so it’s not like it can’t resonate in Australia.

  22. No doubt at 60 mins, The Project is just too long, and its a shadow of what it once was. But the same is true of 10 overall. Its lost its identity, audience and any real value. The few hits it has arent enough to sustain it.

  23. Ten still thinking Gladiators was a perfect show and it’s the viewers who were wrong is exactly why they’re in the position they are. They didn’t get a single thing right with that terrible attempt at a reboot, and none of the things they got wrong were near misses; if they were any further off the mark they would have been in an entirely different timezone. For them to pretend that that mess was in any way even remotely adequate is insulting.

  24. There are so many obvious factors that 10 constantly neglects in all the content it makes.

    100% the obsession to inflate a runtime by 200-300%. Their obsession to run multiple times a weeks.
    Gladiators seems to work in a Saturday slot overseas.
    The U.K are in love with their version, and also they were quite obsessed with the Australian version of the Traitors.
    Honestly 10 needs to wipe their entire team and start again – they were once pioneers in the early 00s with Big Brother and Idol. But now they take every format and pad it with sob stories and repeating the same thing over and over again (I watched an episode of Gladiators in 10 minutes that’s how much content was in that time-frame)

  25. The elephant in the room is the poor early evening Lead in program ratings that mean anything Ten airs at 7.30 is starting from way behind in the race and will struggle to catch up to competitors. Deal or No Deal is an attempt to help fix it but I can’t see it working long term. The Project should be moved to 6pm with more balance and strip The Cheap Seats 4 nights at week at 7pm M-T. Start the reality shows at 7 Sundays head to head with Seven and Nine.

        1. And they’re right, less is more. When the problem is that stripped reality shows are boring audiences by airing 6+ hours a week, the response should hardly be to make a good weekly show become boring and antiquated by airing it 200 times a year.

          1. It is a show where they make fun of the news. I am sure two other comedians could host something similar with a different name and it could do okay.

          2. I agree. While I personally would enjoy seeing The Cheap Seats air more often (still once a week, just for more weeks of the year), it would quickly become tired and stale running multiple nights of the week, just like The Project is now.

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