The Traitors: New Blood Cast: Meet All 22 Contestants
For years, the American version of The Traitors has thrived on putting people viewers already know into Alan Cumming’s castle and watching their reputations work for or against them. The Traitors: New Blood removes that safety net. There are no Survivor winners walking in with strategic résumés, no Housewives carrying old feuds and no reality…
For years, the American version of The Traitors has thrived on putting people viewers already know into Alan Cumming’s castle and watching their reputations work for or against them. The Traitors: New Blood removes that safety net. There are no Survivor winners walking in with strategic résumés, no Housewives carrying old feuds and no reality stars whose alliances can be predicted before breakfast.
Instead, NBC has assembled 22 civilian contestants ranging in age from 23 to 65, with jobs that could prove unusually useful in a game built around deception. There is an astrophysicist accustomed to working with incomplete information, a criminal defense lawyer who studies juries for a living, a therapist trained to get people talking and a funeral director entering a competition where contestants are ceremonially “murdered.” Alan Cumming will decide who becomes a Traitor and who must begin the game as a Faithful.
The Traitors: New Blood premieres Thursday, September 17, 2026, on NBC, beginning with an extended two-hour event before settling into its weekly Thursday slot. Episodes will also stream on Peacock the following day, while the players compete for a prize pot that can reach $250,000.
Here are the 22 people entering the castle.
The Players Who May Treat the Castle Like a Puzzle
Abby Lee
Abby Lee, 29, comes from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and works as an astrophysicist. Her profession may be one of the most naturally suited to the Faithful game because she spends her working life drawing conclusions from limited evidence. Abby has already indicated that she would rather hunt Traitors than become one, and her plan is to build relationships before becoming more aggressive with her suspicions.
Jay Vinnedge
Jay Vinnedge, 36, is an Oklahoma City physician whose background also includes military service as a medic. That combination gives him experience making decisions under pressure while dealing with people in stressful situations.
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Kim Daily
Kim Daily, 37, is a Houston lawyer.
Michael Foote
Michael Foote, 38, is a New York trial attorney. Michael may be particularly dangerous if Cumming chooses him as a Traitor because his professional life revolves around presenting arguments, watching reactions and understanding how guilt is perceived inside a courtroom. He has made no secret of wanting the deceptive role.
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Niyyah Hayes
Then there is Niyyah Hayes, a 29-year-old therapist from Indianapolis who is working toward a doctorate in clinical psychology. Her job requires her to draw information out of people without making herself the center of the conversation, a skill that could become extremely valuable around the Round Table. Niyyah would prefer to become a Traitor and plans to lean heavily on social relationships rather than immediately emerging as the castle’s loudest strategist.
The Social Players Who Could Become Everyone’s Friend
Abbey Benjamin
Abbey Benjamin, 37, is a nurse from Mangham, Louisiana, who sees remaining calm and trusting her intuition as two of her biggest advantages. She would rather play as a Faithful and believes building genuine relationships could keep her protected without making her look threatening too early.
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Arisa Thomas
Los Angeles dog groomer Arisa Thomas, 36, has a very different ambition. Her naturally bubbly personality could make her look harmless, which is exactly why she wants Alan to make her a Traitor. She is entering the castle interested in turning friendliness into camouflage.
Ben McDonnell
Ben McDonnell, 34, is a barrel racer from Granbury, Texas, who plans to make humor a large part of his social game. At 6-foot-3, Ben expects to be useful during physical missions while moving comfortably between different groups rather than tying himself to one obvious clique. Like Arisa, he would love the chance to become a Traitor.
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Morgan Cook
Morgan Cook, 30, is a Midland, Michigan content creator who would rather detect deception than perform it. She describes herself as highly observant and plans to stay relatively understated early, collect information and become more selective about when and with whom she shares it.
Victor Vollbrechthausen
New York business executive Victor Vollbrechthausen, 26, expects charm to be part of his arsenal.
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Wyatt Gillespie
Pennsylvania designer Wyatt Gillespie, 26, intends to use kindness as cover if he receives the Traitor cloak. Wyatt is openly interested in controlling the game without looking like the person controlling it.
The Competitors Who Could Dominate the Missions
Shane Beatty
At 32, Shane Beatty is an ironworker from Staten Island and the tallest contestant in the castle. His physical presence could make him immediately useful during missions, but Shane believes his gentler personality may surprise people who make assumptions based on his appearance. He would prefer the protection and control that comes with being a Traitor.
Mark Zgoda
Mark Zgoda, 26, is a Phillipsburg, New Jersey personal trainer.
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Madeline Kostopulos
Madeline Kostopulos, 26, works as a construction manager in San Diego. Both arrive with practical backgrounds that could make them valuable when the missions demand stamina, problem solving and teamwork rather than purely social maneuvering.
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Katie Fites
Jacksonville marketing manager Katie Fites is the youngest contestant at 23. She considers connecting quickly with strangers one of her strengths, which could matter just as much as athleticism when shields and alliances start becoming scarce.
Logan Smith
Logan Smith, 26, is a realtor from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Selling for a living means persuading people without necessarily making the persuasion feel aggressive, and Logan has already expressed interest in playing from inside the Traitors’ turret if Alan gives him the opportunity.
The Wild Cards Could Be the Hardest People to Read
Clyde Moser
Clyde Moser, 32, may understand the television game better than most of his competitors. The Charleston teacher is also a theatre teacher and a dedicated Traitors viewer who has watched international versions of the format. Performance, conflict management and knowing when somebody is playing to an audience could all become useful skills inside the castle. Clyde wants to be a Traitor.
Joe Vanella
Joe Vanella, 44, is a funeral director from Wantagh, New York, giving New Blood perhaps its most perfectly themed occupation.
Kriste Lewis
Kriste Lewis, 52, is a Hattiesburg realtor whose energy may make her easy to underestimate.
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Sherry Kuehl
Sherry Kuehl, 65, enters as the oldest contestant. The Leawood, Kansas writer plans to rely on decades of experience reading people rather than rushing to dominate the first Round Table.
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Tomica Adams
Boston pilot Tomica Adams, 54, believes managing different personalities is already part of her professional life. Whether she becomes a Faithful trying to persuade suspicious allies or a Traitor trying to manage how others perceive her, that experience could travel well.
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Xavier Scruggs
Finally, Xavier Scruggs, 38, brings the cast’s most recognizable sporting résumé. The Wesley Chapel, Florida contestant is an MLB analyst and former professional baseball player who believes years of studying tendencies, body language and adjustments can transfer directly into The Traitors. He wants the chance to play against the loyalty-first mindset that defined much of his athletic career and would happily accept a Traitor role.
The absence of established reality stars could make New Blood considerably harder to predict than the celebrity edition. Nobody enters with a Survivor reputation that immediately makes them dangerous, and viewers cannot assume two contestants will become allies because they spent years together on another franchise. Every reputation has to be created inside the castle.
That also means the professions may matter more than usual. An astrophysicist, therapist or lawyer sounds frightening on paper, but looking too capable can get a Faithful murdered almost as quickly as looking suspicious can get someone banished. The best player may ultimately be the person whose résumé seems least impressive on night one. With 22 new personalities and no pre-existing television hierarchy protecting them, Alan Cumming has a much cleaner board on which to start drawing blood.
