SPP establishes The Traitors Southern Hemisphere hub, rolls out commissions for Oz, NZ

New Zealand’s South Pacific Pictures (SPP) has been greenlit for the third season of The Traitors for NZ Sky Free’s Three and ThreeNow.

Gretel Killeen

SPP produces both the Australian and New Zealand versions of the Traitors, filming both in New Zealand’s Castle Claremont in South Canterbury. Filming of The Traitors NZ injected NZ$1.5 million (US$860k) into Canterbury last year, supporting over 30 local companies and employing more than 70 crew, a third of them local.

The Australian version of The Traitors has been commissioned for Network 10 and stars author and comedian Gretel Killeen. While, The Traitors NZ has secured new host Madeleine Sami, replacing former host Paul Henry.

The Traitors format was originally created and developed by IDTV and Posvideo, in cooperation with RTL Creative Unit and since its debut in the Netherlands in 2021, the format has extended to over 30 territories with distribution from All3Media International.

SPP managing director Andrew Szusterman, said the addictive format has allowed New Zealand to be established as “The Traitors Southern Hemisphere hub and our goal is to continue making multiple versions of the show for years to come.”

“The New Zealand production industry benefits immensely when we shoot The Traitors on location in New Zealand. It’s a joy to witness our world-class production team back in action,” he added.

The Traitors NZ has been sold to BBC Three and streamed on BBC iPlayer in addition to Peacock (US), Paramount Australia and Crave (Canada).