Peacock nabs psychological thriller competition 'The Traitors' hosted by 'Bond' vet Alan Cumming

Be careful who you trust in Peacock's upcoming "psychological thriller" reality competition series — The Traitors. 

Based on the hit Dutch program of the same name created by Marc Pos, the U.S. adaptation will see 20 contestants partaking in a dangerous game full of tenuous alliances, blatant lies, and even bloody homicide (the fake kind, don't worry) for a chance to win the grand cash prize of up to $250,000. Studio Lambert Scotland, part of the All3Media group, is the producing studio.

The group must work together to solve a number of challenges while a select few, dubbed "The Traitors," seek to undermine their alleged comrades. The non-treacherous characters, "The Faithful," must vote the Traitors off the show before it's too late. Five-time Emmy Award nominee and Tony Award winner Alan Cumming (GoldenEye, Spy Kids) is on board to serve as host. Production on the first 10, hour-long episodes kicks off in May, with the players — a pool of reality icons and America's best game players — to be announced at a later date.

“We can’t think of a better person to serve as puppet master of this series than Alan Cumming," Jenny Groom, EVP Unscripted Content, said in a statement. “His wit and eccentricity will add the perfect layer of comedy to this thrilling world of high stakes deception.”  

“In a game of secrecy, suspicion and plot twists, who better to take the helm and guide our game players through the drama and challenging missions than our very own Scot, Alan Cumming," added executive producer and Studio Lambert CEO Stephen Lambert.

Mike Cotton, Toni Ireland, Jack Burgess, and Sam Rees Jones are also executive producers. Sharon Vuong, EVP Entertainment Unscripted Development will oversee the project on behalf of NBCUniversal.

During an interview last summer, Pos revealed that he was inspired to create the original version of the show (titled De Verraders) after learning about the 17th century mutiny among the crew members of the Batavia, a ship owned by the Dutch East India Company. He apparently spent five years developing the idea before it arrived on television.

As noted by this Dutch outlet, the central premise of The Traitors brings to mind the popular party game Werewolf (sometimes called Mafia), which recently cropped up in the cultural zeitgeist by way of Andrew Garfield. The Spider-Man actor compared his constant No Way Home denials in the press to the designated Werewolf's aim of trying to convince the other players that you’re not out to get them.

A number of reality competition titles — including Frogger and Top Chef — are currently available to stream on Peacock.