Netflix has been called ‘lazy’ and ‘shameless’ following the debut of their new game show Million Dollar Secret which has drawn strong comparisons to The Traitors.
The new series will see 12 strangers compete against each other while staying at a luxury estate in Canada. In each of their rooms is a mysterious gift box which they each have to unlock.
Only one of the boxes contains the much-desired million-dollar prize. The job of the other contestants is to sniff out who they think the millionaire is via a group vote every night.
If the millionaire is successfully identified, they are eliminated and the prize money is then randomly assigned to someone else. If the contestants incorrectly guess who they think the millionaire is that person is eliminated and the game continues as normal.
Hosted by Peter Serafinowicz, each episode sees the millionaire tasked with an agenda to complete which can be used to their advantage in the game, all while the other players take part in daily tasks.
The concept is almost identical to The Traitors, which has been a major hit for the BBC since the broadcaster debuted the show in 2022, having already spawned versions in the United States and beyond.
With the first three episodes of the show now available on Netflix, TV critics have shared their opinions and it’s fair to say they aren’t impressed.
In The Guardian, Stuart Heritage called the show “shameless” adding: “Million Dollar Secret feels like the result of a careful scientific procedure designed to make something as identical to The Traitors as humanly possible.”
Anita Singh in The Telegraph wrote that the show gets “zero marks for originality” noting that even “the soundtrack is uncannily like the music in The Traitors.”
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Vicky Jessop in The Standard did praise Serafinowicz’s hosting skills but branded the rest of the show “lazy” and a “note-for-note rip-off” of The Traitors.
Fans on social media have been a bit more receptive. One person said: Million Dollar Secret on Netflix is ridiculous but I can’t stop watching.”
A second added: “Ok but Million Dollar Secret has me locked in.”
The third season of The Traitors, which aired on BBC One in January, was the most successful so far for the broadcaster.
According to the BBC, the final episode (24 January) attracted an average audience of 7.4 million, which is 1.6 million more than last year’s final. This now makes it the most-watched episode in the entire history of the show.
The BBC also reports that the aftershow, The Traitors: Uncloaked, which aired straight after the finale, attracted an audience of 4.8 million.
