Full Panel for "The Traitors" at TV Fest
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00The best way to end the day. Thank you guys so much in welcoming our panels. We have Rob, Dolores, Dylan, and Bob the Drag Queen. Thank you guys so much for being here.
00:11All right, I want to start by asking you guys if it was an immediate yes when you got the call for the traitors. Bob, let's start with you.
00:19It wasn't immediate for me. It wasn't. I mean, I was on tour at the time. I was doing the world tour with Madonna. I dropped a name.
00:34And I remember thinking to myself, like, also my life was falling apart. I was like in shambles. My house had burned down. My mother was dying. It was like crazy. I know. Trust me, I was there.
00:44And then I had a friend who had a really bad experience on Traitor Season 2, Peppermint, my friend. She was first banished.
00:51And I was like, I don't know if I can do this. And it's really funny that I say, like, I'm not really – my career path has never been to do reality TV.
00:59I'm a stand-up comedian who just happens to be on a lot of reality TV shows.
01:04I think I'm more known as a reality TV person than I am as a stand-up comedian, which is funny because I've been doing stand-up for, like, 16 years.
01:10So I was like, should I do this? And then I remember thinking to myself, I will avenge the death of my sweet sister, Peppermint.
01:19I mean, I didn't. I don't know if you watched the show. Spoiler alert.
01:21Sorry about that.
01:26Dylan, what about you? What was – was it an immediate yes?
01:30No, it wasn't. Just because – a lot easier story than that. Mine was just I'd never done reality show before.
01:35So, like, I've been offered some, like, auditions for some shows, like Survivor and stuff, and, like, I've always turned them down.
01:43So this was the first time where I'm like, all right, I think I can do this.
01:47And so it took a little while, but I said yes.
01:49You turned down Survivor?
01:51No, I wasn't, like, offered Survivor.
01:52It was like, hey, we think you'd be good when you want to audition.
01:56It was, like, stuff like that.
01:57Like, Love Islands and stuff, which I couldn't do.
02:00So then this one was like, all right, I might be ready.
02:03Okay, Dolores, was there – did they have to twist your arm?
02:07Well, no, you're not going to even believe this.
02:09But so one of the bosses – I was doing a show.
02:12One of the bosses had come into my dressing room, and they said, hey – I don't want to say which boss it was, by the way,
02:18because then he'll get hounded to pick somebody to be on, because everybody wants to be on Traders.
02:23Of course.
02:24Somebody said to me, would you do Traders?
02:27And, you know, when your boss says, would you do something, like, work-wise?
02:31I'm like, yeah, of course, yeah, yeah.
02:32And then when he left, I'm like, what the fuck is Traders?
02:35Like, I don't know what that is.
02:37I'm sure you all wouldn't believe me that I wouldn't know the game at all.
02:40But so I said, yeah, yeah.
02:44And then the next day I got a call, and they said, well, you know, I got a call from my manager.
02:49And he's like, you could do – you start packing, because you're going to Scotland.
02:53And I'm like, what am I doing?
02:56So then I had to binge watch the show.
02:59And I really – it was, like, surreal to me to even, like, pack all these suitcases, get these clothes together.
03:07They had to be amazing.
03:09And go and binge watch on the plane before I had gotten there.
03:13Didn't know a lot about it.
03:15Wow.
03:15So that's how it happened.
03:17Check it out.
03:17We love a queen who happenstance wins a show she's never heard of.
03:24That's what I'm saying.
03:26Like, yeah, that's – it was meant to be.
03:29It worked.
03:30All right, Rob.
03:31Reality TV competition royalty.
03:34Did you say yes right away?
03:36So actually the opposite of what Bob the Drag Queen said.
03:41I have been doing reality TV for 25 years.
03:43But surprisingly, I actually did turn down the first and the second season of Traders.
03:51And I think the reason why, like, I've been doing reality for so long is that I am, you know, specific about what shows I actually do.
04:00So I had to watch the first and the second season.
04:02And then after that, I was like, okay, I'll do it.
04:06After it did really good.
04:08But we all know the third one did the best.
04:10I want to ask what the most difficult part was because I think living – I think people don't know about, you know, the living situation.
04:21And being – filming a reality show is difficult in every way, not just the actual compositions.
04:26You're telling me?
04:27So what – for you guys, what was the most difficult part of it?
04:32Yeah, I'll start.
04:33Like, specifically with Traders, it was the strategic part, okay?
04:38And I think it's different for all of us, but I come from a competitive reality background where I'm always trying to figure out what's the optimal move.
04:48And the thing that makes Traders different from all of these other shows was the sheer number of people that you had to deal with.
04:55There are 22, 23 people on a season, and that's a lot to manage, combined with the fact that it's shot more like a film than it is a television show in that it's all day, all night, especially if you're a trader.
05:12You're there from 8 in the morning until sometimes 3 in the morning by the time it's over.
05:17And then wake up and do it all again.
05:20So to me, that was what made it different and the most challenging.
05:25It's not as physical as some of the other shows, but strategically, it was by far the most difficult show I've ever done.
05:32Bob, what was it for you?
05:34Well, for me, other shows that I've been on, I was on Last Comic Standing, America's Got Talent, RuPaul's Drag Race, and I had a show called We're Here on HBO.
05:45And those shows are about standing out.
05:48Like, the point of those shows is to stand out, and I don't have a blendy personality.
05:54Like, I don't have...
05:55Really?
05:56This may shock you.
05:59So I'm just always, I'm very loud, I'm very boisterous, I like to joke a lot, and I think that my over-exuberance definitely got in the way, so people are like,
06:11oh, even if I didn't suspect before, now I'm thinking about this guy, is he a traitor?
06:16And obviously, me and Rob had a situation where I was trying to get out Wes, actually.
06:22But I think Rob thought I was talking about him.
06:24And then that ended up, you know, ended up, like, really ruining my game, right?
06:29I was like, what about these guys?
06:32Yeah, I didn't want to get Rob out.
06:35Well, not then.
06:35I would have turned on you, obviously.
06:37Of course you would.
06:39Yeah.
06:39I knew that.
06:40Yeah.
06:40But not that soon.
06:41I would have waited for that.
06:43So, yeah, I think that trying to blend in is so not my thing.
06:47And it can actually be really, really helpful in the traders to...
06:52What was that show, Squid Game, The Challenge, or what it was?
06:56Yeah.
06:56There was, like, the people who would, like, kind of sit back and, like, get people through other people.
07:02And I'm like, I'll do it.
07:03I'll just fucking do it myself.
07:04I'm married with one of those people.
07:07Dolores, how did this compare?
07:09What was the difficulty to other reality shows you've done?
07:12Because it goes so against my grain to turn on somebody that you get close to all day.
07:20You understand that, right?
07:21Yeah.
07:21I mean, that's what I am all.
07:22That's what you do.
07:23I literally never do that.
07:26No.
07:27Like, I didn't know that this even existed.
07:30Like, how do I become close with somebody and that at the end of the day, look at them across the table and write their name down and say, you're a trader?
07:38When they never admitted it to me, I just have to go by sheer, like, gut or whatever.
07:43So, by the time I got the hang of it, I got the first trader.
07:49And then, of course, I had to get the last trader.
07:51But they're, like, literally standing in front of you saying, I swear on everything.
07:55I am not a trader.
07:57And that, to me, when I say I swear on something, that means something to me.
08:02But I had to remember it was a game.
08:05So, that was...
08:06And to me, that's a red flag.
08:07As soon as they start swearing on something, I'm like, okay, they got something to hide.
08:11I want to go back and play now that I know how to really play.
08:14And, like...
08:15You won the game!
08:17I don't know why.
08:19What part do you want?
08:20But no, but you don't understand.
08:22So, then I was upset.
08:24I'm like...
08:25So, there's two ways, like, to win the game.
08:27And it's to get the trust of everybody and then to be strategic.
08:32So, I...
08:33In life, I usually...
08:34I have no problem getting people to trust me because they do.
08:37So, but then for me to turn on those people that trust me was really, really hard.
08:43So, that, I think, was the worst part for me.
08:46Especially when you're wrong and you vote for the wrong person.
08:49Dylan, for you, I mean, first reality show ever, you did okay, I would say.
08:54You did pretty good.
08:56I made a lot of mistakes, too, though.
08:57So...
08:57But, I mean, everybody makes mistakes in a show.
08:59There's a lot.
09:00But what was the biggest challenge?
09:01Because, I mean, a lot of...
09:04They're all used to having cameras capturing all that.
09:06Oh, yeah.
09:06That must have been tough for you even to adapt to.
09:09Yeah.
09:09Like, I needed to figure out the confessional room.
09:11Like, that took me a while to figure out.
09:14You're just staring at a blank wall and they're trying to, like, talking.
09:17I was just like, what are you supposed to do in here?
09:19All they're asking me is questions about Boston Rob.
09:21I, like, went to you after.
09:22I was like, dude, like, are they talking about me and yours?
09:25I'm only getting questions about you.
09:27So, like...
09:28Don't worry.
09:29It should have been a fact.
09:30What they tell you.
09:31I was just...
09:32I was a little green in that way.
09:33But, um, I think the paranoia is, like, everyone thought they were going home every week.
09:40Every day?
09:40Yeah.
09:40Sorry.
09:41Every day.
09:41Yeah.
09:42Not me and Bob.
09:43Yeah.
09:45I did not know I was going home until it happened.
09:48I was like, oh, fuck me.
09:49But, yeah, that's definitely the paranoia.
09:56Because it was every day you're like, oh, this is my last day.
09:59And then it's not.
10:00And I think that would be something for future players is to, like, don't think you're going
10:05home every week.
10:06Because that'll ruin your entire trip.
10:08Said the one who didn't go home.
10:10And no one tells you the hardest part of writing someone's name down in that castle is spelling
10:14it properly.
10:15That's probably...
10:16Ask Florida.
10:16I had to ask, but, okay.
10:19I have to ask about that.
10:20Because now it's become a thing that everyone's like, I just want this person on because I
10:24want to see how people are spelling the names.
10:26Is it just hard to see?
10:27There's so many memes about that.
10:29It's so bad.
10:30Yeah, it's so bad.
10:30That's actually a tell.
10:32If you're in the castle and you are going to get someone, don't ask them how to spell
10:35them.
10:37They'll see it coming.
10:39Real quick.
10:40How do you spell your name?
10:41I'm doing thank you cards.
10:44I'm getting my Christmas list ready when I set out Christmas cards.
10:47But you know Lord Ivor did that to Sierra.
10:50He asked who?
10:50Yeah.
10:51He asked Sierra how to spell her name.
10:53And then...
10:53And he still got it wrong.
10:55Oh, dear.
10:56I was wondering, dear Sierra, how do you spell your name?
11:00And then he spelt it wrong after she told him how to spell her name.
11:04It was so awkward.
11:06He's funny.
11:07Do you guys...
11:08I guess who surprised you the most with their gameplay?
11:11With who was either in a good way or in a bad way that you thought would be better
11:15or you thought wouldn't be able to play as well as they did?
11:18I think the most shocking moment for me was...
11:21Honestly, it's probably the...
11:22To me, it was the fan response to Danielle Reyes.
11:26Because I actually thought she was doing a really good job.
11:27She did a great job.
11:28And a lot of people didn't realize...
11:30Because when you're at home watching, you have the answers to the tests.
11:33You're like, oh, you know.
11:34So, yeah, they literally told you, of course you fucking know.
11:39And Danielle is the second longest lasting traitor in the history of the U.S. version.
11:43The only one who outdid her was the winner of season one, Sari.
11:47Sari.
11:47Sari.
11:48But the most shocking moment for me was when she voted for me.
11:51I really...
11:53I genuinely...
11:55That blew me away.
11:56That, like, blew me away.
11:57When she recruited Brittany, who had stabbed her in the back at another time, why would you do it?
12:05Why would you recruit someone that's already turned on you in the most crucial part of the game?
12:10Yeah, Brittany, I was at home watching that.
12:14When Brittany turned on her, I was like, I was gagged beyond gagged.
12:19Especially when Brittany tried to say that you...
12:22And at the reunion, she was like, well, you saw the face.
12:25I was like, that doesn't mean she made that face at you at that time, telling you to vote for Danielle.
12:29That doesn't understand, like, the way it's edited.
12:31I could have made that face at anything.
12:32But I love it.
12:33I wasn't even looking at it.
12:34I love it.
12:34At the reunion, you were like, that's not true.
12:37That was my favorite part of the reunion.
12:39Well, then if I was...
12:40Then why not vote for her?
12:41You said she's lying.
12:42That's what it was.
12:43You said she's lying.
12:44The good thing about this show is there's no unresolved issues when you come home.
12:52Rob, for you, was it harder to write people's name down sitting across from them than it is to write it up and survive?
12:59You know, I think I'm the one person in the history of this show that actually loved going to the round table.
13:06Yeah, of course.
13:06I really did.
13:07I love it.
13:08The confrontation.
13:10And I have to say, Bob the Drag Queen was more than a formidable opponent.
13:15The reason why I went after him was because I saw that he had all the traits to execute naturally without even being a competitive reality person.
13:27He was charismatic.
13:29He understood the strategy.
13:30The only thing he didn't account for, really, was the fact that I picked up on it and I saw it as a threat.
13:37And that's really why I went after him.
13:39So the question you asked before of who surprised me the most, like, Bob doesn't come from this background, but he really did thrive in this arena.
13:48Yeah, absolutely.
13:48Well, thank you.
13:49Well, thank you.
13:49Yeah.
13:49Yeah.
13:49Yeah.
13:49Yeah.
13:50Was there, do you feel like a certain show does prepare the best for traitors?
13:55I mean, for any of you?
13:56Not all cops have performed well.
14:02Tony didn't do well.
14:03I'm talking about the criminals, Mary.
14:07Speaking of cops, Derek was very good.
14:09Derek?
14:09He was under, understated.
14:14Derek did some of the most impressive stuff I've ever seen on that show.
14:17I remember being blown away by Derek's performance.
14:21I have never seen anything like what he did when he did that analysis and even called in Alan Cumming.
14:27I was at home, like, the first time I ever cheered for a cop in my fucking life.
14:33He was great.
14:34I'd like to see him again.
14:35I think, like, not specifically a show, but there are some traits that one could have that would make you good in the competitive reality space, in the traitors space, and that is, like, your own self-awareness and your ability to adapt to different situations.
14:52Right.
14:53The people that have that, they naturally just get it.
14:57They know what to do in the moment, and you see it with certain players.
15:02I think you have to know when to hold your emotion back and hold what you want to say back, which is very hard for a lot of people to do, and to know when to do it.
15:14You have to.
15:15Timing is everything in this.
15:17So if you can do that and get that right, you could pretty much do anything, I think.
15:25Dylan, did you want to add something?
15:26I feel like the Big Brother players were pretty prepared, but it's also, like, you could tell they were Big Brother players because they just know the strategy, and it's, yeah, I don't know.
15:37So, like, they're the most prepared, I think, in a way, because they're used to this crazy psychological warfare.
15:43But oddly, none of them made it to the end.
15:46Yeah, I kind of feel like they didn't execute as well.
15:48Yeah, but that, yeah, they overprepared for the test.
15:52Are we having our first fight?
15:53I don't agree.
15:55I mean, Danielle and Brittany did make it pretty far.
15:57They did make it far, yeah.
15:58The Big Brothers, they always turn to each other, and that was why I kept targeting the housewives, because I kept thinking to myself, well, they have no bad blood.
16:06Like, these Big Brother people, they're all like, you crushed my dreams.
16:09Someone's survivor's like, you stopped me from winning a million dollars.
16:12And the housewives are like, I don't like your shoes, but I don't hate you.
16:16And I was like, they're going to unify.
16:18You haven't seen the right housewives together, most of all.
16:21Let me just tell you, because there's some deep hate.
16:26Hate.
16:27All I can say is just wait for the all-star version when all your actions come back to haunt everyone, and you'll all be back in it.
16:37Would you guys all come back and play again if asked?
16:41I would walk there.
16:42I loved it.
16:43It was the best experience of my life.
16:45I loved the seclusion.
16:48Actually, when you're not filming, you're not allowed to talk to anyone.
16:51You don't have a phone.
16:52I don't know if you all know that.
16:54There's no phone.
16:55It's just you and four TV stations, UK TV stations, that you will not watch.
17:01And that's it.
17:02Yeah.
17:02I would do it again, and I've been asked about if I go back to Drag Race.
17:06I probably wouldn't go back to Drag Race.
17:07I would do this again, though.
17:09And I know this sounds insane, what I'm about to say, but you have to hear me all the way out before you judge me.
17:14But I also love the round table, because I like to bully people.
17:21But in a specific context where we're all kind of low-key consenting to this thing, not like random people in the street, but I was like, if you come for me, if you give me, if you come at me like a five, I'm going to come back at like a 15, and it's going to be absurd.
17:37And then when I was getting banished, I went full scorched earth on anyone who would even breathe in my direction.
17:53They spared so many people from people who weren't even there.
17:57Your brother wasn't even there.
17:58Anyone who, I was like, and the PA's a piece of shit, too.
18:01You got so much shit for that online.
18:08Zach has some really loyal fans.
18:11I loved it.
18:13Dylan, would you play again?
18:14Yeah, definitely.
18:15It's so much fun.
18:16What's more?
18:17It's an experience like that.
18:19It's like a sleepover on steroids.
18:22It's so fun.
18:23Oh, that's a great way to put it.
18:24It was so amazing.
18:25It really was.
18:27Rob?
18:28I would say maybe.
18:29He's already strategizing.
18:31You never say never, but I don't know.
18:36It's so hard.
18:37Traitors really is a difficult show.
18:39Coming from him, that says a lot.
18:41Yeah.
18:41And he would play.
18:42But I am so grateful for the people that I met along the way.
18:46Yeah.
18:47And for me, that was the best part of the show, was the other relationships and other people,
18:52specifically outside of competitive reality.
18:56Because I knew a lot of the Survivor people and the Big Brother people.
19:00But meeting these guys and other people and connecting with them was really the big win for me.
19:05You and Sierra got along really well.
19:07You helped her through the bug challenge.
19:09Yeah.
19:10You talked her through that.
19:11And I'm so glad I had Chris Shell to pull her hand out.
19:16I do remember that also.
19:17She called me when the show aired.
19:19And she's like, I'm so sorry.
19:20No, she texted me.
19:21And I'm like, are you kidding me?
19:23I couldn't thank you enough for pulling your hand out.
19:26Because I wouldn't have done it.
19:27So I was okay with it.
19:29But watching you talk her through it, everyone fell in love with you again.
19:35I know everyone in this room would agree we'd love to see all of you back on another season of the Traders.
19:39Thank you all so much for being here.
19:41And as the last panel of the day, I just want to say thank you guys all so much for coming.
19:45And to all of our partners, please read all of our coverage for this.
19:48And if you missed any, you will see everything up on Variety.com.
19:51So thank you guys again for being here.