New year, new season of The Traitors UK to obsess over. The extremely popular (and extremely intense) reality TV series returns in the UK on Jan 1, 2025, with three new episodes expected to drop all at once on BBC iPlayer. If you’re an American fan waiting patiently to watch your favorite British reality series from the U.S., you might not need to wait at all. While Seasons 1-2 of The Traitors UK are now available to stream on Peacock in the U.S., they didn’t arrive there until long after airing live in the UK. But if you’ve got a VPN handy (or you plan on being in England or New Zealand in the next few weeks) then keeping up with The Traitors Season 3 should be easy (and free!). Here’s how to watch The Traitors UK live for free from the U.S.
The Traitors UK Season 3 release date is Jan 1, 2025. New episodes will air weekly on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, but if you’re planning to stream via BBC iPlayer, you won’t need to wait for the TV premiere of each episode every week. Like last year, each batch of that week’s three episodes is expected to drop on Wednesdays, so fans could binge all three that day.
The new season of The Traitors will premiere at 8 p.m. BST on New Year’s Day. That’s noon ET and 9 a.m. PT for those in the U.S. So get ready to start off 2025 right with the newest episode of The Traitors UK.
Residents of the UK are able to watch The Traitors live or stream it on-demand free via BBC iPlayer. When you factor in the time difference, new episodes will drop at 12 P.M. ET on Wednesdays. You can also catch all the episodes streaming a day later on ThreeNow in New Zealand. Don’t currently reside in the UK or NZ? You can still stream like you do with the help of a VPN.
ExpressVPN offers “internet without borders,” meaning you can tune into international shows, movies and sporting events as opposed to paying for U.S. coverage. All you’ll need to do is sign up for ExpressVPN, change your server location and then find the show on the right platform: In this case, that’s BBC iPlayer or ThreeNow, where you’ll need to make a free account to access the series.
ExpressVPN’s added protection, speed and range of location options makes it an excellent choice for first-time VPN users looking to stretch their streaming abilities, plus, it’s Engadget’s top pick for the best streaming VPN. New users can save 49% when they sign up for ExpressVPN’s 12-month subscription. Plus, the service offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in case you’re nervous about trying a VPN.
You can stream seasons 1-2 of The Traitors UK on Peacock alongside The Traitors U.S.But if you don’t have Peacock, you can also stream the show on-demand via New Zealand’s free streaming platform ThreeNow with the help of a VPN.
Set in the Scottish Highlands, The Traitors brings together a group of strangers divided into two groups: “Traitors” and “Faithfuls.” The three Traitors know who the others are, but the Faithfuls are left in the dark with the task of trying to figure out who is trying to betray the group, all while participating in a series of absurd challenges, and trying not to get “murdered” by the Traitors.
Claudia Winkleman will once again serve as host and guide through the treachery on The Traitors this season. The rest of the Season 3 Traitors cast remains TBA.
Episode 1: Wednesday, Jan. 1 (episodes 1-3 land on iPlayer)
Episode 2: Thursday, Jan. 2
Episode 3: Friday, Jan. 3
Episode 4: Wednesday, Jan. 8 (episodes 4-6 land on iPlayer)
Episode 5: Thursday, Jan. 9
Episode 6: Friday, Jan. 10
Episode 7: Wednesday, Jan. 15 (episodes 7-9 land on iPlayer)
Episode 8: Thursday, Jan. 16
Episode 9: Friday, Jan. 17
Episode 10: TBC
Episode 11: TBC
Episode 12: TBC
To some extent, yes! While both versions of the show have found great success, the U.S. show draws the majority of its contestants from popular American reality shows like The Bachelor, Survivor, The Challenge and the Real Housewives franchise, while the UK version pulls its contestants from the civilian population. The Traitors (US) is hosted by Alan Cumming, while Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman stands at the helm of the UK version.