Netflix Just Released Its Answer to The Traitors (And it Might Be Even Better)

Over the last couple of years, The Traitors has established itself as the most talked-about reality competition series around. The Emmy-winning series has been an enormous hit on Peacock through three seasons, with successful spinoffs launching in several different countries around the world. The Traitors is now the competition that other networks and streamers are trying to chase, and it appears Netflix has finally found an answer that can rival the popular series.

From the very first trailer, Netflix’s Million Dollar Secret seemed to share a lot of DNA with The Traitors. The series puts a group of strangers in an expensive mansion with a celebrity host and has them compete in challenges as they try to out-deceive each other while trying to win a massive cash prize. There are even more differences, of course, but the shows have enough in common that the comparisons are plenty fair — and Netflix is counting on exactly that.

The first three episodes of Million Dollar Secret were released on Netflix this past week, and subscribers have finally had a chance to dig in and see how the series stacks up to the competition. Fortunately for Netflix, the early reactions and results have been positive. Million Dollar Secret has been near the top of the Netflix Top 10 since its debut, and the series itself is on par with The Traitors so far. In some ways, Million Dollar Secret may be even better.

Hosted by actor Peter Serafinowicz, Million Dollar Secret it set at a luxury lakeside mansion in Canada that they call The Stag. The series starts with 12 people arriving at The Stag and each choosing their room at random. Once everyone is settled, a wooden box is delivered to each room — 11 of them are completely empty and just one contains $1 million in cash. Whoever gets the cash needs to hide the fact that they are the Secret Millionaire, while the other contestants are trying to discover their identity.

Every night, there will be a vote where the contestants decide who they believe to be the millionaire, and the loser of that vote is removed from the Stag and the game. If and when a Secret Millionaire is discovered, the money is randomly assigned to a new player. Of course, the object of the game is to end up with the money.

This is a great new reality series that appears to have learned from some of the biggest mistakes of The Traitors. First and foremost, its cast is comprised of regular people, not current reality celebrities. While having reality stars on The Traitors has certainly improved ratings, there have been a lot of complaints about how much the quality of the game itself dropped after Season 1, which featured a mix of reality veterans and ordinary people. By having non-celebrity contestants, the stakes feel a lot higher for everyone watching.

Perhaps the biggest thing Million Dollar Secret “fixed” from The Traitors formula, however, are the challenges within the game.

One of the major complaints about The Traitors is that the challenges they complete in each episode, which are meant to increase the overall pot, don’t ever add much to the competition taking place. There are sometimes “shields” that protect players from being taken out by the traitors, but those become the focus and the actual money is an afterthought. These challenges just don’t add much of anything to game of deception at the heart of The Traitors.

[RELATED: Everything Coming to Netflix & Other Streamers in April]

With Million Dollar Secret, the overall money stays the same throughout the game, so the challenges are tailored specifically to the most vital currency available: information. Every challenge affords the winners a chance to gain clues about the Secret Millionaire’s identity, potentially getting the group closer to catching a liar in the act. However, that information could also be lethal in the hand of said millionaire. In addition to those challenges, there are smaller tasks that the Secret Millionaire receives each morning that they need to complete throughout the day. If they do, they can gain advantages to help them stay hidden.

One element doesn’t automatically make Million Dollar Secret a better show than The Traitors, but it has made some savvy decisions to show that it’s a series that has the potential to stick around for the long haul. If you’re a fan of reality competitions, this series is definitely worth your time.

The first three episodes of Million Dollar Secret are now on Netflix. Three more will be released this Thursday, with the final two set to debut next week.

Have you watched Million Dollar Secret on Netflix yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!