The Traitors Producers Reveal Popular Contestant Could Return in Future Seasons

The Traitors came out swinging with its second season on Peacock, filling the cast of its sophomore installment with popular reality TV veterans, rather than mixing in regular folks (as it did in Season 1). Along with big names like Survivor‘s Parvati Shallow and Big Brother‘s Dan Gheesling, the most successful and popular player in the history of MTV’s The Challenge was a focal point of the Season 2 advertising campaign. Fresh off the first season of House of Villains, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio seemed poised to be a featured character in The Traitors Season 2, but he was shockingly murdered by the Traitors on the very first night of the competition.

Losing Bananas that early into The Traitors Season 2 was disappointing for a lot of fans, and likely disappointing for the production team as well. Bananas is such a big character, he had to have factored into their plans. Fortunately, it appears the door is open for Bananas to come back in a future season, despite being murdered this time around.

During a presentation at the 2024 Television Critics Association winter press tour on Wednesday (per EW), The Traitors executive producers Sam Rees-Jones and Stephen Lambert addressed the loss of Bananas, as well as his potential return.

“The beauty of the game is that anyone can go at any point, and we, as producers, don’t have any hand in that, which is actually terrifying but sort of thrilling at the same time,” Rees-Jones said. “So to have someone like Johnny Bananas gone in the first episode is a shock because we wanted to see what he would have done. As far as coming back, he was murdered, so…”

“He can be revived in another season,” Lambert added. “Who knows?”

The Traitors has already brought a former character back for a new season. Below Deck alum Kate Chastain made it to the finale of Season 1 before being banished by her fellow castle-dwellers. She was brought back as a surprise contestant in Season 2, arriving at the castle a few days after the start of the game.

The situation with Bananas is slightly different, given that he was murdered by the Traitors and not banished from the castle from a Roundtable vote. Still, as Lambert indicated, this is a TV show so the rules are a little open to interpretation.

One of the biggest hits on Peacock, The Traitors has already been renewed for a third season by the streamer. So far, no casting announcements have been made for the new season.