'The Traitors Canada' host Karine Vanasse teases unexpected twists in reality show

A famed reality TV series has finally gotten a Canadian treatment with The Traitors Canada (airing Mondays at 10:00 p.m. on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app), hosted by Karine Vanasse and featuring a cast that includes an ex-MuchMusic VJ, a magician, a mentalist, a Canada's Drag Race star, and Big Brother Canada alumni.

Vanasse first watched the Australian version of the series and she was particularly interested in the casting direction for the show, something that's been replicated in Canada.

"I really liked that the players are really people with so many different backgrounds, but often jobs that require them to be able to read a situation, to read people, to be really efficient in a tense situation as well," Vanasse told Yahoo Canada.

"I loved that as the host, I would be allowed to play ... a character. So not just the host as me, Karine, being really nice to the players and being welcoming and warm. ... I could keep a certain distance and play with that, and bring some intensity."

How does 'The Traitors Canada' work?

In The Traitors Canada, 20 people compete in "the ultimate murder mystery game."

As we saw in the first episode, Vanasse kicks off the competition by picking three people to be the Traitors and the rest of the cast are Faithfuls. Each night, the Traitors meet to murder a Faithful, while the Faithfuls are also trying to identify the Traitors and get them kicked out of the game.

If the Faithfuls are able to banish all the Traitors, they will win the final cash prize of up to $100,000. If a Traitor makes it to the end of the competition, the Traitor leaves with all the money. All contestants also have to work together to compete in a series of missions, in order to increase that final pot of prize money by the end of the season.

One of the most interesting moments from the premiere episode of The Traitors Canada was watching Vanasse walk around a table, where all the contestants were sitting blindfolded, tapping three people on the shoulder to be Traitors.

"It was very long for them," Vanasse said, adding that she did about six circles in the room. "I knew that they were sort of getting tired and a little dizzy from just trying to make sense of the noises that they were hearing."

"I was just hoping for great reactions because by looking at other versions, I know that they try to contain their excitement. But when I saw the final edit of the show and I saw when I touched [Big Brother Canada Season 11 star Kuzie Mujakachi's] shoulder, and she just smirked a little bit, I know the show is looking for that kind of moment. I was just hoping that we would get moments like that from our players, and we did."

'Whether you're a Faithful a Traitor, how are you going to choose to play this game?'

While it may be tempting to focus on the strategy that the Traitors in the competition have to come up with, Vanasse stressed that it's also hard to be a Faithful.

"If you're a Traitor, you're kind of safe because you can't be murdered at night," Vanasse explained. "Yes, you can be banished, but you can maneuver your way through the game much more easily than if you're a Faithful."

"You could be the worst liar on the game and the most manipulative player as a Faithful as well. You could be a very honest Traitor, ... maybe you're willing to win with other contestants. You can play this game in so many different ways that I think in the end, yes, the first episode is about who's going to be the Traitors, but then the rest of this season is really about, whether you're a Faithful a Traitor, how are you going to choose to play this game? What is your morality? What is your moral code? What are you going to follow?"

While the first episode of The Traitors Canada just started to give us a peak into the drama that's to come in the season, Vanasse teased that there are surprises to come.

"We ended some days of shooting and we never would have thought to write this twist," Vanasse said. "They ended up being so good at surprising us."

The 20 players competing in The Traitors Canada are:

Rick Campanelli (he/him)
Age: 53
Hometown: Burlington, Ont.
Occupation: Former MuchMusic VJ and radio host, TV personality

Miss Fiercalicious (she/her in drag; he/him/they out of drag)
Age: 27
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Drag performer, Canada's Drag Race Season 3 star

Kuzie Mujakachi (she/her)
Age: 29
Hometown: Victoria, B.C.
Occupation: 911 operator, Miss World Zimbabwe, Big Brother Canada Season 11 star

Erika Casupanan (she/her)
Age: 34
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Keynote speaker and podcast host, winner of Survivor Season 41

Kevin Martin (he/him)
Age: 30
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Occupation: Champion poker player, Big Brother Canada Season 5 winner

Mickey Henry (he/him)
Age: 34
Hometown: Bala, Ont.
Occupation: CFO, The Amazing Race Canada Season 2 winner

Mai Nguyen (she/her)
Age: 34
Hometown: Edmonton
Occupation: Chef, MasterChef Canada Season 5 and Season 7 star

Gurleen Maan (she/her)
Age: 35
Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C.
Occupation: Third generation farmer, Farming for Love Season 1 star

Collin Johnson (he/him)
Age: 37 Hometown:
Thunder Bay, Ont.
Occupation: Transit operator

Crystal Mayes (she/her)
Age: 50
Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask.
Occupation: Nurse

Domenic Ielasi (he/him)
Age: 32
Hometown: Hamilton, Ont.
Occupation: Project management

Donna Hartt (she/her)
Age: 53
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Occupation: Psychic medium

Gurpyar Bains (he/him)
Age: 25
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Occupation: Paediatric registered nurse

Leroy Fontaine (he/him)
Age: 38
Hometown: Halifax
Occupation: Firefighter

Mary Wisden (she/her)
Age: 31
Hometown: Courtenay, B.C.
Occupation: Housewife, amateur stand-up

Melissa Allder (she/her)
Age: 49
Hometown: London, Ont.
Occupation: Educator, high school english department head, ESL learning coordinator

Melissa Best (she/her)
Age: 35
Hometown: St. John’s, Nfld.
Occupation: Realtor

Mike D’Urzo (he/him)
Age: 39
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Magician, mentalist

Dr. Nazila Dehghani (she/her)
Age: 47
Hometown: Newmarket, Ont.
Occupation: Dentist, doctor of dental surgery

Travon Smith (he/him)
Age: 29
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Public relations specialist