No wonder, then, that all the other channels want to emulate its phenomenal success. There\u2019s not a television boss out there who doesn\u2019t hold up the BBC\u2019s gothic parlour game as a yardstick to match, a zenith to reach. But the desperation to \u201cmake the next Traitors\u201d is turning the schedules into a homogenised list of copycat shows, each misguidedly trying to improve upon an already beloved format. In short, it\u2019s ruining TV for the people who matter most: us at home. <\/p>\n
The most recent offender is Channel 4<\/a>\u2019s The Inheritance. On paper, the format sounds intriguing \u2013 good, even: players compete in a series of tasks left in the will of a very wealthy and recently deceased benefactor (who just happens to be Elizabeth Hurley), each hoping to earn a bit of Liz\u2019s leftover cash. The twist comes when the contestants must decide among themselves who contributed most to the challenge \u2013 only they can earn the inheritance. Cue arguments, alliances, and plenty of strategic gameplay.<\/p>\n Sounds alright, doesn\u2019t it? But in reality, The Inheritance falls terribly flat. In trying so hard to be a new version of The Traitors (it\u2019s even set in an austere mansion, rigged with secret cameras), the show has forgotten to do away with the one element of the BBC series that doesn\u2019t really work \u2013 the challenges. It is incredibly hard to care whether the players can bottle enough wine or herd enough chickens into a pen in the short time provided \u2013 yet the more interesting part of the programme (the inevitable slanging match that results from the show\u2019s version of the Traitor\u2018s roundtable) is entirely predicated on the result of the task. It makes for tedious, unrewarding TV.\u00a0<\/p>\n ITV is an offender, too. Earlier this year, the David Tennant-fronted gameshow Genius Game \u2013 in which supposed geniuses compete in a series of convoluted and dull games, before joining forces to b*tch about and undermine one another \u2013 was such a flop that it was removed from its twice-weekly primetime slot in the schedules within a week. The series was so complicated and arid, that I had to stop watching after just two episodes; life is simply too short.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s also Prime Video\u2019s 007: Road to a Million, which exploits the James Bond brand to test contestants\u2019 relationships and loyalties in challenges around the world. The BBC\u2019s Destination X<\/a>, which pits its players against each other as they work together (or not) to figure out where they are in Europe, tried and failed to fill the gap left by a Traitor-less summer, too. The less said about ITV\u2019s The Fortune Hotel<\/a>, the better. <\/p>\n The true genius of The Traitors is in its simplicity \u2013 stripped of Claudia\u2019s Highland fashions, the theatrical set pieces and ominous cloaked \u201cmurders\u201d, the game is uncomplicated: root out the Traitors. The many copycats overcomplicate the format when trying to dupe it, adding endless rules and hurdles that make shows (that would otherwise be entertaining) extremely unwatchable. <\/p>\n![\"Pictured:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_264505912.jpg\")
The Inheritance doesn\u2019t do away with the tedious challenges (Photo: Pete Dadds\/Channel 4)<\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_249218795.jpg\")
David Tennant\u2019s Genius Game was an immediate flop (Photo: Jack Barnes\/ Remarkable Entertainment\/ ITV)<\/p>\n