If your long-awaited travel plans ever suddenly get canceled, as mine did a few weeks ago thanks to our annual holiday COVID surge, I recommend consoling yourself with the virtual vacation that is The Traitors. Set in a picturesque Scottish castle and hosted by Alan Cumming—whose bright, plaid ensembles can only be described as Highlands glam—the Peacock reality competition became a cult hit when it debuted last winter. Now I know why. Confined to my couch, I devoured not just the American Traitors, but also the British and Australian versions. And I came away wishing the stateside incarnation, whose second season premieres on Jan 12., would take some lessons from its superior overseas counterparts.

Every version of the show combines the mechanics of the pa…