The Fortune Hotel has been accused of being a poor imitation of fellow gameshow The Traitors by viewers reacting on social media.
Premiering on ITV this evening (May 13) with Green Wing actor Stephen Mangan as its host, the brand-new format invites 10 pairs of guests to an exquisite Caribbean resort to engage in a game of cat and mouse – all while avoiding terrible sunburn.
Each must carry with them identical briefcases, with eight being empty, one holding a dreaded Early Checkout card, and another containing the £250,000 cash prize. Their job is to identify which is which.
Related: Harry and Paul from The Traitors tease new joint project
Straight out of the traps arrived unfavourable comparisons to The Traitors though, with some fans even noticing the show's similarly dark song covers within its soundtrack, including 'Money, Money, Money' by ABBA.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman for the BBC, murder-mystery-styled The Traitors is now two seasons in and has undoubtedly captured the hearts of the nation thanks to its cast of charismatic players and devious shenanigans.
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One incensed person wrote on X: "This show is trying TOO HARD to copy The Traitors and it makes it worse. If you want a hit show, make it organic and get an audience from that. This is painful."
"What's with the slow 'Traitors-type' cover songs?", "Traitors x Deal or No Deal x Place In the Sun = #thefortunehotel" and "I'm liking #thefortunehotel but they really have done a 'copy your homework and change it a bit' with the traitors" read three more social reviews.
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In The Traitors, a select few contestants are chosen as Traitors while the rest must take on the role of Faithfuls. By day they work as one team to build up the cash kitty, but at night the Faithfuls must hunt the Traitors through behaviours and personality changes they've sensed during the show, all before the heart-stopping 'murdering hour'.
Can The Fortune Hotel carve its own successful path as the series goes on?
The Fortune Hotel airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
