‘It’s not quite The Traitors!’ Viewers divided over Channel 4 game show Rise and Fall’s ‘boring’ premise and ‘attention-seeking’ contestants

• Greg James fronted game show comes from the makers of The Traitors on BBC 1
• READ MORE: The Traitors season 2 confirmed as host Claudia Winkleman invites fans to apply for psychological reality competition

A new game show on Channel 4 which comes from the makers of BBC smash hit The Traitors has left some viewers disappointed after the first two episodes aired.

Rise and Fall, hosted by BBC Radio 1 Breakfast presenter Greg James, premiered on Channel 4 on Sunday night, with its second episode following on Monday.

The series, which offers contestants the chance to win a cash prize while they are split into teams of ‘rulers’ and ‘grafters’ is built to examine the power dynamics between bosses and employees as the grafters are directed by their rulers to carry out painstaking tasks to increase the prize pot.

However, after the roaring success of Claudia Winkleman show The Traitors last December, some viewers think Rise and Fall is in its shadow.

Taking to Twitter, viewers suggested the Channel 4 show was ‘nowhere near as good as The Traitors’ – although one former contestant in the BBC show revealed he is watching Rise and Fall, and enjoying the premise so far.

Others suggested the show is more of a ‘slow burner’ than The Traitors was, arguing that it will pick up in time as more events unfold between the contestants – and others suggested the two shows had nothing in common at all, so it was ‘lazy’ to compare them.

Rise and Fall, which is set in Westminster, is produced by Studio Lambert, which also oversaw production of The Traitors in the UK and the US.

In the first two episodes of the show, the 16 contestants were split into ‘rulers’ and ‘grafters’, with the ‘rulers’ directing how their counterparts performed in tasks which gave them the chance to earn money.

Outside of the tasks, the rulers live in luxury in a penthouse flat and are treated to banquets and the finer things in life, while the grafters live in basic conditions in the basement, living off a diet of broth and bread.

In the first episode, the grafters were required to carry out a task in which they were given tiny electric shocks while building a circuit, to up the prize fund. Meanwhile, the rulers watched over the events in their penthouse and encouraged them to keep going to earn more money.

Rise and Fall, which premiered on Sunday night and continued on Monday on Channel 4, has opened to lukewarm reviews from viewers who say it doesn’t live up to The Traitors on BBC One which was a roaring success last December. The game show comes from the same makers of The Traitors

Radio 1 Breakfast DJ Greg James presents the new Channel 4 game show, which divides 16 contestants into ‘rulers’ and ‘grafters’

Viewers took to Twitter after the first few episodes of Rise and Fall aired to say they didn’t think it matched up to The Traitors – however some said it was a ‘slow burner’ and would build up tension

After watching the opening two episodes of the program, some viewers were unconvinced as it opened to a lukewarm response.

Taking to Twitter, they couldn’t help but compare the program to The Traitors on BBC One, criticising the premise and the contestants themselves.

One person said: ‘Considering they’re from the same team Rise and Fall fails in almost every way The Traitors succeeded. 

‘Specifically, the cast is unlikeable and hasn’t been cast to play the game in front of them. And it’s boring – spectacularly boring.’

Another Twitter user agreed they didn’t think the contestants were cast for the right reasons – and he was speaking from experience.

Rayan, who appeared on The Traitors and was expelled from the game early on in the series, said he was enjoying the show, but thought the cast might be more interested in ‘attention’ than winning the game.

He wrote: ‘I love the game on Rise and Fall but it does show how hard it is to cast 20 normal people driven by the game, not by their desire to get attention on TV.

‘It was an incredible accomplishment by the casting team on The Traitors and I’m not sure they managed it on Rise and Fall.’

Other viewers also were left unsure by the Channel 4 gameshow, but argued the premise was more to blame.

One person said Rise and Fall didn’t have a ‘Traitors-esque hook’ that pulled in viewers.

They wrote: ‘I think the ‘murder’ element of Traitors is what gave you the hook. Here, it’s all out in the open and nobody is ‘voted out’ so lacks that initial tension.’ 

In the second episode, a contestant was actually voted off of the rulers’ team, however the show does not follow the premise of ‘murdering’ contestants.

However, while some viewers were left unimpressed by the first few episodes, others thought it was unfair that people were comparing the two programs as they were not similar enough to be placed side by side.

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