‘I Can Talk To Them, But If They Talk To Me, I Don’t Respond’ – Karine Vanasse Loves Her Quirky Hosting Gig in Season 2 of THE TRAITORS CANADA

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Viewers are due for another dose of delicious deception. With Season 2 of THE TRAITORS CANADA debuting Monday, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, host Karine Vanasse shared her thoughts on the deep psychology of the series, and her unique role in it. Q: If I say to you, “nice job on Season 1 of THE TRAITORS CANADA,” do you trust me? VANASSE: “I trust everybody!” Q: So hosting this series hasn’t made you more suspicious? VANASSE: “No, no, what I mean is, I think you can always be satisfied with yourself that you trusted someone at first. After that, they might prove that they can’t be trusted. But I like the initial response of just being open, while knowing in the back of your mind that they might not be trustworthy.” Q: So you’re open, but not naive. VANASSE: “I’m positive. But then I listen. And I watch (laughs). But you know what? I think this show is teaching me to trust myself even more. Because that’s the best tool we all have. When you stop listening to yourself, that’s when you’re gone, and lost.” Q: What did you learn about this game in Season 1? VANASSE: “The pressure of being a Traitor is very high. I think it’s unexpected for most of them, and they come to realize that it’s so heavy. Lying all the time is harder than we think. But if you’re a Faithful, you don’t want to be too quiet, because then you’re not being part of the game. I think as a host, what I want from my guests is really to play. And I think when you watch all the various seasons of THE TRAITORS from around the world, you notice all the different strategies to stay on the show. There’s not a specific recipe to make it to the end. You need to be quick and adjust.” Q: As host, you have some effect on the game.  VANASSE: “How?” Q: With your tone, and the way you say things. VANASSE: “When we’re at the roundtable, and I say something at the very beginning, and I can see that it’s making them all think, or I see their eyes go wide, I love that. I feel like my biggest role in this game is to keep the tone of the show present, and to keep that dynamic of, I know everything, and they don’t. I’m in control, they’re not. When the cameras are on, I can talk to them, but if they talk to me, I don’t respond. That’s perfect. It’s a dynamic that’s very fun to play with, and I feel like it’s really creating this tension with them all the time.” Q: But that’s why you’re the perfect person to host this show, in both English and French. Not everyone could pull that off. VANASSE: “As I said to you when we spoke before Season 1, this is more of an acting job than a hosting job. It’s an amazing character, and it’s interesting, the character in the Québec version of the show is a little different. It’s not something we planned. It just happened. There’s a quirkiness to it. And everyone can watch it. On Crave, the French version is available, with English subtitles. She plays the game a little bit differently. We didn’t plan it. It’s the same manor, and of course the guests are different, but each version has its own unique flavour.” Q: As far as the game itself, have you noticed any differences between the English and French versions? VANASSE: “Well, the selection is not the same, because in English there are familiar faces, with some TV personalities and TV reality stars. In Québec, we don’t have that at all. It’s more like the Australian version. So that changes something in the dynamic of the group. But I feel like regardless of the version, regardless of the host, or the country where it’s being played, it’s really the combination of guests that makes the difference. And what’s important from the production is who we choose as the Traitors. That creates the entire dynamic for the show. For example, if we go back to Season 1 of THE TRAITORS CANADA, and we have the same guests, but if we had picked Kevin Martin (who recently also competed on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA) to be one of the Traitors, that would have created something completely different. So I feel like the guests really give each season its specifics.” Q: Are you involved in choosing who the Traitors are? VANASSE: “Well, I’m there when the discussion is happening, but everyone is there from production. It’s about who’s fit to play that role, how comfortable they feel with the camera, those kinds of things. Because as I was saying earlier, it seems fun, but there’s so much pressure.” Q: It must be exciting to be part of a franchise that appears to be growing all over the world. VANASSE: “Going into Season 2 is always exciting, because it means Season 1 was a success. That’s why you’re back. And also the fact that we’re doing versions for English Canada and French Canada at the same time, that’s very unique. It’s very unique internationally, but also very unique for our market here as well. And for me to be part of that excited me from Day 1. I loved the concept, but adding in the fact that we would be shooting for both markets, different versions but with the same production team and the same set, I’m so happy Bell Media is doing it. I’m really proud of that.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv