Porsha Williams and Rob Cesternino break down their downfall on 'The Traitors'
- - Porsha Williams and Rob Cesternino break down their downfall on 'The Traitors'
Anthony Robledo, USA TODAYJanuary 15, 2026 at 8:55 PM
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Warning: Major spoilers for the first three episodes of "The Traitors" Season 4 are ahead. Beware if you haven't seen it and don't want to know.
One wrong slip can cast you out of Alan Cummings' castle — yet even the most careful players aren't safe.
The first batch of players to exit "The Traitors" Season 4 learned this the hard way, as seen in Episodes 1 to 3, which dropped on Peacock Jan. 8. While the faithful successfully banished the secret traitor, Taylor Swift's soon-to-be mother-in-law, Donna Kelce, four innocent players were eliminated beforehand.
Meanwhile, the remaining three traitors, "The Real Housewives of Potomac" alum Candiace Dillard Bassett, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" favorite Lisa Rinna and "Love Island" breakout Rob Rausch, remain undetected.
Who are 'The Traitors' in Season 4? New 'secret' twist changes show
Looking for something good to watch? Amid the deluge of television in 2025, here are the very best, starting with number 20: "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount+)
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Looking for something good to watch? Amid the deluge of television in 2025, here are the very best, starting with number 20: "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount+)
">Looking for something good to watch? Amid the deluge of television in 2025, here are the very best, starting with number 20: "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount+)
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"The Gold" (PBS)
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"The Gold" (PBS)
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"The Gold" (PBS)
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"The Gold" (PBS)
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"High Potential" (ABC)
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"High Potential" (ABC)
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"High Potential" (ABC)
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"High Potential" (ABC)
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"IT: Welcome to Derry" (HBO)
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"IT: Welcome to Derry" (HBO)
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"IT: Welcome to Derry" (HBO)
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"IT: Welcome to Derry" (HBO)
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"The White Lotus" (HBO)
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"The White Lotus" (HBO)
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"The White Lotus" (HBO)
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"The White Lotus" (HBO)
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"Sirens" (Netflix)
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"Sirens" (Netflix)
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"Sirens" (Netflix)
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"Sirens" (Netflix)
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"Severance" (Apple TV)
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"Severance" (Apple TV)
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"Severance" (Apple TV)
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"Severance" (Apple TV)
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"Matlock" (CBS)
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"Matlock" (CBS)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/AxpVAUYaWjTDrOWQzaBdzQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/40f952743badf41faac5ec8a48e96acb class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Matlock" (CBS)
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"Matlock" (CBS)
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"Apple Cider Vinegar" (Netflix)
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"Apple Cider Vinegar" (Netflix)
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"Apple Cider Vinegar" (Netflix)
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"Apple Cider Vinegar" (Netflix)
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"Overcompensating" (Prime Video)
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"Overcompensating" (Prime Video)
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"Overcompensating" (Prime Video)
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"Overcompensating" (Prime Video)
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"Task" (HBO)
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"Task" (HBO)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5rnk7LLwniNYg6m9hZ_QAw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/045b158afe7fa773051dc35ccc08c7ab class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Task" (HBO)
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"Task" (HBO)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5rnk7LLwniNYg6m9hZ_QAw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/045b158afe7fa773051dc35ccc08c7ab class=caas-img> -
"North of North" (Netflix)
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"North of North" (Netflix)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/R8rNQr2ixHBqrHup.MWbiQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/daa4d552e0f79ea483f8da364f3fb86f class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"North of North" (Netflix)
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"North of North" (Netflix)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/R8rNQr2ixHBqrHup.MWbiQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/daa4d552e0f79ea483f8da364f3fb86f class=caas-img> -
"Taskmaster" (YouTube)
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"Taskmaster" (YouTube)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xBMdoeZVe3aIeqyecRiS3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/481fdcaf52aad6be336cb8185b6ce54e class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Taskmaster" (YouTube)
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"Taskmaster" (YouTube)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xBMdoeZVe3aIeqyecRiS3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/481fdcaf52aad6be336cb8185b6ce54e class=caas-img> -
"Boots" (Netflix)
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"Boots" (Netflix)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/nKBw1w4DFp1sS2u2EzNFRg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/5b90ba315c2ecd6cfdf27a5229948045 class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Boots" (Netflix)
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"Boots" (Netflix)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/nKBw1w4DFp1sS2u2EzNFRg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/5b90ba315c2ecd6cfdf27a5229948045 class=caas-img> -
"Death by Lightning" (Netflix)
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"Death by Lightning" (Netflix)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Ts_kTuiBOfnyj6CpiYrcgw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/4d6b33b7daf9b027aab493f8a5e4d019 class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Death by Lightning" (Netflix)
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"Death by Lightning" (Netflix)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Ts_kTuiBOfnyj6CpiYrcgw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/4d6b33b7daf9b027aab493f8a5e4d019 class=caas-img> -
"The American Revolution" (PBS)
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"The American Revolution" (PBS)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Gs6spEOEtCvkigKYuXj48A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04MzM-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/01f730a785d6d5772a883899c6039cd1 class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"The American Revolution" (PBS)
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"The American Revolution" (PBS)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Gs6spEOEtCvkigKYuXj48A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04MzM-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/01f730a785d6d5772a883899c6039cd1 class=caas-img> -
"Adolescence" (Netflix)
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"Adolescence" (Netflix)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/bk3BvlEBjciADlc7vnZs7A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02MjE-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/9a21720c000a97dab0e721049165b892 class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Adolescence" (Netflix)
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"Adolescence" (Netflix)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/bk3BvlEBjciADlc7vnZs7A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02MjE-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/9a21720c000a97dab0e721049165b892 class=caas-img> -
"Andor" (Disney+)
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"Andor" (Disney+)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ArZ6AeX.rrh5Nl_8R38.4A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD01MjA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/c7e67a765516cdb936e9e156edac4f65 class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"Andor" (Disney+)
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"Andor" (Disney+)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ArZ6AeX.rrh5Nl_8R38.4A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD01MjA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/c7e67a765516cdb936e9e156edac4f65 class=caas-img> -
"The Pitt" (HBO Max)
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"The Pitt" (HBO Max)
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6uckj13BKr83Yc9oGJGbWQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/117496dbc736128a830c19b3ccc2f3bd class=caas-img data-headline="The 20 best TV shows of 2025" data-caption=" -
"The Pitt" (HBO Max)
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"The Pitt" (HBO Max)
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6uckj13BKr83Yc9oGJGbWQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/117496dbc736128a830c19b3ccc2f3bd class=caas-img>
1 / 19The 20 best TV shows of 2025
Looking for something good to watch? Amid the deluge of television in 2025, here are the very best, starting with number 20: "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount+)
USA TODAY spoke to the first three players to leave the game about their brief stint on the series, their suspicions, and whether they could have done anything differently.
Rob Cesternino's long-awaited return to TV was cut short
"Survivor" favorite Rob Cesternino, not to be confused with last season's "Boston" Rob Mariano, was the second faithful to be "murdered" in Season 4.
His "Traitors" debut marked his first reality television appearance since "Survivor: All Stars" aired in 2004. Going into the castle, he wanted to develop compelling ways to play as a faithful that hadn't been explored yet.
Reality TV podcast host and former "Survivor" contestant Rob Cesternino on Season 4 of "The Traitors."
"We've seen so much about how the traitors play, and there've been so many great traitors, but I'm still waiting to see somebody come into that castle and really throw the traitors for a loop and have the traitors on the back foot most of the season," he told USA TODAY.
The "Rob Has A Podcast" host planned to be an evidence collector who made logical arguments instead of touting long-winded theories. He was presumably the only player to clock that the conga line Candice started was a ploy for the traitors to distract from a murder in plain sight, quipping, "I will damn well sure never be in a conga line after this."
Unfortunately for him, the traitors deemed him too big a threat and ended his run. "I never thought I would get the opportunity to go play another reality game," he added. "I didn't get the ultimate outcome that I wanted, but to me, this was all just gravy on top of everything else, and it was the most incredible experience."
Porsha Williams swears she did not confess to Ian's murder
"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Porsha Williams was the first player to be banished at the roundtable despite being a faithful. Many assumed she accidentally said she "murdered Ian" and, with confidence, said she knew there were four traitors, leading her fellow faithfuls to vote her out.
"When I said that about Ian, I was strategizing out loud. I was talking about, let's put ourselves in the mind frame of a traitor," Williams said. "So I was thinking out loud and talking to what I thought were other faithfuls."
The vote was especially irritating for Williams, who immediately clocked that Kelce was a traitor.
"Real Housewives" franchise icons Dorinda Medley, Porsha Williams and Candiace Dillard Bassett on Season 4 of "The Traitors."
"The moment she got her card, when she turned around, something in me said, 'I love mama, but mama ain't no good. Mama is gonna kill us,'" she said. "This would be the first round table for us to get a traitor out of the gate. When I got to the table, I was just so defeated to realize that the people I was rallying for, fighting for, were believing the hype."
Williams confirmed viewers were robbed of her stunning outfits, eccentric TV personality and bold strategic gameplay.
"I came in. I wanted to play aggressive. I did not want to be a little lamb, faithful," she added. "I kept saying the whole time, 'No, we're hunting traitors. We're not just sitting here on traitors waiting to be killed at every round table or dark night. No, we're gonna hunt them.'"
'Big Brother' winner Ian Terry expected to be the first out
"Big Brother" Season 14 winner Ian Terry was disappointed but not surprised when he learned the traitors murdered him first.
At least one former "Big Brother" houseguest had been selected as a traitor in the first three seasons of the murder mystery game, including Cody Calafiore, Danielle Reyes and Dan Gheesling, who Terry competed with in 2012. Therefore, Ian knew there was little he could do to lower his threat level as he studied the game in preparation.
"If you are a faithful and you are perceived as intelligent, that was not usually going to work in your favor," Terry said. "So this was a distinct possibility that I had prepared myself for. And, you know, it happened. It's unfortunate."
"Big Brother" alum Ian Terry on Season 4 of "The Traitors."
Out of all the traitors, Terry said the only one he guessed correctly was the "Love Island" snake wrangler Rausch. He suspected that any guy in his mid 20's would choose the game’s more treacherous route.
Terry still has some optimism about a "Big Brother" alum winning "The Traitors," acknowledging fellow contestant Tiffany Mitchell's immaculate social game.
"She's a very, very intelligent woman, super, super savvy, and she's just got nerves of steel. I think I'm very, very impressed with her. I had not seen her 'Big Brother' season. So we'll have to see how it plays out. I hope that she does really well," he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Traitors' — Porsha Williams, Rob Cesternino explain their exit
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
