Die Verräter returns: season four brings new twists, a historic castle and early controversy
The fourth season of Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem! has launched on RTL and RTL+ in 2026, bringing new twists, a confirmed celebrity cast and early drama that is already dividing viewers.
Die Verräter season four launched in 2026 on RTL and RTL+, with the first episode available to stream on RTL+. Sonja Zietlow hosts the celebrity strategy game, which was filmed at the 12th-century Château de Mielmont and introduces new twists, including a mysterious phone call mid-game.
The fourth season of "Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!" has launched in 2026 on RTL, with the first episode already available to stream on RTL+. The new run brings changes compared with previous seasons, including, according to Hörzu, more celebrity contestants and a mysterious phone call that enters the game mid-play. The German reality game show is based on the Dutch format "De Verraders," which has been adapted more than 30 times worldwide. Its core concept traces back further still, to the 1986 social deduction game Mafia: a group of celebrities gathers in a castle to play a strategy game built on trust and intrigue, with hidden traitors in their midst. RTL first brought the format to air in 2023, according to reports, and Sonja Zietlow, who hosted the second season, is reported to be returning as presenter. The season has already made headlines beyond the screen. Reports describe a cinema premiere attended by celebrities, and the first episode has sparked criticism on social media directed at twins Julia and Nina Meise.
Season four arrives on RTL and RTL+
The fourth season of Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem! has launched in 2026, with RTL broadcasting the reality game show on television and RTL+ carrying it as a stream. The first episode is already available on demand via RTL+, so viewers who prefer to watch at their own pace can start immediately rather than waiting for the linear broadcast.
The new run comes with changes compared to earlier seasons. According to Hörzu, the producers have increased the number of celebrities taking part and introduced a mysterious phone call that lands in the middle of the game. The phone-call element has been reported as a new gameplay feature tied to the season's launch, though exactly how it affects the contest remains to be seen as episodes air.
The dual release strategy — free-to-air television on RTL alongside streaming on RTL+ — mirrors how German broadcasters increasingly position their flagship entertainment formats, giving the show reach across both traditional and on-demand audiences from day one.
The series itself is the German adaptation of the Dutch format De Verraders, in which a group of contestants must identify the hidden "traitors" among them while completing tasks and voting each other out. RTL first put the format on air in 2023, according to reports, and it has since become a fixture of the broadcaster's reality slate. Season four's mix of a larger celebrity cast and fresh twists suggests the network is betting on the format's continued pull as the new episodes roll out.
From Mafia to De Verraders: the format's long road to RTL
The German show now entering its fourth season is one branch of a much larger family tree. "Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!" is based on the Dutch format "De Verraders", which has been adapted more than 30 times worldwide — a measure of how readily its premise travels across languages and television markets.
The underlying game, however, is older still. The concept draws on Mafia, the social deduction game that dates back to 1986. In it, a small group of hidden deceivers operates among a larger group of players who must identify them before it is too late. That simple architecture — trust, suspicion and elimination — remains the engine of the television version, in which celebrities take part in a strategy game of confidence and intrigue.
RTL brought the format to air in Germany in 2023, according to reports. The broadcaster's version places its prominent contestants in a castle setting, where the paranoia of the parlour game is scaled up into a full reality competition. The Dutch original's three dozen-plus adaptations suggest the formula has lost little of its pull since Mafia first circulated decades ago, and the German edition has now run long enough to return with a fourth instalment and new wrinkles of its own.
Das Château de Mielmont, späterer Drehort der vierten Staffel, wird errichtet.
Das Gesellschaftsspiel Mafia erscheint, auf dem das Spielkonzept der Show basiert.
RTL bringt das Format „Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!“ erstmals auf Sendung.
Sonja Zietlow gibt in der RTL-Sendung Punkt 12 erste Details zur vierten Staffel bekannt.
Die teilnehmenden Prominenten der vierten Staffel stehen fest.
Eine Kino-Premiere zur vierten Staffel findet statt, bei der Prominente anwesend sind.
Die vierte Staffel von „Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!“ startet bei RTL und ist auf RTL+ verfügbar.
Die erste Folge der vierten Staffel steht bei RTL+ zum Abruf bereit.
Ein Verräter enttarnt sich in der ersten Folge beinahe selbst.
Ein Teilnehmer muss die Show verlassen.
In sozialen Netzwerken gibt es Kritik an den Zwillingen Julia und Nina Meise.
A 12th-century château sets the scene
The setting for the new season is a castle with centuries of history behind it. According to reports, "Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!" places a group of celebrities inside a stately home, where they take part in a strategy game built around trust and intrigue. The format asks contestants to work together while hidden traitors among them scheme in secret, turning every alliance into a calculated risk.
For season four, production moved to the Château de Mielmont, a location reported to date back to the 12th century. The medieval estate provides the backdrop for the round tables, secret meetings and nightly banishments that define the show. Turrets, stone walls and candlelit halls supply an atmosphere that suits a game of deception: the grandeur of the surroundings contrasts with the paranoia playing out inside them.
The choice of location matters in a format where mood is part of the mechanics. A centuries-old château lends weight to the ritual of accusation and exile at the heart of the game, and gives contestants a stage on which suspicion can fester away from the distractions of everyday life. Reports suggest the production made full use of the historic interiors, with the castle's secluded setting reinforcing the sense that the players are cut off from the outside world while they try to unmask the traitors in their midst.
Sonja Zietlow returns to the round table
Sonja Zietlow is no stranger to the intrigues of "Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem!". She hosted the second season of the German adaptation, and according to reports she has returned to present the fourth season as well.
Ahead of the launch, Zietlow gave first details of the new season on the RTL programme Punkt 12, according to media reports. Those details pointed to changes compared with earlier seasons, including, according to Hörzu, more celebrities taking part and a mysterious phone call that enters the game mid-play.
The celebrity line-up for the fourth season has been confirmed, though the broadcaster had not publicly named the participants in detail at the time of the launch coverage. What is established is the shape of the game itself: prominent contestants gather in a castle to play a strategy game built on trust and betrayal, with a small group secretly designated as traitors while the rest try to unmask them.
For Zietlow, the role means guiding viewers and contestants through the round-table votes and nightly eliminations that define the format — a format RTL first brought to air in 2023, according to reports, and one that has since become a fixture of its reality programming.
A traitor nearly unmasks themselves in episode one
The opening episode of the fourth season wasted little time in producing drama. According to reports, one of the traitors came close to exposing themselves during the very first episode — a near-miss that, in a game built entirely on deception, could have upended the entire season before it had properly begun. Whether the slip was noticed by the other players, and whether it will have consequences in later episodes, has not been disclosed.
The episode also delivered the season's first exit. Reports say that by the end of the premiere, one participant had to leave the show. The identity of the departing contestant has not been revealed in the available coverage, nor is it clear whether the exit came through banishment at the round table or by the traitors' hand — the two mechanisms by which players typically leave the game.
The double jolt fits the pattern the format has established: an opening episode designed to unsettle the group immediately, forcing alliances and suspicions to form before anyone has settled in. For viewers, the appeal lies precisely in this early chaos — watching celebrities attempt to read one another while knowing that at least one traitor has already come within a hair's breadth of giving the game away. How the group responds to the first departure, and whether the near-exposure resurfaces, will shape the episodes that follow.
Premiere glamour and a social media backlash
The launch of the new season was marked by more than just its broadcast debut. According to reports, RTL celebrated the start with a cinema premiere attended by celebrities, giving the fourth season a red-carpet send-off before viewers at home saw the first episode. When exactly that screening took place, and which well-known faces appeared, has not been confirmed.
The celebratory mood did not last long online. Following the season start, twins Julia and Nina Meise became the focus of criticism on social networks, according to media reports. The precise nature of the backlash — what the sisters said or did to provoke it, and how widespread the reaction was — remains unclear from the available reporting.
What is established is that the Meise twins are among the familiar names attached to the new run, and that their presence has already made them one of the season's talking points. Whether the criticism affects their standing in the game itself is not yet known. For now, the picture is incomplete: a glamourous launch event on one side, an early social media storm on the other, and a season still in its opening stages with much of its story yet to play out.
What to watch for as the season unfolds
The season continues to roll out on RTL and on RTL+, where the first episode is already available to stream, with further episodes set to air on television. According to Hörzu, viewers can expect more celebrities than in previous runs, along with the new twist of a mysterious phone call arriving mid-game — a device reports suggest will shape the intrigue as the weeks progress.
Much remains unknown. RTL has not pinned down the exact launch date within 2026. The full celebrity cast has reportedly been confirmed, but the broadcaster has yet to name the participants publicly. The identities at the centre of the opening episode's drama — the traitor who came close to self-exposure, and the contestant who had to leave — remain undisclosed. How those threads resolve, and whether the reported criticism of the Meise twins fades or grows, will become clear only as the season unfolds.
Frequently asked questions
When does Die Verräter season 4 start?
The fourth season of the German reality show Die Verräter – Vertraue Niemandem! launched in 2026. The exact start date has not been confirmed. The first episode is already available to stream on RTL+, and the season is also being broadcast on RTL television.
Where can I watch Die Verräter season 4?
Season four is available on the streaming service RTL+, where the first episode can already be watched on demand. The season is also airing on RTL's television channel, so viewers can follow it both via streaming and traditional broadcast.
Who hosts Die Verräter season 4?
According to reports, Sonja Zietlow hosts the fourth season. She previously presented the second season of the German adaptation. Ahead of the launch, she reportedly shared first details about the new season on the RTL programme Punkt 12.
What is new in Die Verräter season 4?
According to Hörzu, the new season includes more celebrities than previous runs. Reports also describe a new game element introduced at the start: a mysterious phone call that plays a role in the middle of the game. In the first episode, a traitor reportedly nearly exposed themselves, and one participant had to leave the show.
What is Die Verräter based on?
The show is based on the Dutch format De Verraders, which has been adapted more than 30 times worldwide. Its game concept draws on the social deduction game Mafia from 1986. RTL first brought the German version to air in 2023. Celebrities compete in a castle in a strategy game built around trust and intrigue; the fourth season was reportedly filmed at the 12th-century Château de Mielmont.
Compiled from reporting by 12 independent outlets. How we source our reporting.
