Over a holiday weekend in January, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, fairly quietly dropped a 10-episode reality show about a murder mystery contest called “”traitors.” Hosted by Alan Cumming and featuring 20 contestants — 10 of whom have previously appeared on reality shows like “Survivor,” “Below Deck,” “Big Brother,” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” ” — contested for $250,000, the show quickly created a buzz of excitement among viewers and critics alike.
Write to NPR, Linda Holmes praised Cumming’s excellent performance. “Marching around in a series of plaids, capes, hats, bright colors and anything else that is festive, he is invest. Alike, invest. You can feed a lion an antelope, a large hot dog pizza, and an ice cream sandwich, and you won’t see that lion make a meal of those things the way Alan does. Cumming made a meal while hosting this show.
The planning and packaging for “Traitors” was fun, said Cumming, “The funny thing is that I’m about to play a character on a competitive reality show, which is a bit unusual. So clothes are important and my hairstylist, Sam Spector, took a lot of my clothes from the upstairs closet but then, you know, added belts, berries and pins and all this to make them that much more impressive.
We asked Cumming about packing for “Traitors,” the things he can’t live without while away from home, and the essentials he brings with him to help him survive what he’s lost. he calls “the humiliation of travel”.
When asked, “What do you always bring when you travel that other people might find odd?” Cumming replied without hesitation, “A hard little ball. One of those little, hard, little balls that you roll on your back.”
In addition to her massage ball, Cumming told Underscored, “I always have a facial mist. I love facial mists. I steal all of them from planes and everything, so I have a whole series, but I don’t have a particular brand. There is a Kiehl’s toner that I like, and then La Mer has one. Apparently it costs $75,000 and I’ve been using it for years. ”
Of her facial mists and toners, Cumming says, “I keep them in the fridge and then take them out at night, but I always bring one with me when I travel.”
Cumming says he never travels without swimming trunks, goggles, and flip flops, “Because,” he reminds, “you guys always want flip-flops.”
Cumming is also a fan of wool socks, which he finds essential for travel. “I always use them as slippers. I just love wearing woolen socks when I go to hotel rooms.”
“I have a pair of black silk pajamas that I can wear to dinner – I don’t use them as pajamas. They roll up easily, don’t take up much space, and they look like a stylish choice for dinner or parties, but they’re actually pajamas,” he said.
When it comes to luggage, Cumming has a related problem. “I actually just talked to my husband about how we have to streamline our luggage because it’s crazy how many different types we have. And then, you know, the bag with wheels. push inside the big wheelie bag, and it’s like killing me.” One item he won’t be part of, once the baggage clearance process begins, is his scooter suitcase. “My favorite thing that I have is a little carry-on bag – it’s a scooter, it folds up into a scooter and it’s the best thing ever.”
Another airplane device that Cumming doesn’t leave the house with is his Beats headphones. “Over-the-ear headphones help cancel out the noise and also don’t hear all of the announcements. To me, it seems like there are more in-flight announcements now than ever before.”
Of course, no trip would be complete without a good book. Cumming, who says he “reads a lot,” has shared some of his current favorites, including Peter McGough’s memoir about his life with artist David McDermott.
When asked about the best book he’s recently read on a plane, Cumming said: “I read ‘Young Mungo’ by Douglas Stuart, who won the Booker Prize a few years ago. It’s about the working-class sector. Glasgow and all that sort of thing about young boys and fights and everything that goes on, but this tender love story is at the heart of it. read this really disturbing piece of violence, and then the guy said, ‘Oh, we’re landing.’ And I landed IN Glasgow. It’s really the worst thing to read as soon as you set foot on Glasgow soil.”
Cumming admits he brought too much baggage for “Traitors” – “I’m like a donkey to Scotland” – an issue further complicated by the generosity of the show’s wardrobe. “They gave me a few things that weren’t mine. The capes! I have two robes now. I never thought I would own one. Layering is one of my hobbies. my biggest, and the cape is a model of layering.”
The wardrobe group’s generosity doesn’t end with gowns; Cumming also returned home with “sandals and all this weird stuff” donated by his clients. Among the sandals was a pair with a matching message like “Traitors,” “One said THE and the other said END.”
