A Leawood novelist enters "The Traitors" castle
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sherry plotting. Photo Credit: Euan Cherry/NBC
Leawood's Sherry Kuehl writes novels about suburbanites who lie, scheme and get even, and on Thursday she'll try it herself in a Scottish castle on NBC's "The Traitors: New Blood."
The big picture: The U.S. version of "The Traitors" mixed a few non-celebrities into its first season, then went all reality TV stars for the next three.
- This time it's regular people only, and Kuehl was one of 22 picked from more than 80,000 applications.
How it works: Host Alan Cumming, in whatever fabulous thing he's wearing that night, secretly names a few players Traitors.
- Then a game of murder, lies and investigation starts, with up to $250,000 for whichever side wins.
- KC's last connection to the show was Donna Kelce, Travis Kelce's mom, who was banished in Episode 3 last season.
Zoom in: Kuehl, 65, is a former reporter who moved to Leawood in the 2000s. She started emailing her friends about life in the suburbs, and they told her to turn it into a blog.
- Her son, Austin, gave her the push she needed and set it up, naming it Snarky in the Suburbs. The blog then led to five books. "It was a career pivot. You don't have to worry about fact-checking," she tells Axios.
- Her daughter, Bella, pushed her further. "You never shut up," Bella told her. "You need to do a podcast."
- Then Bella sent the casting call. Kuehl said no. Bella kept texting. "She told me, 'You're good at lying, you've been known to gaslight, and you kind of have an attitude problem. Those will play well,'" Kuehl says.
Behind the scenes: The hardest part was the wait. Kuehl got the call driving down Mission Road and had to keep it quiet, then disappeared to Scotland without explaining why.
- She told her husband, Kliff, which turned out to be the risky part. "He cannot tell a lie," she says. "He can't say no comment."
- Kuehl has no such problem. "People who say they don't lie are liars," she says. Her example: Someone asks about the Chiefs game she didn't watch. "I'm going to lie and say the Chiefs were great."
💭 Abbey's thought bubble: I told Sherry I'd been stalking her work all week. "Stalk away," she said. "Stalking is my favorite."
- As a reporter, same.
The latest: NBC has already posted the first seven minutes, in which Cumming tells the cast they're not in Kansas anymore.
- Kuehl's review: "I can't say much yet, but Kansas was represented proudly."
What's next: KC will be rooting for her starting Thursday at 7pm on KSHB 41, and every Thursday after until she's banished, murdered or $250,000 richer.
- Episodes stream on the Peacock app the next day.