Million Dollar Secret: The best secret on Netflix

If you're also sick of paying for 300 streaming services and missed out on Traitors, let me introduce you to Netflix's attempt at a strategic, backstabbing reality show of the best kind. Million Dollar Secret is everything you've been looking for without the celebrity contestants.

One of the things I love most about the show is the diversity of the cast. Of course, you have your bottle service babe from Scottsdale, Sydnee, and the token country guy, Kyle, but there is so much depth to the cast that you learn along the way. The benefit of not having a celebrity cast is that every twist is shocking.

You learn about the cast as the other players do, and what they reveal about themselves as players and people keeps you guessing every step of the way.

The best secret on Netflix might just be Million Dollar Secret

There are no surprises who the millionaire is, as you find out each time it's shuffled among the players. Still, various missions assigned by host Peter Serafinowicz make each change-up increasingly tricky. Whenever you root for a player, they must make a deceptive move that makes you question if they'll survive the subsequent elimination.

Initially, the strategy is to guess who has the million dollars in their animal-themed box and vote them out. Since there's no incentive for catching the millionaire, as the money can shift regardless of whether they're caught or not, the players briefly change their mission and start voting out players they think are the biggest threats.

The first millionaire: Lauren

I liked Lauren and was rooting for her. The initial guilt she felt lying to get through random missions like slipping popular song lyrics into conversation and hugging every player was endearing. She didn't have great odds of winning as the first one to hold on to the secret, but her fatal flaw was the absolute 180 she did when revealing she was the secret millionaire.

After surviving the first elimination and throwing house dad Harry under the bus, she decides, for some unhinged reason, to tell the players that she is the millionaire. She also refuses to share everything about her mystery assignments and positions herself as a strong player in the game.

The guilt disappeared pretty fast and was replaced with a power trip. Most of the other potential millionaires did not take well to her new, and not so improved cocky attitude.

Jaimi, the life coach who can't seem to keep her cool, and Sydnee, the previously mentioned bombshell, soured over Lauren's new attitude, creating the first real divide in the stag.

The second millionaire: Phil

Phil was another popular player in the house, but skipping his first challenge hurt his game. His second mission was to get two players to scream out loud. He accomplished this by using his chipped tooth pain as a reason to need to release his frustrations, and convinced several other players to scream along with him to get out their angst.

While some of the challenges are a bit half-hearted, like solving riddles to move various creatures into tanks with their coordinating riddle, some are stretching that budget for every penny. The contestants spend one challenge as a team of three going through various legs of a race to make host Peter, who has been begging for cocktail service all season, a drink.

The majority of the challenge takes place on a glacier. If only The GOAT had this kind of production budget.

Even though Phil and his team, including Sydnee and Kyle, went to the trophy room, their clue to the millionaire was so painfully evident that there was no way Phil was getting out of this jam. The clue was Phil's challenge, or agenda, as they're known, was inspired by a horror movie.

It turns out that more than one of the players is familiar with one of the most famous franchises in the horror genre. Scream, which has about 50 sequels by now. Pack your bags, Philly boy.

Voting with his heart instead of his head also sealed Phil's fate. He lost his footing in the game when he chose to save Sydnee, one of the most strategic players in the house, in the prior vote and eliminate Lauren. Lauren would not have lasted until the end anyway.

She had turned too many players against her, and Sydnee has multiple strong alliances in the game. The cast sniffed out Phil early on as the millionaire, especially getting more specific as the episodes continued.

The third millionaire: Sam

Initially, Sam was one of my least favorite players in the game. Claiming she was a cop and could sniff out liars fast, I felt like she came in way too hot. Sure, she picked out Lauren almost immediately, but her opting out of breakfast to nap (honestly, relatable) sent up red flags for the other players. She seemed standoffish and not willing to bond with the other players.

Sam has grown on me as the show progresses, especially since she was the only millionaire to successfully hold on to the cash and her spot in the house. Some players are catching on that she may be more than a stay-at-home mom, especially with the clue hanging over their heads that there's a liar in their midst. Well, yeah. I'm not sure why everyone is so offended by the lie. How else are you supposed to hold on to that bag, or box, in this case?

Luckily, while the players close in on Sam as the millionaire, Chris has shot himself in the foot enough times to get the boot. His increasingly obnoxious attitude, manipulation, and backstabbing of his main alliance, Sydnee, left a sour taste in enough players' mouths that he was given the boot, even though almost everyone seemed positive that Sam was the millionaire.

As Justin Timberlake would say, "bye, bye, bye" Chris.

When is the Million Dollar Secret finale? The next episodes of Million Dollar Secret drop Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Let's hope it's also picked up for several other seasons.

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