| The Circle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality competition |
| Presented by | Michelle Buteau |
| Starring | The Circle contestants |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 90(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | |
| Running time | 44–63 minutes |
| Production company | Studio Lambert |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) – October 2, 2024 (2024-10-02) |
| Related | |
| The Circle franchise | |
The Circle (sometimes calledThe Circle US[1][2] to differentiate from other international versions) is an Americanreality competition television series, produced byStudio Lambert and Motion Content Group, that first aired onNetflix in January 2020. It is based on the originalBritish TV series of the same name.[3] Alongside the American version ofThe Circle, Netflix also launched different versions inFrance andBrazil, as part of a partnership between Netflix andAll3Media.[4] The series bills itself as a game based around social media, with the concept that "anyone can be anyone in The Circle." It has been compared toBig Brother andCatfish in format,[5] as well asBlack Mirror episode "Nosedive" with the concept of ratings.[6]
The series was renewed for a fourth and fifth season in August 2021.[7] The fourth season premiered on May 4, 2022, and concluded on May 25.[8] The fifth season, titledThe Circle Singles, premiered on December 28, 2022.
In October 2021, it was reported that after filming of the fifth season had been completed, the block of apartments used to film most seasons of the entireThe Circle franchise were being dismantled and converted back into regular housing.[9] In September 2023, it was reported that a new apartment block had been setup for filming inAtlanta, Georgia, and filming of an unannounced sixth season was underway.[10] In November 2023, Netflix officially announced thatThe Circle had been renewed for a sixth and seventh season, both of which had already been filmed.[11] The sixth season premiered on April 17, 2024; the seventh season aired on September 11, 2024.[12][13]
A number of players move into separate apartments within the same building. While playing, contestants are kept isolated from the outside world and each other, and are not allowed to meet or communicate with each other face-to-face. Instead, they communicate via text on a specially designedsocial media application that – through photographs, biographies, and text chat – gives them the ability to portray themselves in any way they choose. Players can thus opt to present themselves as a completely different personality to the other players, a tactic otherwise known ascatfishing; for example, one male player in the first season presented himself as a female identity, while another female contestant used photos of a woman she felt was more attractive.[14]
Every few days, each contestant must secretly "rate" all of the others from first to last place; their average ratings are then revealed to the entire group from lowest to highest. Normally, the two highest-rated players become "Influencers", while the remaining players are at risk of being eliminated from the game ("blocked") by mutual agreement of the Influencers. Occasionally there may be twists to the blocking process; these include the lowest-rated player(s) being instantly blocked, the identity of the Influencers being a secret, or multiple players being blocked at one time. Blocked players must pack up and leave their apartments immediately, but are given the opportunity to meet and converse with one active player of their choosing in-person. The day after a blocking, a video message is shown to the remaining players to reveal whether the blocked player was real or a "catfish".[14]
Over the first two-thirds of the season, following most blockings, one or more new players will typically enter the game. These players receive immunity for their first blocking, though they participate in ranking the others, after which they become vulnerable to elimination.
During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time; the highest-rated player wins the game andUS$100,000 (seasons 1-3/5-6),US$150,000 (season 4). Additionally, viewers are able to vote for their favorite player; the player that receives the most votes is declared "Fan Favorite" and receivesUS$10,000.[15][16]
| Season | Players | Winner | Runner-up | Fan favorite | Prize | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Joey Sasso | Shubham Goel | Samantha "Sammie" Cimarelli | $100,000 | 12 | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) | January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15) | |
| 2 | 11 | DeLeesa St. Agatheas "Trevor" | Chloe Veitch | Chloe Veitch | 13 | April 14, 2021 (2021-04-14) | May 5, 2021 (2021-05-05) | ||
| 3 | 13 | James Andre Jefferson Jr. | Matthew Pappadiaas "Ashley" | Keisha "Kai" Ghost | 13 | September 8, 2021 (2021-09-08) | September 29, 2021 (2021-09-29) | ||
| 4 | 13 | Frank Grimsley | Trevor St. Agatheas "Imani" | Josh "Bru" Brubaker | $150,000 | 13 | May 4, 2022 (2022-05-04) | May 25, 2022 (2022-05-25) | |
| 5 | 13 | Sam Carmona | Chaz Lawery | — | $100,000 | 13 | December 28, 2022 (2022-12-28) | January 18, 2023 (2023-01-18) | |
| 6 | 11 | Brandon Bakeras "Olivia" | Kyle Fuller | 13 | April 17, 2024 (2024-04-17) | May 8, 2024 (2024-05-08) | |||
| 7 | 10 | Nicky and Jojo Scarlottaas "Gianna" | Kevin Fernandez | 13 | September 11, 2024 (2024-09-11) | October 2, 2024 (2024-10-02) | |||
Tim Harcourt is the creative director ofStudio Lambert, which produces the British and American versions of the show. Harcourt wondered what areality show would look like if the people never met face-to-face. He had also been considering the idea of abird's-eye view-style documentary of an apartment building, seeing into each of their lives. He began to work onThe Circle after hearing thatChannel 4 was looking for a reality-show format centered on social media.[17]
The British version of the show premiered in 2018, and was renewed for its second season a few months after the first season ended.[18][19] After the first season wasChannel 4's "youngest profiling" show in six years, according to the British TV industry magazineBroadcast, talks began of international versions.[17] On October 8, 2018,Netflix announced its partnership withAll3Media to create three international versions ofThe Circle on Netflix, including the American version. Brandon Reigg, Netflix's Vice Principal of Unscripted Content, stated, "We think the show's combination of modern social media interaction and competition will captivate Netflix members around the world, in multiple languages, and we're delighted to partner with Studio Lambert and Motion to produce these three new local versions."[20]
On March 24, 2020,Netflix renewedThe Circle for a second and third season.[21]
Each apartment that the players live in is equipped with screens in every room in order for the players to be able to hold conversations with other players as they go about their everyday lives. Each player starts out the game by creating a profile. This includes sharing their age,relationship status, a shortbio, and one photo to use as theirprofile picture. Every day, the players are allowed to share a status update, explaining their thoughts for the day. Sometimes, either through rewards or passing a certain milestone, the players are allowed to upload another photo to their profile.[22] Throughout the competition the Circle app remains the only way players can communicate with each other.[22]
During a typical episode, the Circle prompts participation in aminigame. Tim Harcourt ofStudio Lambert says that "some games were really good for bonding them, some were really good for them learning about each other, some were good for testing who's a catfish, some could have been more divisive."[22]
Most episodes also included a rating exercise. Each player would rank others in The Circle, then an average score would determine the overall placements of each player. Depending on how high or low their average placement was, the player's ranking would determine whether they became an influencer. Typically the two players with the top rankings would be Influencers, with the advantage of determining the player being eliminated, or "blocked."[22][23]
Seasons 1-5 ofThe Circle US were shot entirely in the same apartment building inSalford, England, as the other international versions except for the first series of the original UK show.[24] The apartment building is always prepared with twelve furnished and ready-to-use apartments for the players to live in.[25] The building also has an exercise room and a rooftop lounge, which are also outfitted with cameras and television screens.[26] One room in the building, called "the testimonial room," is the room players go to after they are blocked to create their goodbye video to the remaining players.[27] On the outside of the building is a large, lit up circle made of a roughly 82-foot (25-meter) diameter aluminum track withLED lights strung through and around the circle.[25]
Opposite the apartment building was the control room, which was previously part of the Salford University campus that became disused.[25] At any time in the control room, there were between twenty and thirty producers and camera operators working, recording, and sending all the messages from The Circle.[25] In 2019 and 2020 Sean Boyd and the You Are Home team made the contestants apartments available to book via Airbnb in between filming.
Seasons 6-7 were filmed in Atlanta, Georgia.[28]
