The Circle (American TV series) season 1
| The Circle | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
| File:"The Circle" (poster).jpeg Promotional poster for the series. | |
| Presented by | Michelle Buteau |
| No. of contestants | 14 |
| Winner | Joey Sasso |
| Runner-up | Shubham Goel |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Original release | January 1 – January 15, 2020 |
| Season chronology | |
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The first season of The Circle began on January 1, 2020, on Netflix, and concluded on January 15, 2020. This season was hosted by Michelle Buteau.[1] Ahead of the season, it was announced that players would be competing against each other to become the most popular, but would never actually meet. Instead they would communicate through a specially designed app and be able to portray themselves in any way they choose. Netflix renewed The Circle for a second and third season on March 24, 2020.
On January 15, 2020, the season was won by Joey Sasso, who had played the game as himself, and won the US$100,000 prize that came along with it. Shubham Goel was the runner-up. Sammie Cimarelli won the Fan Favorite award and US$10,000.
Format
The contestants, or "players", move into the same apartment building. However, the contestants do not meet face-to-face during the course of the competition, as they each live in their own individual apartment. They communicate solely using their profiles on a specially-designed social media app that 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 as catfishing.[2]
Throughout the series, the contestants "rate" one another from first to last place. At the end of the ratings, their average ratings are revealed to one another from lowest to highest. Normally, the two highest-rated players become "Influencers", while the remaining players will be at risk of being "blocked" by the Influencers. However, occasionally there may be a twist to the blocking process – varying from the lowest rating players being instantly blocked, the identity of the Influencers being a secret, or multiple players being blocked at one time. Blocked players are eliminated from the game, but are given the opportunity to meet one player still in the game in-person. Then, the day after a blocking, a video message is shown to the remaining players to reveal if they were real or fake.[2]
During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time, where the highest rated player wins the game and US$100,000.[3] Also, fans of The Circle are able to vote for their favorite player. The player that receives the most votes is known as the Fan Favorite and receives US$10,000.[4][5]
Players
The first eight players were announced on The Circle's Instagram on December 16, 2019.[6][7][8] A total of 13 players were selected from the "20–25 individuals" being cleared to appear on the show, with the remaining people never leaving standby status and not appearing on the show.[9] The five players not announced prior to the show's premiere were revealed as they introduced themselves on-screen during an episode.[8][10]
(Ages stated are at start of contest)
| Name | Age | Hometown | Playing as | Entered | Exited | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alana Duval | 25 | Brownsville, Texas | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 1 | Blocked |
| Antonio DePína | 24 | Bear, Delaware[11] | Himself, but single | Episode 1 | Episode 4 | Blocked |
| Karyn Blanco | 37 | The Bronx, New York | "Mercedeze", a slimmer and bisexual 27-year-old | Episode 1 | Episode 6 | Blocked |
| Miranda Bissonnette | 26 | South Lake Tahoe, California | Herself | Episode 2 | Episode 8 | Blocked |
| Bill Cranley | 27 | Chicago, Illinois | Himself | Episode 6 | Episode 9 | Blocked |
| Alex Lake | 32 | Los Angeles, California | "Adam", a sexy 27-year-old | Episode 4 | Episode 9 | Blocked |
| Sean Taylor | 25 | New York City, New York | Herself, but using pictures of her slimmer friend, Colleen (Episodes 6–9) Herself (Episodes 9–10) |
Episode 6 | Episode 10 | Blocked |
| Ed Eason | 23 | Conshohocken, Pennsylvania | Mother and son playing jointly as 26-year-old "Ed" | Episode 8 | Episode 11 | Blocked |
| Tammy Eason | 52 | |||||
| Seaburn Williams | 29 | Boston, Massachusetts | "Rebecca", his 26-year-old girlfriend | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Fifth place |
| Chris Sapphire | 30 | Dallas, Texas | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Fourth place |
| Samantha "Sammie" Cimarelli | 24 | Miami, Florida | Herself, but single | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Third place |
| Shubham Goel | 23 | Danville, California | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Runner-up |
| Joey Sasso | 25 | Rochester, New York | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Winner |
Episodes
On December 29, 2019, The New York Times published an article describing the background and inside of the show. It was revealed that twelve episodes would be airing from January 1 to January 15 with four episodes being released every Wednesday as part of the "three week event."[8] On December 30, 2019, Netflix released a shortened exclusive cut of the first episode on their YouTube channel as a preview to the series.[12]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [13] | Original air date [13] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ' | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | "Hello, Circle" | January 1, 2020 | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Face-to-Face" | January 1, 2020 | |||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "There's a Catfish Among Us" | January 1, 2020 | |||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Planting Doubt" | January 1, 2020 | |||||||||
| ' | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Sliding into DMs" | January 8, 2020 | |||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Anonymous Trolling" | January 8, 2020 | |||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Picking Teams" | January 8, 2020 | |||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Player I'm Saving Is…" | January 8, 2020 | |||||||||
| ' | ||||||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Instant Block" | January 15, 2020 | |||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Declare Your Rival" | January 15, 2020 | |||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Last Rating" | January 15, 2020 | |||||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Finale" | January 15, 2020 | |||||||||
Production
Development
The British version of the show premiered in 2018, and was renewed for its second season a few months after the first season ended.[14][15] After the first season was Channel 4's "youngest profiling" show in six years, according to the British TV industry magazine Broadcast, talks began of international versions.[8] On October 8, 2018, Netflix announced its partnership with All3Media to create three international versions of The 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."[16]
Casting
On April 11, 2019, casting opened for the first season through an online website.[17]
In an interview with Variety, Tim Harcourt, one of the executive producers for Studio Lambert, stated that The Circle format and premise allowed the casting team to search for all different kinds of people. He noted how the casting contrasted from casts on show like Real Housewives or Jersey Shore and how those shows are "all one gang of quite similar characters."[9] He explained how there was no set cast for the show until it was over. The first eight players to enter were all predetermined and planned, but everything after that was all luck to whoever got on. Harcourt stated that the production team would decide who would be the right fit depending on who just left the game, acknowledging that with thirteen contestants, not all who were possible players end up on the show at all.[9]
Filming
In October 2019, it was reported that filming was completed. All filming was done in August 2019 before the British version's second season in September 2019,[18] and was completed in fifteen days.[9] It was also reported that the American version was filmed in Salford, England, using the same apartment building that was used in the second season of the British version.[19] Attempts to obscure the filming location to appear to be in the United States were apparent, including overhead shots of the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee throughout the show, as well as aerial shots of England reversed so the cars appear to be driving on the right side of the road.[20][21]
According to participant Joey Sasso, filming of the show took about a month. The contestants' apartments were brightly-lit in part to allow the cameras to record them, but also to disorientate the players' perception of time; Sasso stated that they often had no idea what day or time of day it was, and he had taken to wearing sunglasses inside to cut off the glare from the lights which had been mistaken as a fashion statement by fans of the show. The contestants were given a few minutes each day to spend on the apartment complex's rooftop space.[22]
Release
On December 10, 2019, a trailer for the American version was released, revealing the premiere date to be January 1, 2020, and the prize amount to be $100,000.[23] On December 29, it was revealed by The New York Times that twelve episodes would be airing from January 1 to January 15 with four episodes being released every Wednesday as part of the "three week event."[8] On December 30, 2019, in order to get more people interested in The Circle, Netflix released a thirty-minute cut of the hour-long first episode of the season on its YouTube channel for free.[12] Then, starting on January 1 and lasting until January 15, Netflix dropped four episodes every week on Wednesday.[8]
Fan Favorite vote
On January 8, 2020, via Twitter and Instagram, The Circle announced that voting had opened for the Fan Favorite award. The player who had received the most votes would win $10,000.[4][5] Voting opened at midnight on January 8, 2020, PST, and lasted until midnight on January 17. The winner of the Fan Favorite vote was revealed to be Sammie Cimarelli[24][25] on The Circle's Instagram on January 17.[26]
Results and elimination
| This player was blocked. | |
| This player was an influencer. | |
| This player was immune from being blocked. |
| Episode 1 | Episode 3 | Episode 5 | Episode 7 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey | 4th | =5th | =4th | 1st | 4th | Not published |
1st | Winner (Episode 12) | |
| Shubham | 8th | =1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | Not published |
2nd | Runner-up (Episode 12) | |
| Sammie | 1st | =5th | 2nd | =4th | 5th | Not published |
3rd | Third place (Episode 12) | |
| Chris | 5th | =1st | =4th | =4th | 3rd | Not published |
4th | Fourth place (Episode 12) | |
| Seaburn "Rebecca" |
6th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | Not published |
5th | Fifth place (Episode 12) | |
| Ed & Tammy "Ed" |
Not in The Circle |
Exempt | Not published |
6th | Blocked (Episode 11) | ||||
| Sean | Not in The Circle |
Exempt | 6th | Not published |
Blocked (Episode 10) | ||||
| Alex "Adam" |
Not in The Circle |
Exempt | 6th | 7th | Blocked (Episode 9) | ||||
| Bill | Not in The Circle |
Exempt | 8th | Blocked (Episode 9) | |||||
| Miranda | Not in The Circle |
Exempt | 6th | 7th | Blocked (Episode 8) | ||||
| Karyn "Mercedeze" |
7th | 4th | 7th | Blocked (Episode 6) | |||||
| Antonio | 2nd | 7th | Blocked (Episode 4) | ||||||
| Alana | 3rd | Blocked (Episode 1) | |||||||
| Notes | none | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Influencers | Antonio, Sammie |
Chris, Shubham |
Sammie, Shubham |
Joey, Shubham |
Seaburn, Shubham |
Joey | none | ||
| Blocked | Alana Influencers' choice to block |
Antonio Influencers' choice to block |
Karyn "Mercedeze" Influencers' choice to block |
Miranda Influencers' choice to not save |
Bill Lowest rated player |
Sean Superinfluencer's choice to block |
Ed & Tammy "Ed" Lowest rated player |
Seaburn "Rebecca" Lowest rated player |
Chris Fourth highest rated player |
| Alex "Adam" Influencers' choice to block |
Sammie Third highest rated player |
Shubham Second highest rated player | |||||||
| Joey Highest rated player | |||||||||
Notes
- ^Note 1 : In Episode 8, the Influencers were not allowed to deliberate over who to block. Instead, the Influencers took turns saving other players with the player not saved being blocked from The Circle. Joey, as the higher rating player, began by saving Sammie, then Shubham saved Seaburn, and Joey saved Chris. With the final selection, Shubham saved Adam, leaving Miranda blocked from The Circle.
- ^Note 2 : In Episode 9, the lowest-rated player, Bill, was immediately blocked from The Circle. Then, the new Influencers went to the Hangout and blocked another player.
- ^Note 3 : In Episode 10, the ratings were not published. Instead, the highest-rated player automatically became the "Superinfluencer," who could make the sole decision on whom to block.
- ^Note 4 : In Episode 11, the players made their final ratings. However, the person who came in the last place was immediately blocked from The Circle before the finale.
Reception
The Circle received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds an 80% approval rating with an average rating of 6 out of 10 based on 15 reviews.[27] The Circle also became the topic of discussion on the sixth episode of I Like to Watch, where drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova reacted to the first episode. Because of the positive reviews and large amount of viewers, Netflix renewed The Circle for a second and third season on March 24, 2020.[28][29]
Once the show began airing, it was well received. Megh Wright from Vulture proclaimed that The Circle is a "fascinating series" that gives a "brutally honest reflection of the fractured way we attempt to connect to each other today."[30] Kate Knibbs from Wired declared it the "best TV show about the internet" that "actually takes its audience places, dramatizing the experience of online social interactions in all their fizz and slipperiness."[31] The show was also praised for its diverse cast and personalities. According to Etan Smallman of The New York Times, this type of diversity is what makes The Circle so unique among other reality TV shows.[8]
Meanwhile, Isaac Feldberg from Fortune told readers to skip The Circle because of "the aggressively irritating manner in which the series been put together."[32] Jerrica Tisdale from Screen Rant called the series a "must-see." She comments on how common it is to "develop entire relationships through solely digital interactions," and that is what The Circle is trying to explore.[33]
Nev Schulman, host and executive producer of Catfish: The TV Show criticized The Circle in an interview with People. He said that when you remove the realistic circumstances and realistic people with normal personalities, it is less entertaining than realism. He also expressed disappointment at the use of the word "catfish"; he cites the definition to be "a complicated person who, for any number of reasons and personal struggles, has found themselves creating a profile of varying veracity or truths to explore, and interact, and discover themselves", whereas on The Circle, players use it to simply call someone a liar. Despite these statements, he admits he still watches and enjoys the show.[34]
Aja Romano of Vox praised The Circle for embracing inauthenticity as a part of social media and human nature as a whole. She likens The Circle to a microcosm of social media, saying "Instead of treating 'being fake on the internet' as a shocking betrayal, The Circle embraces it as something we all do in big and small ways, often in the service of making friends and fitting in." She also praises the cast. She mentions how the cast shares very personal things frequently, even through the anonymity of The Circle. Romano states that the cast developed character arcs, and the production team could get away with making a narrative structure.[35]
References
- ^ @MichelleButeau (December 10, 2019). "I'm hosting this show & you should watch 👇🏽✨💯" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Kuchera, Ben (January 10, 2020). "Netflix's The Circle is the sweetest reality show about catfishing". Polygon. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ WROC Staff (January 15, 2020). "The Circle spoilers: How ROC native Joey Sasso finished on Netflix's new reality show". rochesterfirst.com. RochesterFirst.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b @CircleNetflix (January 8, 2020). "🚨ALERT!🚨 It's time to vote for #TheCircle Fan Favorite. You can decide which player you'd rank #1 and get them $10,000! Go to http://TheCircleVote.com to vote now!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b @thecirclenetflix (January 8, 2020). "🚨ALERT!🚨 It's time to vote for The Circle Fan Favorite. You can decide which player you'd rank #1 and get them $10,000! Tap the link in our bio and vote now☝️". instagram.com. Instagram. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Baty, Emma (December 16, 2019). "Exclusive: Meet the Contestants of Netflix's Crazy New Reality Show 'The Circle'". cosmopolitan.com. Cosmopolitan. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ Jean-Philippe, McKenzie (December 23, 2019). "Netflix's The Circle Cast Is Officially Here—and We're Already Obsessed". oprahmag.com. The Oprah Magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Smallman, Etan (December 29, 2019). "Inside 'The Circle,' Reality TV Gets a Social Media Filter". nytimes.com. London, United Kingdom: The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Turchiano, Danielle (January 1, 2020). "'The Circle' Boss on Connecting 'People Who Otherwise Might Not Have Come into Contact with Each Other' — And Catfishing". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Buczak, Lizzy (2020-02-25). "Exclusive Interview: What's Next for Best Friend Bill from 'The Circle'". CraveyouTV TV Show Recaps, TV Reviews, Spoilers, Interviews. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ "Antonio DePina Basketball Profile". eurobasket.com. EuroBasket. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Netflix (December 30, 2019). "The Circle - EPISODE ONE - Exclusive Cut - Netflix". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "The Circle". netflix.com. Netflix. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Tutton, Charlotte (18 January 2019). "The Circle season 2 confirmed as Channel 4 series returns with a HUGE twist". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ Ling, Thomas. "The Circle series 2 confirmed – but there are going to be some changes". Radio Times. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "Netflix to Adapt UK Unscripted Sensation The Circle with Three Local Versions for Countries Around the World". Hollywood, California: Netflix Media Center. October 8, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Netflix (April 11, 2019). "The Circle - Casting - Netflix". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Haylock, Zoe (January 21, 2020). "The Circle's Creator Guides Us Through the Show's Beautiful Web of Lies". vulture.com. Vulture. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Anderton, Joe. "The Circle may be coming back sooner than you think". Digital Spy.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ White, Brett (January 1, 2020). "'The Circle' on Netflix: Where Was the Reality Show Filmed?". decider.com. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ Wild, Matt (January 6, 2020). "Milwaukee skyline prominently, strangely featured on Netflix reality show 'The Circle'". milwaukeerecord.com. The Milwaukee Record. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ Knibbs, Kate (January 15, 2020). "The Winner of The Circle Opens Up About Life IRL". Wired. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ Netflix (December 10, 2019). "The Circle - A Netflix Reality-Competition Official Trailer Netflix". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ Sheridan, Wade (January 17, 2020). "'The Circle': Sammie Cimarelli wins Fan Favorite". upi.com. UPI. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ @thecirclenetflix (January 17, 2020). "You voted. #TheCircle listened! 🤑 The Circle Fan Favorite and winner of $10,000 is ..." instagram.com. Instagram. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "ALERT! It's Time to Vote for The Circle Fan Favorite!". The Circle. January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "THE CIRCLE: SEASON 1 (2020)". rottentomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Netflix (March 24, 2020). "Moments of Joy from Real Netflix Shows - New season announcements". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Thorne, Will (March 24, 2020). "Netflix Orders More 'Love Is Blind,' 'The Circle,' 'Rhythm + Flow' and Marie Kondo". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Wright, Megh (January 8, 2020). "God Help Me, I Love The Circle". vulture.com. Vulture. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Knibbs, Kate (January 8, 2020). "Netflix's The Circle Is the Best TV Show About the Internet". wired.com. Wired. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Feldberg, Isaac (January 3, 2020). "What to Watch (and Skip) on Netflix and Amazon Prime This Weekend". fortune.com. Fortune. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Tisdale, Jerrica (December 30, 2019). "The Circle: Why You Need to Watch Netflix's Big Brother-Meets-Catfish Reality Series". screenrant.com. Screen Rant. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Heldman, Breanne (January 8, 2020). "Catfish's Nev Schulman Has Some Thoughts About Netflix's Social Media Reality Series The Circle". people.com. People. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Romano, Aja (January 16, 2020). "What Netflix's The Circle gets right about social media". vox.com. Vox. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
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