The Circle (franchise)

The Circle is a reality competition television franchise, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 in 2018, and subsequently syndicated internationally by Netflix. The show features contestants who live in different apartments in the same apartment complex that is isolated from the outside world. The players are continuously monitored during their stay in the apartments by cameras as well as personal audio microphones. Throughout the course of the competition, they are eliminated, or "blocked", until only one remains and wins the cash prize.

The Circle
The international logo for The Circle
Original workThe Circle (UK)
Films and television
Television seriesThe Circle (independent international versions, see below)
Audio
Original music"The Circle Theme"[1][2]
Miscellaneous
First aired18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)
Distributor
Official website
https://www.thecirclecasting.com/

As of 17 August 2020, four countries have launched their installments to the franchise with a total of five seasons being aired.

Premise and 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 known as catfishing; 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.[3]

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.[3]

During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time, where the highest rated player wins the game and the cash prize. Some versions of the show also feature a "Fan Favourite" award in which viewer's vote for their favourite player to receive to a smaller cash prize.

History

Concept

Tim Harcourt is the creative director of Studio Lambert, which produces the British and American versions of the show. Harcourt wondered what a reality show would look like if the people never met face-to-face. He had also been considering the idea of a bird's-eye view-style documentary of an apartment building, seeing into each of their lives. He began to work on The Circle after hearing that Channel 4 was looking for a reality-show format centered on social media.[4]

International development

The British version of the show premiered in 2018, and was renewed for its second series a few months after the first season ended.[5][6] After the first series was Channel 4's "youngest profiling" show in six years, according to the British TV industry magazine Broadcast, talks began of international versions.[4] On 8 October 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."[7]

The first international version, The Circle in the United States, premiered on 1 January 2020. Soon after, The Circle Brazil started airing on 11 March 2020 and ended on 25 March. Two weeks later, the entire first season of The Circle France was released on 9 April.

On 15 June 2020, Channel 4 announced that they were commissioning The Celebrity Circle, a celebrity version of The Circle as a fundraised to the Stand Up to Cancer campaign in the UK.[8]

Versions

On 9 October 2018, it was announced that three localised versions have been commissioned by Netflix for three countries; the United States, Brazil, and France.[9][10][11][12][13][14] In October 2019, it was announced that the American version had been filmed, and the Brazilian version had headed into its pre-production phase.[15]

     Franchise with a currently airing season
     Franchise with an upcoming season
     Franchise with an unknown status
     Franchise awaiting confirmation
     Franchise that has ceased to air
Country/Region Local title
English title		 Network Series and winners Host(s) Narrator(s)
 Brazil The Circle Brasil
The Circle Brazil		 Netflix
  • Season 1, 2020: Marina Gregory
 France The Circle Game
The Circle France		 Netflix
  • Season 1, 2020: Romain Ben
  • None
  • Alfred Gerbet
 United Kingdom The Circle Channel 4
The Celebrity Circle for Stand Up To Cancer
  • Season 1, 2021: Upcoming season
 United States The Circle Netflix
  • Season 1, 2020: Joey Sasso
  • Season 2, TBA: Upcoming season
  • Season 3, TBA: Upcoming season
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gollark: Also TechCorp in various iterations but that is down.
gollark: Also "obsidian computing" but it was bad and may be gone.
gollark: CodersNet, Switchcraft.

References
  1. "About". www.patrizio-knight.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. Knight, Patrizio. "The Circle Theme (Extended)". Soundcloud. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. Kuchera, Ben (10 January 2020). "Netflix's The Circle is the sweetest reality show about catfishing". Polygon. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  4. Smallman, Etan (29 December 2019). "Inside 'The Circle,' Reality TV Gets a Social Media Filter". nytimes.com. London, United Kingdom: The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  5. 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.
  6. Ling, Thomas. "The Circle series 2 confirmed – but there are going to be some changes". Radio Times. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. "Netflix to Adapt UK Unscripted Sensation The Circle with Three Local Versions for Countries Around the World". Hollywood, California: Netflix Media Center. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  8. Kanter, Jake (15 June 2020). "'The Circle': Channel 4 Confirms Season 3 & Celebrity Edition, As Studio Lambert Tweaks Format Amid COVID-19". deadline.com. Deadline. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  9. Burton, Charlie. "The Circle finale made one massive mistake". www.gq-magazine.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  10. Deen, Sarah (9 October 2018). "The Circle US is coming as Netflix plan three versions of the Channel 4 series". www.metro.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  11. Fullerton, Huw. "Netflix to remake reality show The Circle in three new countries including the US". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  12. Mitchell, Bea (9 October 2018). "Netflix snaps up The Circle for new worldwide series". www.digitalspy.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  13. "Channel 4's The Circle winner revealed". BBC News. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  14. "'The Circle': Netflix Lines Up French & Brazilian Remakes As Studio Lambert Uses UK Hub For Reality Format". 18 December 2018.
  15. Anderton, Joe. "The Circle may be coming back sooner than you think". Digital Spy.
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