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| Network: | Netflix | ||||||||||||
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| Num Episodes: | 13 |
The third season of the American reality competition streaming series The Circle began on Netflix on September 8, 2021, and concluded on September 29, 2021.[1] The season was announced in March 2020 when Netflix renewed The Circle for a second and third season. Michelle Buteau returned as host.
Like the previous seasons, players compete against each other to become the most popular, but do not actually meet their competitors. Instead, they communicate through a specially designed app and are able to portray themselves in any way they choose.[2] In August 2021 ahead of the season premiere, the series was renewed for a fourth and fifth season.[3]
On September 29, 2021, the season was won by James Andre Jefferson Jr., who had played the game as himself, and won the US$100,000 prize that came along with it. Matthew Pappadia as "Ashley" was the runner-up. Keisha "Kai" Ghost won the Fan Favorite award and US$10,000.
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.[4]
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. A video message is shown to the remaining players to reveal if they were real or fake the day after.
During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time, where the highest rated player wins the game and US$100,000. 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.
See main article: List of The Circle (American TV series) contestants.
| Name[5] | Age | Hometown | Playing as | Entered | Exited | Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle Rider | 52 | Pacolet, South Carolina | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 3 | Blocked | ||||
| Ava Marie Capra | 25 | The Bronx, New York | Ava, but not revealing the presence of her sister Chanel in the game | A clone of "Michelle" | Episode 1 | Episode 5 | Blocked | |||
| Chanel Marie Capra | 42 | |||||||||
| Calvin Kiing Crooks | 30 | Miami, Florida | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 7 | Blocked | ||||
| Rachel Ward | 24 | Los Angeles, California | "Jackson", her best friend's boyfriend | Episode 3 | Episode 9 | Blocked | ||||
| Ruksana Carroll | 35 | Union, New Jersey | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 9 | Blocked | ||||
| Daniel Cusimano | 20 | Palm Harbor, Florida | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 11 | Blocked | ||||
| Jacki Jing | 33 | Los Angeles, California | Herself | Episode 9 | Episode 12 | Blocked | ||||
| Nick Uhlenhuth | 27 | Louisville, Kentucky | Himself, but as a drummer | Episode 1 | Episode 13 | Fifth place | ||||
| "Vince", a ghost hunter | ||||||||||
| Keisha "Kai" Ghost | 30 | Nashville, Tennessee | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 13 | Fourth place | ||||
| Sophia Layne | 22 | Fort Walton Beach, Florida | "Isabella", her older sister | Episode 3 | Episode 13 | Third place | ||||
| Matthew Pappadia | 29 | Long Island, New York | "Ashley", his best friend, but bisexual | Episode 1 | Episode 13 | Runner-up | ||||
| James Andre Jefferson Jr. | 30 | Los Angeles, California | Himself, but single | Episode 6 | Episode 13 | bgcolor=gold | Winner | |||
In 2023, Calvin and Nick competed on the first season of Perfect Match.
| Episode 1 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 6 | Episode 8 | Episode 10 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 4th | 1st | Not published | Winner | ||||
| Matthew "Ashley" | =4th | to block | =5th | 1st | 3rd | 4th | Not published | Runner-up (Episode 13) | ||
| Sophia "Isabella" | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 2nd | 7th | 6th | Not published | Third Place (Episode 13) | |||
| Kai | 1st | to block | 2nd | 3rd | 8th | 3rd | Not published | (Episode 13) | ||
| Nick | =4th | to block | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 2nd | Not published | Fifth Place (Episode 13) | ||
| Jacki | Not in The Circle | Exempt | Not published | Blocked | ||||||
| Daniel | 3rd | to block | 4th | 7th | 2nd | 5th | Blocked | |||
| Ruksana | 7th | to block | 1st | 6th | 6th | Blocked | ||||
| Rachel "Jackson" | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 8th | 5th | Blocked | |||||
| Calvin | 2nd | to block | =5th | 5th | Blocked | |||||
"Ava" | 6th | Not eligible | 7th | Blocked | ||||||
| Michelle | 8th | Not eligible | Blocked | |||||||
| Notes | 1, 2 | 2, 3 | none | 4, 5 | none | 6 | 7 | |||
| Influencer(s) | Kai | none | Kai, Ruksana | Matthew, Sophia | Daniel, Nick | James, Nick | James, Nick | none | ||
| Blocked | Ava & Chanel "Ava" Sole Influencer's choice to block | Michelle | Ava & Chanel "Michelle" Influencers' choice to block | Calvin Influencers' choice to block | "Jackson" Daniel's choice to block | Daniel Influencers' choice to block | Jacki Secret Influencers' choice to block | Nick Lowest rated player | Kai Fourth highest rated player | |
| Ruksana Nick's choice to block | "Isabella" rated player | "Ashley" Second highest rated player | ||||||||
| James Highest rated player | ||||||||||