| Season Name: | The Circle | ||||||
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| Network: | Netflix | ||||||
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| Num Episodes: | 13 |
The sixth season of the American reality competition streaming series The Circle premiered on Netflix on April 17, 2024. Michelle Buteau returned as host. Players compete without ever actually meeting in person; they communicate through a simulated social media interface, portraying themselves in any way they choose.
The 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.[1]
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.
During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time, where the highest rated player wins the game and .[2]
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 entire The Circle franchise were being dismantled and converted back into regular housing.[3] In September 2023, it was reported that a new apartment block had been setup for filming in Atlanta, Georgia, and filming of an unannounced sixth season was underway.[4] In November 2023, Netflix officially announced that The Circle had been renewed for a sixth and seventh season, both of which had already been filmed.[5] The sixth season premiered on April 17, 2024.[6]
Michelle Buteau, who hosted the first five seasons, returned for the sixth.
This seasons introduced a new twist, an AI player. The AI used was not brand-new but created from open-source AI trained on past episodes of The Circle. The AI then created its own profile choosing Max, a 26 year old veterinarian intern. When asked to explain the decisions behind the profile, Max explained he chose to be 26 as then he can "leverage life experience and maturity while still playing youthful and having position flexibility."[7] When choosing a profile picture, Max chose one with his dog, Pippa, as "studies show photos with dogs receive 38% more likes on social media." He even came up with the name Pippa. Max struggled with confrontation and when asked to help determine if Paul was the AI, quickly left the chat. The AI system itself has a built in "moral code" that stops him from expressing negative or mean thoughts. Another struggle of Max's - flirting. What Max did grasp, and even the producers were surprised by, was his use of hashtags and understanding the nuances and references behind them.[8]
See main article: List of The Circle (American TV series) contestants. The contestants were announced on April 16, 2024.[9]
| Steffi Hill | 35 | Herself | Episode 1 | nowrap | Episode 5 | Blocked | [10] |
| A.I. Bot | A 26-year-old veterinary intern, "Max" | Episode 1 | Episode 5 | Left | |||
| Cassie Saylor | 29 | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 7 | Blocked | ||
| Caress Alon | 37 | Her younger brother, "Paul" | Episode 1 | Episode 9 | Blocked | [11] | |
| 21 | Herself | Episode 11 | Blocked | ||||
| Myles Reed | 29 | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 13 | Blocked | [12] | |
| Lauren LaChant | 26 | Herself | Episode 1 | nowrap | Episode 13 | [13] | |
| Jordan Staff | 24 | Himself, but younger (22), and from before his weight loss | Episode 13 | ||||
| 26 | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 13 | Third place | |||
| Kyle Fuller | 31 | Himself, but as a single basketball trainer | Episode 1 | Episode 13 | Runner-up | ||
| Brandon Baker | 34 | His friend, "Olivia" | Episode 13 | Winner |
| Jordan & Quori-Tyler | |
| Kyle & "Paul" | |
| Lauren & Autumn | |
| Myles & "Olivia" |
| Brandon "Olivia" | 1st | Not published | 6th | Not published | 2nd | Not published | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle | 4th | Not published | 1st | Not published | 5th | Not published | Runner-up (Episode 13) | |
| Quori-Tyler | Not in | Not published | 2nd | Not published | 1st | Not published | Third place (Episode 13) | |
| Jordan | Not in | Exempt | Not published | 6th | Not published | (Episode 13) | ||
| Lauren | 2nd | Not published | 3rd | Not published | 4th | Not published | Fifth place (Episode 13) | |
| Myles | =5th | 1st | 4th | Not published | 3rd | Not published | Blocked | |
| Autumn | Not in | Exempt | Not published | 7th | Blocked | |||
| Caress "Paul" | 7th | Not published | 5th | Not published | Blocked | |||
| Cassie | =5th | Not published | 7th | Blocked | ||||
| A.I. Bot "Max" | Not in | Not published | Left | |||||
| Steffi | 3rd | Not published | Blocked | |||||
| Notes | 1 | 2 | none | 3,4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| Influencer(s) | Brandon, Lauren | Myles | Kyle, Quori-Tyler | none | Quori-Tyler, Jordan | Brandon | none | |
| Left | none | A.I. Bot "Max" | none | |||||
| Blocked | Steffi Myles' choice to block | Cassie Influencers' choice to block | Caress choice to sacrifice | Autumn Influencers' choice to block | Myles Superinfluencer's choice to block | Lauren Lowest rated player | Jordan Fourth highest rated player | |
| Quori-Tyler rated player | Kyle Second highest rated player | |||||||
| Brandon Highest rated player | ||||||||