The first season of the American reality competition streaming series The Circle began on January 1, 2020, on Netflix, and concluded on January 15, 2020. This season was hosted by Michelle Buteau.
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 prize that came along with it. Shubham Goel was the runner-up. Sammie Cimarelli won the Fan Favorite award 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 otherwise known as catfishing.
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 . 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 .
Players
The first eight players were announced on The Circles Instagram on December 16, 2019. 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. The five players not announced prior to the show's premiere were revealed as they introduced themselves on-screen during an episode.
(Ages stated are at start of contest)
Other appearances
Alana Duval previously competed on The Face Season 2. Joey Sasso has starred in Faraway Bae and Match Me If You Can; he also appeared on four episodes of General Hospital, Dick Dickster, and Girls5eva and will also star in Young Lion of the West, along with writer and producer credits on the project. Joey and Sammie Cimarelli starred on Netflix’s Reality Games and were 2 of the 4 players representing team "The Circle". Shubham Goel has starred in the shorts Baby Cycle, Los Pollitos, and The Bench; he is also set to star in the movie Go Karts R Funner Than Girls, and he later returned to compete in the fifth season of The Circle. Ed Eason starred on season 37 of The Challenge. Tammy Eason appeared on two episodes of The Way to Go. Bill Canley starred on Chicago P.D. in the episode, 43rd and Normal. He will also star in the show Complete Bull which will be released in 2022. Karyn Blanco will star in Face Behind the Dream/I which will be released in September 2022.
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."