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The Circle (British TV series)

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This article is about the British show. For other editions, see The Circle (franchise).

The Circle
GenreReality
Creative directorTim Harcourt
Presented by
Narrated bySophie Willan
Theme music composerPatrizio Knight
Opening theme"The Circle Theme"[1][2]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes61
Production
Executive producers
  • Tim Harcout
  • Daisy Lilly
  • Toni Ireland
  • Cam de la Huerta
  • Martin Oxley
Camera setupFixed rig
Running time60-95 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companiesStudio Lambert[3]
Motion Content Group
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release18 September 2018 (2018-09-18) –
9 April 2021 (2021-04-09)
Related

The Circle, sometimes called The Circle UK,[A] is a British reality television game show and the original version of The Circle franchise. Produced by Studio Lambert and Motion Content Group and airing on Channel 4, the show bills itself as a game based around social media, with the concept that "anyone can be anyone in The Circle". Throughout the show, contestants live in the same apartment building but are never allowed to meet. The show is narrated by Sophie Willan, whilst the first and last episode of the first series were hosted by Maya Jama and Alice Levine (later replaced by Emma Willis from the second series onwards). The show has been compared to Big Brother and Catfish in format,[5] as well as Black Mirror episode "Nosedive" with the concept of having to rate other people.[6]

The first series was won by 26-year-old Internet comedian Alex Hobern, who had played the game claiming to be a 25-year-old woman called Kate, using photos of his real-life girlfriend Millie. Hobern also won the "viewers champion" for an additional £25,000, claiming £75,000 in total. The second series was won by Paddy Smyth, with Tim Wilson winning the "viewers champion" vote. In June 2020, The Circle was renewed for a third series. The Celebrity Circle was also announced.[7] The Circle was cancelled in May 2021.[8] However, Studio Lambert are reportedly in talks with Netflix to launch the British version of the show on the streaming service.[9]

Format

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The show's contestants ("players") all move into a refurbished block of flats in Salford, though series 1 was filmed in London. Contestants do not meet face-to-face during the competition, living in individual flats and communicating through messaging devices. Messaging profiles are created as a genuine or altered representation of the player, or as somebody else. Multiple players can play as one profile, sharing an apartment: One profile can be played by multiple players, with a slight differentiation so that messages can be sent to one or the other player .[10][11][12]

The players rate each other throughout the game. In series 1, the players rated each other from 1 to 5 stars. At the end of the rating, average scores were revealed. Players after series 1 rank the other players. Eliminations (or "blockings") occur commonly when selected players, commonly the highest rated in a rating, become "influencers". On occasion rules are amended, for example the lowest rating players could be instantly blocked, the influencers' identity has been withheld, or multiple players have been blocked. Blocked players are eliminated from the game and are given an opportunity to briefly meet one player still in the game. Normally, blocked players are replaced by a new player.

During the final, the contestants rate each other one final time, the highest rated player/s wins the series and receives a cash prize. The amount was £50,000 in series 1, £70,000 in series 2 and £100,000 in series 3.[12][11]

Viewers also have been able to choose a "viewers' champion" from the finalists, who would receive £25,000 in series 1 and £30,000 in series 2. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the third series was pre-recorded, meaning the viewers' vote could not take place.

Production

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The Circle app

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Each apartment that the players live in is plastered with screens in every room in order for the players to be able to hold conversations with other players as they go about their everyday lives. Each player starts out the game by creating a profile. This includes sharing their age, relationship status, a short bio, and one photo to use as their profile picture. Every day, the players are allowed to share a status update, explaining their thoughts for the day. Sometimes, either through rewards or passing a certain milestone, the players are allowed to upload another photo to their profile.[13] Throughout the competition the Circle app remains the only way players can communicate with each other.[13]

During a typical episode, the Circle prompts participation in a minigame. Tim Harcourt of Studio Lambert says that "some games were really good for bonding them, some were really good for them learning about each other, some were good for testing who's a catfish, some could have been more divisive."[13]

Most episodes also included a rating exercise. Each player would rank others in The Circle, then an average score would determine the overall placements of each player. Depending on how high or low their average placement was, the player's ranking would determine whether they became an influencer. Typically, the two players with the top rankings would be Influencers, with the advantage of determining the player being eliminated, or "blocked."[13][14]

Apartment building

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The first season of the show was produced in London.

From the second season of The Circle, production was moved to a new apartment building in Salford, England⁣ – this also became the location of production for other versions of the show.[15] The apartment building is always prepared with twelve furnished and ready-to-use apartments for the players to live in.[16] The building also has an exercise room and a rooftop lounge, which are also outfitted with cameras and television screens.[17] One room in the building, called "the testimonial room," is the room players go to after they are blocked to create their goodbye video to the remaining players.[18] On the outside of the building is a large, lit up circle made of a roughly 25-metre (82 ft) diameter aluminium track with LED lights strung through and around the circle.[16]

Opposite the apartment building was the control room, which was previously a college campus that became disused.[16] At any time in the control room, there were between twenty and thirty producers and camera operators working, recording, and sending all the messages from The Circle.[16]

Series overview

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Broadcast history of The Circle
SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedPlayersWinnerRunner-up
First airedLast aired
11818 September 2018 (2018-09-18)8 October 2018 (2018-10-08)15Alex Hobern as "Kate"Freddie Bentley
22224 September 2019 (2019-09-24)18 October 2019 (2019-10-18)15Paddy SmythGeorgina Elliott
Celeb69 March 2021 (2021-03-09)15 March 2021 (2021-03-15)12Lady Leshurr as "Big Narstie"Saffron Barker
32116 March 2021 (2021-03-16)9 April 2021 (2021-04-09)15Natalya Platonova as "Felix"Manrika Khaira

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2019 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Innovation Award Nominated [19]
2019 Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards Best Innovative Use of Technology in Storytelling Won [19]
2019 C21 International Format Awards Best Competition Reality Format Won [19]
2020 National Television Awards Challenge Show Nominated [20]
2020 Realscreen Awards Reality Competition Longlisted [19]
2020 Realscreen Awards Best New Format Nominated [19]
2020 RTS Programme Awards Best Formatted Popular Factual Programme Nominated [19]

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Sometimes the show is called "The Circle UK" to differentiate from other international versions[4]
Citations
  1. ^ "About". www.patrizio-knight.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. ^ Knight, Patrizio. "The Circle Theme (Extended)". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. ^ "C4 commissions The Circle from Studio Lambert and Motion Content Group". www.channel4.com. 16 May 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  4. ^ Manori Ravindran (7 May 2021). "'The Circle' U.K. to End After Three Seasons". Variety. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ^ White, Peter (8 October 2018). "Netflix Remakes Studio Lambert's British Reality Series 'The Circle' In The U.S. & Two Other Global Markets". Deadline. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  6. ^ Abdulbaki, Mae (26 September 2019). "Netflix's New Reality Competition The Circle Is Already Super Popular In The U.K." Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  7. ^ "'The Circle': Channel 4 Confirms Season 3 & Celebrity Edition, As Studio Lambert Tweaks Format Amid COVID-19". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ Warner, Sam (7 May 2021). "The Circle cancelled by Channel 4 after three series". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  9. ^ "The Circle: Channel 4 decides not to re-commission the reality show". BBC News. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ^ "WATCH: How does Channel 4's The Circle work?". www.channel4.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. ^ a b Donaldson, Laura (11 September 2018). "The Circle on Channel 4: What is it and when does it start? All the details". OK!. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b Draper, James (17 September 2018). "The Circle: Start date and all you need to know about new Channel 4 show". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d Turchiano, Danielle (1 January 2020). "'The Circle' Boss on Connecting 'People Who Otherwise Might Not Have Come into Contact with Each Other' — And Catfishing". variety.com. Variety. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  14. ^ Fallo, Julie (3 January 2020). "The Circle: US Version Has a Shot at Succeeding From All the Right Changes". screenrant.com. Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  15. ^ Anderton, Joe (19 October 2019). "The Circle may be coming back sooner than you think". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d Haylock, Zoe (21 January 2020). "The Circle's Creator Guides Us Through the Show's Beautiful Web of Lies". vulture.com. Vulture. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  17. ^ Netflix (14 January 2020). "Go Inside The Circle Apartment Complex with Michelle Buteau – Netflix". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  18. ^ Fuentes, Tamara (14 January 2020). "Exclusive: Go Behind the Scenes of "The Circle" and Check Out the Apartments". seventeen.com. Seventeen. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "Awards". Studio Lambert. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  20. ^ Darvill, Josh. "National Television Awards 2020 winners and results: Who won NTAs revealed in full". TellyMix. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
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