# The Circle (American TV series) season 1

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 US$100,000 prize that came along with it. Shubham Goel was the runner-up. Sammie Cimarelli won the Fan Favorite award and US$10,000.

## 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 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.

## Players

The first eight players were announced on The Circle's 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)
| Name | Age | Hometown | Playing as | Entered | Exited | Status |
| Alana Duval | 25 | Brownsville, Texas | Herself | Episode 1 | Episode 1 | Blocked |
| Antonio DePína | 24 | Bear, Delaware | Himself, but single | Episode 1 | Episode 4 | Blocked |
| Karyn Blanco | 37 | The Bronx, New York | "Mercedeze", a bisexual 27-year-old | Episode 1 | Episode 6 | Blocked |
| Miranda Bissonnette | 26 | South Lake Tahoe, California | Herself | Episode 2 | Episode 8 | Blocked |
| Bill Cranley | 27 | Chicago, Illinois | Himself | Episode 6 | Episode 9 | Blocked |
| Alex Lake | 32 | Los Angeles, California | "Adam", a sexy 27-year-old | Episode 4 | Episode 9 | Blocked |
| Sean Taylor | 25 | New York City, New York | Herself, but using a slimmer woman's photos and single (Episodes 6–9) Herself (Episodes 9–10) | Episode 6 | Episode 10 | Blocked |
| Ed Eason | 23 | Conshohocken, Pennsylvania | Ed, but older (26) and not revealing his mother Tammy's presence in the game | Episode 8 | Episode 11 | Blocked |
| Tammy Eason | 52 | Conshohocken, Pennsylvania | Ed, but older (26) and not revealing his mother Tammy's presence in the game | Episode 8 | Episode 11 | Blocked |
| Seaburn Williams | 29 | Boston, Massachusetts | "Rebecca", his 26-year-old girlfriend | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Fifth place |
| Chris Sapphire | 30 | Dallas, Texas | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Fourth place |
| Samantha "Sammie" Cimarelli | 24 | Miami, Florida | Herself, but single | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Third place |
| Shubham Goel | 23 | Danville, California | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Runner-up |
| Joey Sasso | 25 | Rochester, New York | Himself | Episode 1 | Episode 12 | Winner |

### Other appearances

Alana Duval previously competed on The Face Season 2. Joey Sasso has starred in Faraway Bae, Match Me If You Can and The Perfect Match. 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 seasons 37 and 39 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 also starred in the show Complete Bull in 2022. Karyn Blanco starred in Face Behind the Dream/I. In 2023, Joey competed on the first season of Perfect Match. Joey also competed on Amazon Freevee’s reality show, The Goat.

## 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."
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Day(s) | Original release date | Prod. code |
| Week 1 |||||||
| 1 | 1 | "Hello, Circle" | Day 1 | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) | TC-101 |
| The first eight players entered the apartment building and created their profiles. Then, an alert told the players that they can now look at the other players' profiles. Immediately, the players had to rate the others from first to seventh based on first impressions. The Circle Chat then opened, allowing players to contact each other for the first time. Game ("Ice Breaker"): Players had to answer multiple choice questions regarding serious and non-serious questions. Then, after everyone answered the question, their choices were revealed to everyone. The players then had a time to discuss the question and what their answers were. The next day, after several players had started getting to know each other, the ratings were revealed. Sammie and Antonio placed first and second respectively, making them the first Influencers. Sammie and Antonio had to immediately head to the Hangout to determine which of the other players should be blocked from The Circle. They decided to block Alana. Alana made her way to meet one of the players face-to-face. |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Face-to-Face" | Days 1-2 | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) | TC-102 |
| Alana visited Sammie's apartment because she thought they were close, but Sammie eventually ended up blocking her. Sammie told her that she was sounding fake and not like a professional model should. The next day, The Circle presented a video message from Alana, revealing that she was genuine and not a catfish. After finding out that Alana was real, Antonio confessed to Joey that he felt guilty for sending Alana home over "Mercedeze"/Karyn. Game ("Who Dis?"): One at a time, a player was shown a picture of a celebrity. That player then had to describe the celebrity to the other players. If the other players were able to guess which celebrity was being described, they earned a prize. Since everyone got the celebrities correct, they were given a party that night and were able to add another photo to their profiles. During the party, a new player, Miranda, joined The Circle and created her profile. After she made her profile, she was able to watch the ongoing conversation on The Circle Chat. Then she had to choose one player to send a gift to and have a private chat with. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "There's a Catfish Among Us" | Days 2-3 | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) | TC-103 |
| Miranda chose "Mercedeze"/Karyn as she wanted to know her more and thought that they would connect. All other players were "buffered" until the morning, meaning they could not access The Circle at all. The next day, ratings opened, with the caveat that Miranda could not rate or be rated since she was the new player. Game ("Ask Me Anything"): One at a time, each player could anonymously pose a question to another player in The Circle Chat. That question has to be answered publicly. After it was answered, all players were able to respond, allowing them to voice their thoughts on the question and the answer. The ratings were revealed, and Chris and Shubham, who were tied for first place, became Influencers. |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Planting Doubt" | Days 3-4 | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) | TC-104 |
| Chris and Shubham had to immediately make their way to the Hangout, where they had to decide which of the remaining players to block. They decided to block Antonio, since neither had gotten to know him well. Antonio decided to visit "Mercedeze"/Karyn's apartment, where he discovered that Karyn was playing as a catfish. The next day, The Circle posted a goodbye message from Antonio. Game ("Nailed It / Failed It"): Players were shown a photo of a cake and had thirty minutes to recreate it from scratch. Then everyone voted on which cake looked the best. The player who created the cake that earned the most likes earned a special prize. Miranda won and posted a short video to her profile. This game was based on fellow Netflix series Nailed It!. Soon after, Alex entered The Circle as a catfish named Adam. |||||||
| Week 2 |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Sliding into DMs" | Days 4-5 | January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08) | TC-105 |
| "Adam"/Alex was given the ability to go on a dinner date with one of the players. In order to help him make his decision, he was able to chat with three players of his choosing. He chose "Mercedeze"/Karyn, "Rebecca"/Seaburn, and Sammie. Alex decided to go on the dinner date with "Rebecca"/Seaburn. He also sent along a giant teddy bear after The Circle prompted him to include a gift as part of the date. Then the ratings opened, and "Adam"/Alex was exempt from being rated. Game ("Hashtag This"): Each player gets to post a new photo to their profile. Then, all players chose a hashtag that matched with the photo. During the game, many of the players accused "Mercedeze"/Karyn of being a catfish. |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Anonymous Trolling" | Days 5-6 | January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08) | TC-106 |
| The ratings were revealed, and Shubham and Sammie, placing first and second respectively, became Influencers. Shubham and Sammie decided to block "Mercedeze"/Karyn. Karyn decides to visit Chris's apartment, revealing she was a catfish. During the video the next day, she reveals her real identity to everyone. Then Bill and Sean joined The Circle. |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Picking Teams" | Days 6-7 | January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08) | TC-107 |
| Bill and Sean made their profiles, with Sean using the photos of a friend. Game ("Trivia Night"): The two new players, Bill and Sean, were tasked with picking two teams for a trivia night. Bill chose Chris, "Rebecca"/Seaburn, and Shubham; Sean chose Sammie, Joey, "Adam"/Alex, and Miranda. After Sean's team won, each team member received a video message from their family. Soon after, the ratings opened, and Bill and Sean were exempt from being rated. Joey and Shubham became Influencers after placing first and second respectively. The Influencers arrived at the Hangout but, in a twist, they were not allowed to discuss whom to block. Instead, the Influencers were allowed to save two players each. The player who was not saved was blocked. |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Player I'm Saving Is…" | Days 7-8 | January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08) | TC-108 |
| Sammie, "Rebecca"/Seaburn, Chris, and "Adam"/Alex were saved, meaning Miranda was blocked. She decided to visit Joey's apartment, where they shared a kiss. Overnight, Ed and Tammy joined The Circle, playing jointly as "Ed." Game ("Portrait Mode"): Each player was given art supplies, a canvas, and a photo of one player to paint however they wanted. Then, after thirty minutes, their completed paintings were shared on The Circle. Sean, who started to feel bad about using photos that weren't hers, had her emotions intensified by the game. She created a group chat with Chris, Sammie, and "Rebecca"/Seaburn and told them that she was not using her own photos. She then asked The Circle to send them a picture of her real self. |||||||
| Week 3 |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Instant Block" | Days 8-9 | January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15) | TC-109 |
| Sean sent a real photo of herself to Chris, Sammie, and "Rebecca"/Seaburn. Soon after, the ratings opened, and "Ed"/Ed&Tammy were exempt from being rated. Immediately after, the ratings were revealed. The player who was rated the least popular would automatically be blocked. After Bill was blocked, the two highest rated players, "Rebecca"/Seaburn and Shubham, became Influencers and had to block another player. They decided to block "Adam"/Alex. Bill was not given a chance to visit anyone face-to-face, but "Adam"/Alex went to "Rebecca"/Seaburn's apartment, where they both found out they were catfishing. The next day, Sean changed all of the pictures on her profile to her real photos. Then, Bill and "Adam"/Alex's videos were posted to the newsfeed, when they found out that "Adam"/Alex was a catfish. |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Declare Your Rival" | Days 9-10 | January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15) | TC-110 |
| Game ("State Your Case"): All the players had to state their case as to why they should win The Circle over their biggest rival. After they stated their case, their "rival" was able to make one response statement. The ratings were opened, but the players were told that the ratings would not be revealed. The player who was ranked first became the "Superinfluencer" and made the sole decision on whom to block. Joey, who became the Superinfluencer, had to visit the apartment of the player he wanted to block. He visited Sean's apartment, meaning she was blocked. Sean's video was posted to the newsfeed. |||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Last Rating" | Days 10-12 | January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15) | TC-111 |
| Game ("Most Likely"): Players were given a "most likely" statement, which players would have to answer with one player's name that they think would fit the statement best. The answers were all sent to The Circle Chat, so no one's answers could be hidden. The ratings then opened as the final rating of The Circle. However, what the players weren't told was that the player who received the lowest rating would be immediately blocked after the ratings. "Ed"/Ed&Tammy were rated the lowest, meaning they were blocked. They visited Sammie's apartment. Each of the remaining players who had not previously received a message from home (Chris, "Rebecca"/Seaburn, and Shubham) received one. The players, as part of finale night, all went to one room to meet each other face-to-face for the first time during the whole game. |||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Finale" | Day 12 | January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15) | TC-112 |
| "Rebecca"/Seaburn entered the room, revealing he was a catfish to Shubham. Then, all the other players entered and found out as well. At finale night, Michelle Buteau talked with the blocked players before revealing the final ratings. Joey Sasso placed first and became the winner of The Circle. Shubham got second place, Sammie got third place, Chris got fourth place, and "Rebecca"/Seaburn got fifth place. |||||||
* ↑ On December 30, 2019, Netflix released a shortened exclusive cut of the first episode on their YouTube channel as a preview to the series.

## Production
### Development

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

### Casting

On April 11, 2019, casting opened for the first season through an online website.
In an interview with Variety, Tim Harcourt, one of the executive producers for Studio Lambert, stated that The Circle format and premise allowed the casting team to search for all different kinds of people. He noted how the casting contrasted from casts on show like Real Housewives or Jersey Shore and how those shows are "all one gang of quite similar characters." He explained how there was no set cast for the show until it was over. The first eight players to enter were all predetermined and planned, but everything after that was all luck to whoever got on. Harcourt stated that the production team would decide who would be the right fit depending on who just left the game, acknowledging that with thirteen contestants, not all who were possible players end up on the show at all.

### Filming

In October 2019, it was reported that filming was completed. All filming was done in August 2019 before the British version's second season in September 2019, and was completed in fifteen days. It was also reported that the American version was filmed in Salford, England, using the same apartment building that was used in the second season of the British version. Attempts to obscure the filming location to appear to be in the United States were apparent, including overhead shots of the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee throughout the show, as well as aerial shots of the United Kingdom reversed so the cars appear to be driving on the right side of the road.
According to participant Joey Sasso, filming of the show took about a month. The contestants' apartments were brightly-lit in part to allow the cameras to record them, but also to disorientate the players' perception of time; Sasso stated that they often had no idea what day or time of day it was, and he had taken to wearing sunglasses inside to cut off the glare from the lights which had been mistaken as a fashion statement by fans of the show. The contestants were given a few minutes each day to spend on the apartment complex's rooftop space.

### Release

On December 10, 2019, a trailer for the American version was released, revealing the premiere date to be January 1, 2020, and the prize amount to be $100,000. On December 29, it was revealed by The New York Times 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." On December 30, 2019, in order to get more people interested in The Circle, Netflix released a thirty-minute cut of the hour-long first episode of the season on its YouTube channel for free. Then, starting on January 1 and lasting until January 15, Netflix dropped four episodes every week on Wednesday.

### Fan Favorite vote

On January 8, 2020, via Twitter and Instagram, The Circle announced that voting had opened for the Fan Favorite award. The player who had received the most votes would win $10,000. Voting opened at midnight on January 8, 2020, PST, and lasted until midnight on January 17. The winner of the Fan Favorite vote was revealed to be Sammie Cimarelli on The Circle's Instagram on January 17.

## Results and elimination
### Color key

    This player was blocked.
    This player was an influencer.
    This player was immune from being blocked.
| | Episode 1 | Episode 3 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 12 |
| Joey | 4th | =5th | =4th | 1st | 4th | Not published | 1st | 1st | Winner (Episode 12) |
| Shubham | 8th | =1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | Not published | 2nd | 2nd | Runner-up (Episode 12) |
| Sammie | 1st | =5th | 2nd | =4th | 5th | Not published | 3rd | 3rd | Third Place (Episode 12) |
| Chris | 5th | =1st | =4th | =4th | 3rd | Not published | 4th | 4th | Fourth Place (Episode 12) |
| Seaburn "Rebecca" | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | Not published | 5th | 5th | Fifth Place (Episode 12) |
| Ed & Tammy "Ed" | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Exempt | Not published | 6th | Blocked (Episode 11) | Blocked (Episode 11) |
| Sean | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 6th | Not published | Blocked (Episode 10) | Blocked (Episode 10) | Blocked (Episode 10) |
| Alex "Adam" | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 6th | 7th | Blocked (Episode 9) | Blocked (Episode 9) | Blocked (Episode 9) | Blocked (Episode 9) |
| Bill | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 8th | Blocked (Episode 9) | Blocked (Episode 9) | Blocked (Episode 9) | Blocked (Episode 9) |
| Miranda | Not in The Circle | Exempt | 6th | 7th | Blocked (Episode 8) | Blocked (Episode 8) | Blocked (Episode 8) | Blocked (Episode 8) | Blocked (Episode 8) |
| Karyn "Mercedeze" | 7th | 4th | 7th | Blocked (Episode 6) | Blocked (Episode 6) | Blocked (Episode 6) | Blocked (Episode 6) | Blocked (Episode 6) | Blocked (Episode 6) |
| Antonio | 2nd | 7th | Blocked (Episode 4) | Blocked (Episode 4) | Blocked (Episode 4) | Blocked (Episode 4) | Blocked (Episode 4) | Blocked (Episode 4) | Blocked (Episode 4) |
| Alana | 3rd | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) | Blocked (Episode 1) |
| Notes | none | none | none | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Influencers | Antonio, Sammie | Chris, Shubham | Sammie, Shubham | Joey, Shubham | Seaburn, Shubham | Joey | none | none | none |
| Blocked | Alana Influencers' choice to block | Antonio Influencers' choice to block | Karyn "Mercedeze" Influencers' choice to block | Miranda Influencers' choice to not save | Bill Lowest- rated player | Sean Superinfluencer's choice to block | Ed & Tammy "Ed" Lowest- rated player | Seaburn "Rebecca" Lowest- rated player | Chris Fourth highest rated player |
| Blocked | Alana Influencers' choice to block | Antonio Influencers' choice to block | Karyn "Mercedeze" Influencers' choice to block | Miranda Influencers' choice to not save | Alex "Adam" Influencers' choice to block | Sean Superinfluencer's choice to block | Ed & Tammy "Ed" Lowest- rated player | Sammie Third highest rated player | Shubham Second highest- rated player |
| Joey Highest- rated player ||