People May Not Be Who They Seem Online

By: Brooke Price

Anyone can be whoever they please on “The Circle.” Credit: oprahmag.com

Welcome to “The Circle,” a new reality show where contestants live in the same building and interact with each other, all without seeing one another. Players can create their profiles using pictures of themselves or can set up a catfish profile and use pictures of other people, and play the game using that identity. No one knows who the real deal is.

Inside the apartment building, each player gets their own room, but cannot see each other. Players must create profiles with a voice-activated system called “Circle.” They need to talk to “Circle” to message people, create group chats, or update their profile.

After players create their profiles, they mingle with one another using “Circle Chat” and try and connect with one another. Once players get to know each other, they need to rate each other based on which players they connected with the most.

The connections within the house are important so that players can form alliances and keep themselves safe from elimination.

The two highest ranked players who get 1st and 2nd place after the rankings are completed get to become “influencers.” Players who are not influencers are at risk of getting blocked from “The Circle.” 

 “Influencers” have the power to eliminate, or block, one person from “The Circle.” However, the tough part is when there are two influencers and they have to come to a compromise on which player they should block.  

It is also ironic when the two influencers “meet” because they are in rooms right next to each other, however they can’t see each other and use “Circle” to communicate with one another.

The goal of the show is to block the person who is least convincing, who players might not think is the real deal.

A unique aspect of the show is that after a blocked player is eliminated, they can choose to visit a houseguest’s room of their choice. It is nerve wracking to see which person the eliminated person will choose to visit and see if the eliminated person walks into the room of a catfish, or if the eliminated person was a catfish all along. 

After the blocked player leaves the show, they send out a video message to the current players and reveal their true identity. It’s interesting to see how the current players react to the blocked player if they were who they truly said they were, or if they used a false identity the whole time. 

The game started out with 8 players, however after each elimination, a new player or sometimes players, come into “The Circle” and reclaims the spot of the blocked player and tries to win the game. The winner of “The Circle” gets $100,000 and the fan-favorite player gets $10,000.

“The Circle” is not a new show. The show first began in the United Kingdom and has had two seasons so far. After the first season of the British show “The Circle” ended, Netflix ordered three more versions of “The Circle” which would take place in different countries; the United States, Brazil, and France. 

“The Circle” provides a new edge to reality tv shows. Its use of 24/7 cameras around the apartments to catch the players’ every move and the social media aspect remind viewers of shows such as “Big Brother” and “Catfish.”

“The Circle” has finally given Netflix viewers a new reality tv show to binge. Hopefully the show gets picked up for a second season soon so we can watch more!