“The Circle” is a new Netflix show that mixes the drama of “The Bachelor” with the realities of social media.
In this show, eight contestants are competing to be the most popular in the game with the winner receiving a $100 thousand in prize money. All of the players are given luxury apartments in the same building, but they are not allowed to leave the apartment (except for individual trips to the roof or the gym) until the game is over.
The catch is that the players can never meet each other in person—instead, they must form relationships through their social media profiles they have set up. The profiles include one photo, the players’ ages, their relationship status and a bio about themselves.
In these social media profiles, they can choose to be anyone. Some players in the show have chosen to simply be themselves, but a few have decided to catfish the other players in an attempt to seem more likable.
At the end of each round, the players rank the other contestants from favorite to least favorite. Then, the two players with the highest collective ranks become that round’s “influencers” and must decide one player they wish to vote off.
The players base their ranks off of their private chats with the other players in addition to the group chats and challenges the game makers design.
After each round, the player who is voted off gets to meet with one of the competitors in real life and confront them. Then, this player gets to leave a video message for the players in the game revealing if they were who they claimed to be or not.
When I first heard about the new Netflix social media competition, I had thought the idea was ridiculous and thought the show would be on par with another staged reality TV drama. After I started watching it, I was surprised to find myself thoroughly invested in the series.
While I can’t believe the show is 100 percent authentic, “The Circle” did do an amazing job of employing a diverse cast with a variety of beliefs and reasons for joining the competition. There is also plenty of drama on the show with the competitors not trusting one another and trying to find out who could be lying about themselves.
As someone who frequently uses social media, I found it extremely interesting to see the players judge each other and make assumptions based on a mere online profile. Some of the players were able to easily trust the people who were lying but were highly suspicious of other authentic players.
The show doesn’t shy away from some of the classic reality TV cliches. It has the suspense of one player being voted off every round complete with the cliché close-ups of competitors crying at the possibility of going home.
In addition, the show has plenty of relationship drama, with the extra dystopian mystery of not knowing the other person’s true identity. As a viewer, you can watch some of the competitors flirt with the catfish and be fully oblivious to the fact they are being played.
However, if you are not into dramatic reality TV, “The Circle” also reveals a lot about the reality of social media and our perception of others online. It makes you wonder how you are perceived online by strangers—and how you are perceiving others you may trust.
