The second season of the American reality competition streaming series The Circle began on April 14, 2021, on Netflix, and concluded on May 5, 2021. The season was announced in March 2020 when Netflix renewed The Circle for a second and third season. Michelle Buteau returned as host.
Like the previous season, players compete against each other to become the most popular, but do not actually meet their competitors. Instead, they communicate through a specially designed app and are able to portray themselves in any way they choose.
On May 5, 2021, the season was won by DeLeesa St. Agathe, who had played the game as her husband, Trevor, and won the US$100,000 prize that came along with it. Chloe Veitch was the runner-up and 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. A video message is shown to the remaining players to reveal if they were real or fake the day after.
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 taking part in the season were revealed on April 5, 2021, with additional players being revealed during the run of the show.
Name Age Hometown Playing as Entered Exited Status Bryant Wood 27 Chico, California Himself Blocked Savannah Palacio 24 Los Angeles, California Herself BlockedTerilisha Godwin-Pierce 34 Dallas, Texas Herself Blocked Khat Bell 27 Mesquite, Texas Herself Blocked Mitchell Eason 22 Himself, but from Miami, Florida Blocked Jack Atkins 20 New Haven, Connecticut Episode 8 Fifth place Lisa Delcampo 42 Los Angeles, California Lance Bass Lee Swift 58 Mertzon, Texas Courtney Revolution 28 Los Angeles, California Himself, but as a barista Third place Chloe Veitch 22 Essex, England Herself Runner-up DeLeesa St. Agathe 32 The Bronx, New York "Trevor", her 32-year-old husband, but single Winner
Other appearances
Too Hot to Handle Chloe Veitch starred on season 1 of Too Hot to Handle.
Perfect Match Savannah Palacio, Chloe Vitch, and Mitchell Eason appeared on the first season of Perfect Match. Palacio was eliminated in Episode Four. Eason was eliminated in Episode Nine.
Floor is Lava
Jack Atkins, Savannah Palacio, and Courtney Revolution starred on Floor Is Lava.
Netflix's Reality Games
Courtney Revolution and DeLeesa St. Agathe starred on Netflix’s Reality Games and were two of the four players representing team "The Circle".
America's Next Top Model
Bryant Wood has appeared on season 22 of America's Next Top Model.
The Circle season 4 DeLeesa St. Agathe's husband, Trevor St. Agathe — the real person whose identity she assumed to win season 2 — later joined season 4 of The Circle as a contestant, playing under the persona "Imani." He finished as runner-up.
Episodes
Results and elimination
Color key The contestant was blocked. The contestant was an influencer. The contestant was immune from being blocked. The player was at risk of being blocked following a twist This player was blocked, but returned under a different profile
Episode 1 Episode 4 Episode 6 Episode 8 Episode 10 Episode 12 Episode 13 DeLeesa"Trevor"3rd 3rd 3rd 4th2nd NotpublishedWinner Chloe 6th1st 2nd 1st1st Notpublished Runner-up(Episode 13) Courtney =4th 5th1st 6th 4th Notpublished Third Place(Episode 13) Lee"River" =4th 4th Exempt 3rd 3rdNotpublished(Episode 13) Lisa"Lance""John" Not inThe CircleExempt 5th7thExemptNotpublished Fifth Place(Episode 13) Jack"Emily"7th2nd 4th8th Mitchell Not inThe CircleExempt 5th 5thNotpublished Blocked Khat Not inThe CircleExempt 2nd6th Blocked(Episode 11) Terilisha1st 7th6th Blocked(Episode 7) Savannah2nd6th Blocked(Episode 4) Bryant8th Blocked(Episode 2) Notes1234none56 Influencers Savannah,Terilisha Chloe,Jack Courtney,Leenone Chloe,DeLeesa Lee none Blocked BryantInfluencers'choice to block SavannahInfluencers'choice to block TerilishaInfluencers'choice to blockJack "Emily" Lowestrated player KhatInfluencers'choice to block Mitchellchoice to blockJack & LisaFifth highestrated playerLeeFourth highestrated playerLisa "Lance"rated playerCourtneyrated playerChloeSecond highestrated playerDeLeesaHighestrated player
Notes : In Episode 1, before deciding who to block, Terilisha and Savannah had a chance to save a player each. Terilisha chose to save Jack "Emily", while Savannah chose to save Deleesa "Trevor". : At the end of Episode 4, Savannah visited Courtney, viewing him as having the most potential to win. This indirectly gave Courtney secret access to the Inner Circle following Savannah's departure. : As a part of the Joker Twist, Courtney was able to automatically pick an Influencer in the Inner Circle. Courtney chose to make River an Influencer. : In this round, there were no influencers. Instead, the two lowest rated players would be blocked. Jack "Emily", placing 8th, and Lisa "Lance", placing 7th were respectively blocked from The Circle. Following the blocking, Jack and Lisa continued in the game together as new player John. : In Episode 12, the ratings were not published. Instead, the highest-rated player automatically became the "Superinfluencer," who could make the sole decision on whom to block. : In Episode 13, the players made their final ratings.
References