The third season of the American reality competition streaming series The Circle began on Netflix on September 8, 2021, and concluded on September 29, 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 seasons, 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. In August 2021 ahead of the season premiere, the series was renewed for a fourth and fifth season.
On September 29, 2021, the season was won by James Andre Jefferson Jr., who had played the game as himself, and won the US$100,000 prize that came along with it. Matthew Pappadia as "Ashley" was the runner-up. Keisha "Kai" Ghost 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
Name Age HometownPlaying as Entered Exited Status Michelle Rider 52 Pacolet, South CarolinaHerself Episode 1 Episode 3 Blocked Ava Marie Capra 25 The Bronx, New York Ava, but not revealing the presenceof her sister Chanel in the game A cloneof "Michelle" Episode 1 Episode 5 Blocked Chanel Marie Capra 42 Calvin Kiing Crooks 30 Miami, FloridaHimself Episode 1 Episode 7 Blocked Rachel Ward 24 Los Angeles, California"Jackson", her best friend's boyfriend Episode 3 Episode 9 Blocked Ruksana Carroll 35 Union, New JerseyHerself Episode 1 Episode 9 Blocked Daniel Cusimano 20 Palm Harbor, FloridaHimself Episode 1 Episode 11 Blocked Jacki Jing 33 Los Angeles, CaliforniaHerself Episode 9 Episode 12 Blocked Nick Uhlenhuth 27 Louisville, Kentucky Himself, but as a drummer Episode 1 Episode 13 Fifth place "Vince", a ghost hunter Keisha "Kai" Ghost 30 Nashville, TennesseeHerself Episode 1 Episode 13 Fourth place Sophia Layne 22 Fort Walton Beach, Florida"Isabella", her older sister Episode 3 Episode 13 Third place Matthew Pappadia 29 Long Island, New York"Ashley", his best friend, but bisexual Episode 1 Episode 13 Runner-up James Andre Jefferson Jr. 30 Los Angeles, California Himself, but single Episode 6 Episode 13 Winner
Future appearances
Perfect Match In 2023, Calvin Crooks and Nick Uhlenhuth competed on the first season of Perfect Match Crooks was eliminated in Episode Two. Uhlenhuth finished as a finalist alongside LC Chamblin.
Battle Camp
Nick Uhlenhuth competed on the first season of Battle Camp. He was eliminated tenth.
Other
Rachel Ward appeared on the comedy game show Game Changer, appearing as a suitor in a Bachelor-themed episode.
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 3 Episode 4 Episode 6 Episode 8 Episode 10 Episode 12 Episode 13 James Not inThe CircleExempt 4th 1st NotpublishedWinner Matthew"Ashley" =4th to block =5th 1st 3rd 4th Notpublished Runner-up(Episode 13) Sophia"Isabella" Not inThe CircleExempt 2nd 7th 6th Notpublished Third Place(Episode 13) Kai 1st to block 2nd 3rd 8th 3rd Notpublished(Episode 13) Nick =4th to block 3rd 4th 1st 2nd Notpublished Fifth Place(Episode 13) Jacki Not inThe CircleExempt Notpublished Blocked Daniel 3rd to block 4th 7th 2nd 5th Blocked Ruksana 7th to block 1st 6th 6th Blocked Rachel"Jackson" Not inThe CircleExempt 8th 5th Blocked Calvin 2nd to block =5th 5th Blocked "Ava" 6th Noteligible 7th Blocked Michelle 8thNoteligible Blocked Notes 1, 2 2, 3 none 4, 5 none 6 7 Influencer(s) Kai none Kai,Ruksana Matthew,Sophia Daniel,Nick James,Nick James,Nick none Blocked Ava & Chanel"Ava"Sole Influencer'schoice to block Michelle Ava & Chanel"Michelle"Influencers'choice to block CalvinInfluencers'choice to block "Jackson"Daniel'schoice to block DanielInfluencers'choice to block JackiSecret Influencers'choice to blockNickLowestrated playerKaiFourth highestrated player RuksanaNick'schoice to block"Isabella"rated player"Ashley"Second highestrated playerJamesHighestrated player
Notes : After the ratings were revealed, the players were alerted that Kai would be the sole influencer and must block someone by herself. She ended up choosing Ava. : After Ava was blocked, Ava and Chanel were given a second chance to play but had to clone another player, and ended up choosing to clone Michelle. : Both Michelle's were at risk of being blocked. The other players were tasked with voting one to be blocked, and the Michelle with the most votes was blocked from The Circle. : After being blocked in Episode 7, Calvin had to choose one player to give a secret advantage to. Calvin chose Nick, giving him the power of a second profile known as "Vince", although he still kept his original profile. : In Episode 9, "Vince" was revealed to be the second profile of an existing player and removed from the game. : The players' ratings were not revealed, instead the top two players would become secret influencers. James & Nick both placed the highest. : The players made their final ratings.
References