Hulu has dropped the trailer and key art for The Circle's return, with a November 17 premiere, a host named Tinx and a fan vote that opens before the first episode.
The Circle reboot has a premiere date, a trailer, a host and a plan to let you meddle. Hulu has released the trailer and key art for the show’s comeback, and the game of profiles, popularity and strategic fibbing returns on November 17.
The new season streams on Hulu, and on Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the US. Disney+ carries it in select international markets. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to reorganize your Tuesday nights, this is it.
A new home, a new rhythm
The Circle is “back with a brand-new home on Hulu,” and the format has been rebuilt for speed. Hulu calls it a “fast-turnaround interactive event,” and the schedule backs that up. Three new episodes arrive every week, Tuesday through Thursday at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET, for five weeks. That’s a tight run, built for group chats that need to be caught up by Wednesday and have opinions by Thursday.
Tinx hosts, which means the whole thing has a voice guiding the chaos from the first episode.
Celebrities enter the chat
The biggest change to the cast is that, for the first time, celebrities are playing the ultimate game of popularity alongside civilians. Fame is now an asset and a target in the same lobby. Some players will compete as themselves. Others are catfishing, “doing whatever it takes to win,” in the show’s own words. The logline promises raised stakes and sharper strategy, and anyone who has watched a profile picture decide a friendship knows how this goes.
Hulu bills it as the biggest season of The Circle yet, a new era for a competition it calls groundbreaking, where fame, strategy and popularity collide. That’s a lot of collision for a game played from separate apartments, which is part of the fun.
You’re in the game, too
The audience gets a role this time. Hulu says fans are encouraged to watch, follow, share, debate and help shape the game as it unfolds. There’s a live vote every Thursday, and the result influences the following week’s episodes. In effect, the people at home hold a remote control for the plot. Hulu’s own phrase is that viewers can “stir the pot” in real time, and a weekly vote is a very large spoon.
The voting starts early. The first fan vote of the season opens on November 11 at 6 a.m. PT on TikTok at @TheCircleHulu and by text. It’s the first time fans can vote and directly influence what happens inside The Circle, so you’ll be in the game before anyone has said hello to their screen. Hulu has an FAQ explaining how to cast a vote at bit.ly/TheCircleFAQs.
That sets up a neat loop. You vote on Thursday, the next week’s episodes respond, and by the following Thursday you can judge your own handiwork. Fans who have spent years yelling advice at a screen now have an official channel for it.
The people behind the screens
The Circle is produced by Studio Lambert, together with Omaha Productions and Motion Entertainment. Turnkey Studio Services, a division of Banijay America, is a partner. Executive producers for Studio Lambert are Tim Harcourt, Jack Burgess, Niall O’Driscoll and Stephen Lambert. Omaha Productions brings Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz and Colin Campbell as executive producers. Martin Oxley and Chet Fenster do the same for Motion Entertainment, a WPP Media company. Susan House is the showrunner, and The Circle is a Banijay Entertainment format.
Marking the calendar is easy. Voting opens November 11, the premiere is November 17, and three episodes a week follow through the five-week run. Charge your phone and pick a side.
Via Banijay