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Emma Willis. Friday nights. Channel 4.

Brekkie

Moderator
Staff member
It's now confirmed. Live shows on Friday night, Emma Willis at the helm. £100,000 prize. One winner.

Yes, it's back.


The Circle that is.

For those who don't know The Circle was C4's first real attempt at a stripped reality show since it ditched Big Brother in 2010. The twist is the contestants all live in seperate apartments and only communicate through social media, with the weekly evictee then getting to meet one person before they leave.


Emma "hosts absolutely everything" Willis has IMO quite surprisingly been named as host of the second series considering you'd think they'd want to actually distance itself from Big Brother comparisons. Last year Alice Levine (previously of BOTS) and Maya Jama (very much an emerging talent) hosted, and although the show clearly didn't need two hosts I'd have thought they'd have held on to Maya.
 
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Your post intrigued me so I found the shoe on daily motion and watch series and started watching it. It’s actually really good and really interesting. It’s a new type of format that fits perfectly with the modern day times with the use of social media. Really enjoying it and have noticed there is also a US edition starting. Excited to watch both the UK and US editions and hoping Australia will air this as well.
 
I've been smashing through this series... I must say that when I first learned about this, I really didn't find the concept all that interesting, and immediately dismissed it as just another cheap BB rip-off. That said I'm thoroughly impressed!

The casting has been phenomenal pretty much throughout, and the format extremely well thought out... Even if it seems like production are making decisions on the fly at times it doesn't come off as intentional manipulation. Also love the subtle touches like having the blocked player meet someone in person before they leave. It's become something I look forward to whenever a blocking comes up.

I started watching last night and I've almost completed the full series... Very much looking forward to a second series and hope they stay true to the original when it's adapted for Netflix. Not really sure where Emma is going to fit in moving forward though... I mean they pretty much ditched the original presenters after the first week. I really hope they don't add something redundant like an exit interview or have Emma pop up on The Circle screen. Hopefully she's either replacing the current narration or presenting more of a companion show rather than being forced in to the format unnecessarily...

The Circle kind of reminds me of a format called Solitary only much more of a social game rather than physical.

 
I’m glad to see some interest starting in here. It’s actually a really well thought out and produced show. It’s got the same big brother vibe to it, and it also allows for some with the contestants to be catfishes and sneaky but also letting the audience see the real them with cleaver juxtaposition. It’s a terrific format and I am looking forward to the second series and really hope we get a version here in Australia once TV execs see it kick off in the US. Only question is, who will air it 9 or 10?
 
Just finished the series... Somehow I actually managed to avoid confirmation of who the winner was, although I had a feeling from the beginning. While it's no BB it's been a worthy substitute.
 
Just finished the series... Somehow I actually managed to avoid confirmation of who the winner was, although I had a feeling from the beginning. While it's no BB it's been a worthy substitute.
I can't find Ep 2, any tips?
 
It’s a terrific format and I am looking forward to the second series and really hope we get a version here in Australia once TV execs see it kick off in the US. Only question is, who will air it 9 or 10?

While I think it could spoil any chance of a BBAU revival in the near future I'd hope the format would go to Channel 10... In fact I'm shocked given how quickly Netflix snatched it up and it's success in the UK that they haven't jumped at the opportunity already. I think they'd be the ones to do it justice and could be a decent vehicle to pull people back in...

On the other hand having it on another network might convince them to give BB another go... To be honest I think The Circle coupled with the final UK series of BB kind of showed that you can have a fairly competitive based format and still have compelling character driven story... As I've been saying for years and will keep saying, I think the way forward for BBAU is 100% a US inspired format... Done correctly I think there's room for both formats to exist...
 
While I think it could spoil any chance of a BBAU revival in the near future I'd hope the format would go to Channel 10... In fact I'm shocked given how quickly Netflix snatched it up and it's success in the UK that they haven't jumped at the opportunity already. I think they'd be the ones to do it justice and could be a decent vehicle to pull people back in...

On the other hand having it on another network might convince them to give BB another go... To be honest I think The Circle coupled with the final UK series of BB kind of showed that you can have a fairly competitive based format and still have compelling character driven story... As I've been saying for years and will keep saying, I think the way forward for BBAU is 100% a US inspired format... Done correctly I think there's room for both formats to exist...

I agree, channel 10 would definitely do it better justice and wouldn’t comprise its authenticity. I think with success of this and love island I definitely think it could help suggest that there’s still life in the Big Brother style brand in the realm of Reality television.
 
I agree, channel 10 would definitely do it better justice and wouldn’t comprise its authenticity. I think with success of this and love island I definitely think it could help suggest that there’s still life in the Big Brother style brand in the realm of Reality television.

For me Love Island will always be trash TV akin to those really desperate housewives, The Bachelor, or Bachelor in Paradise... The only reason we refer to it as a BB competitor is due to how things played out in the UK. At the core comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges... BB completely lost any hopes of improvement when it became too focused on other successful reality franchises. Especially those that it had no business trying to emulate in the first place...

My biggest fear with The Circle is that it will evolve from a game of strategy to a glorified real life Tinder app... Which is what I think Nine and possible executive producer Alex M would want to turn it in to. While flirting was definitely part of strategy and an acceptable way to pass the time it wasn't the shows main focus...
 
I mentioned it here on the BBUK thread last year, it does seem strange to spoil the ending though. I thought it was helped by the cast having some variety and being generally good. A couple of those put in later did seem specifically put in for some cliched narrow storylines and that took away some of the reality element, but apart from that it was good and there was obvious scope for development. The strange thing was that many seemed to obsess about the presenters not being present often, they were actually one of the weakest elements as seen in the premier, so people should have been happy they didn't see them much.

I saw the first two seasons of Solitary and liked them, I've kept the other two in reserve. Of course it wasn't held over a very long time at all, but the editing was good in making it seem tougher than it was. The only obviously bad point for me: the food vomiting challenges could have been missed out.
 
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I mentioned it here on the BBUK thread last year, it does seem strange to spoil the ending though. I thought it was helped by the cast having some variety and being generally good. A couple of those put in later did seem specifically put in for some cliched narrow storylines and that took away some of the reality element, but apart from that it was good and there was obvious scope for development. The strange thing was that many seemed to obsess about the presenters not being present often, they were actually one of the weakest elements as seen in the premier, so people should have been happy they didn't see them much.

I saw the first two seasons of Solitary and liked them, I've kept the other two in reserve. Of course it wasn't held over a very long time at all, but the editing was good in making it seem tougher than it was. The only obviously bad point for me: the food vomiting challenges could have been missed out.

I agree the casting was high in variety. People of different races, different body sizes and from different backgrounds.
 
Didn't think people would go looking for the first series so have now removed the spoiler, which I put in more to illustrate how the show kind of works than about revealing the result.

Glad it's getting a bit of love here - I only saw bits and pieces of the first series myself but liked what I saw. The new series will air around September I think, though agree with Kingston I'm really unsure if Emma Willis is a good fit for it. She's also massively over exposed here in the UK at the moment - feels like she hosts everything (though in reality it's three of four shows!). Also giving it the structure of a weekly live show seems a mistake too - it kind of benefits from eliminations happening seemingly randomly.

Netflix have bought the rights in three territories, with only the US confirmed. However any version Netflix make will appear worldwide on Netflix.
 
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Didn't think people would go looking for the first series so have now removed the spoiler, which I put in more to illustrate how the show kind of works than about revealing the result.

Glad it's getting a bit of love here - I only saw bits and pieces of the first series myself but liked what I saw. The new series will air around September I think, though agree with Kingston I'm really unsure if Emma Willis is a good fit for it. She's also massively over exposed here in the UK at the moment - feels like she hosts everything (though in reality it's three of four shows!). Also giving it the structure of a weekly live show seems a mistake too - it kind of benefits from eliminations happening seemingly randomly.

Netflix have bought the rights in three territories, with only the US confirmed. However any version Netflix make will appear worldwide on Netflix.

I couldn’t agree more... The series was perfect as is... As I said previously the only acceptable method of introducing a presenter would be to have a companion show once a week and having the presenter replace the previous narration. Otherwise the format is far more compelling when the storyline dictates the structure rather than a set schedule...
 
Didn't think people would go looking for the first series so have now removed the spoiler, which I put in more to illustrate how the show kind of works than about revealing the result.

Glad it's getting a bit of love here - I only saw bits and pieces of the first series myself but liked what I saw. The new series will air around September I think, though agree with Kingston I'm really unsure if Emma Willis is a good fit for it. She's also massively over exposed here in the UK at the moment - feels like she hosts everything (though in reality it's three of four shows!). Also giving it the structure of a weekly live show seems a mistake too - it kind of benefits from eliminations happening seemingly randomly.

Netflix have bought the rights in three territories, with only the US confirmed. However any version Netflix make will appear worldwide on Netflix.

So does this mean when the Circle US airs we will be able to access it on Australian Netflix then? And if so has then been confirmed by Netflix?
 
So does this mean when the Circle US airs we will be able to access it on Australian Netflix then? And if so has then been confirmed by Netflix?

No clue... I suppose it’s possible but that would depend on how Netflix had licensed the format. For me I’d be holding my cards pretty close as the potential for a localized version in Australia is high. I can also see some potential of The Circle’s novelty factor wearing off quickly so a reserved approach to licensing works to their benefit.
 
If anyone has the link to episode 2, it would be much appreciated if you could send it to me or post it here. I’ve forgotten where it is and all my friends are asking for it.
 
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