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The Circle
Season 3
Promotional poster
Presented by	Michelle Buteau
No. of days	15
No. of contestants	13
Winner	James Andre Jefferson Jr.
Runner-up	Matthew Pappadia
Fan Favorite	Keisha "Kai" Ghost
No. of episodes	13
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	September 8 (2021-09-08) – September 29, 2021 (2021-09-29)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 2Next → Season 4
List of episodes

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

1. After being blocked in episode 7, Calvin picked another player to receive an advantage. He chose to give it to Nick, who received a "burner" account named Vince which is controlled by Nick, but appears to be a different account to other players. Vince was deactivated in episode 9.

Future appearances

In 2023, Calvin and Nick competed on the first season of Perfect Match.

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

Notes

• ^Note 1 : 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.
• ^Note 2 : 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.
• ^Note 3 : 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.
• ^Note 4 : 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.
• ^Note 5 : In Episode 9, "Vince" was revealed to be the second profile of an existing player and removed from the game.
• ^Note 6 : The players' ratings were not revealed, instead the top two players would become secret influencers. James & Nick both placed the highest.
• ^Note 7 : The players made their final ratings.

References

1. ^ Pedersen, Erik (August 19, 2021). "'The Circle' Season 3 Premiere Date Set At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood.
2. Thorne, Will (March 24, 2020). "Netflix Orders More 'Love Is Blind,' 'The Circle,' 'Rhythm + Flow' and Marie Kondo". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
3. White, Peter (August 9, 2021). "'The Circle', 'Indian Matchmaking' & 'The American Barbecue Showdown' Renewed At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood.
4. Kuchera, Ben (January 10, 2020). "Netflix's The Circle is the sweetest reality show about catfishing". Polygon. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
5. "Meet The Circle's Season 3 Cast". Entertainment Weekly. August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
6. "The Circle Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
7. ^ Reid, Kristen (September 8, 2021). "'The Circle' Season 3 - Week 1 Episodes 1-4 Recap". Vulture.
8. ^ Reid, Kristen (September 15, 2021). "'The Circle' Recap: Rankings Are Dropping Like It's Hot". Vulture.
9. ^ Reid, Kristen (September 22, 2021). "'The Circle' Recap: The Winding Road To Finale Night". Vulture.
10. Reid, Kristen (September 29, 2021). "'The Circle' Finale Recap: Still Gay As Sin". Vulture.

• 2021 American television seasons
• The Circle (American TV series)