'The Circle' Season 2's Episode Release Schedule Isn't Netflix's Norm
A year after its initial release, Netflix finally dropped a new season of The Circle. The reality series went viral in 2020 for its fun and futuristic take on social media, as participants competed to create the most popular accounts in hopes of winning a prize of $100,000. Although the intrigue and drama will be familiar to viewers, The Circle's Season 2 episode release schedule doesn't follow Netflix's norm. Rather than dropping all 13 episodes at once, the streaming service is releasing episodes in batches every Wednesday starting April 14 and spanning over four weeks.
This isn't the first time Netflix has exercised this kind of restraint. The platform has done weekly releases for shows in the past, including Rhythm & Flow and The Great British Baking Show. Other streaming services have also switched over to releasing a few episodes at a time, like HBO Max with Generation and Apple TV with Dickinson. And most notably, Disney+ went old-school this year with WandaVision, releasing only one episode a week.
Warning: Spoilers through Episode 8 of The Circle Season 2 follow. Viewers may not be too happy with this format, as it means they can't watch all the goodness all at once. But judging by the first eight episodes of The Circle, the rest of Season 2 is sure to be worth the wait. The brand-new cast includes Chloe Veitch, who also appeared in Season 1 of another one of Netflix's 2020 reality TV series, Too Hot To Handle. Along with Chloe, there's 20-year-old Jack, an astrophysics and economics student who just happens to be a cousin Greg lookalike. There's also a married woman catfishing as her husband, a 58-year-old author pretending to be a 20-something, and Lance Bass' assistant pretending to be, well, Lance Bass. Episode 5 also introduced two new cast members: Mitchell, a model who loves walking around shirtless, and Khat, a 28-year-old professional volleyball player.
The newest batch of episodes that dropped on April 21 started off with Courtney in the mysterious Inner Circle, where he learned he could become The Joker. The move enabled him to privately communicate and sway two new castmates, allowing him to stir up doubt about the other contestants anonymously. As the drama unfolded across Episodes 5 through 8, viewers were met with another surprise when a double-block ousted Lance Bass and Emily's profiles (run by Lisa and Jack respectively). But despite banning their fake personas, The Circle surprised viewers again by allowing Lisa and Jack to continue playing the game with a new shared account, so they'll once again be catfishing their peers.
Fans will have to wait until Wednesday, April 28, when Episodes 9 through 12 drop, to see whether the duo will be successful. The standalone season finale will then release on May 5.
