The Circle

The Circle is back,

and, honey, you already know there's more twists and turns than ever before.

This is the ultimate game of social media

where players can choose to play themselves

or catfish as someone completely new.

And with a giant cash prize at stake, strategy's the name of the game.

So will they be friendly? Will they be flirty?

Or will they be fooling everyone about their identity to win that money?

And The Circle this season has a spicy surprise for the players.

Buckle up, honey, because the VIP guests are moving in.

This is The Circle.

["The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News playing]

We're back, baby, and it's like we never even left.

I'm feeling all that Circle love already. I just got this one question for y'all.

Sure, it's about online popularity,

and anyone could be anyone,

but only one will walk away with that 100K prize.

But there's one thing we need before we start, players.

And I think I hear the first wheelie suitcase

making its way down that hallway right now.

Ooh!

This is so cute!

Yes! Okay, a little pink.

Oh my God! I am here!

Bitch, yes! Frank in the city, in The Circle.

Let me see, is my lips juicy? Because I'm ready, baby. Let's do it.

What's going on, everybody? It is Frank.

I am 28. I'm a school social worker, and I'm from Maryland.

I like to call myself the big boy with a big personality.

I'm fun as hell. People love me. Did I say people love me?

So I'm a body positive person.

Even though there's a negative connotation about people of a larger size,

I'm confident in my body 'cause why shouldn't I be?

So, I'm going into The Circle as, ah, myself! Of course. Because look at me.

So I'm gonna bring a little bit of Southern charm,

and I'm gonna bring my therapist skills in to build connections with people.

That's gonna be my strategy.

So I can be a little bit shady. Just a little bit,

but I'm gonna ease the shade in there because I don't want a target on my back.

I can throw a whole shade tree if necessary,

and I don't wanna have to do that.

Let's be frank. The money is already mine, baby.

It's in my account already. I already checked.

Oh my God! It's time to set up your profile.

Okay. This is the moment that I've been waiting for.

I feel like I'm accepting a Tony.

Circle, open up my Face album

because baby, the face card is never gonna decline.

Period.

Circle, open up the top middle.

Aw, I am so cute!

Circle, make this picture my profile picture.

Ooh, Frank's picture game is on point, honey.

And our next player's already working hard to climb to the top.

How do I get up here? I'm gonna hoist. Ow!

Yes. Food. Perfect.

Sorry. So sorry.

Okay. That's going... Have to move that eventually,

because I don't wanna have to Free Solo every time I'm going to grab my spices.

You know what I mean?

I just ate a whole bag of chips before I came in here, so... Okay.

Hi, I'm Yu Ling, and I am 25 years old.

I'm a brand marketing consultant,

and I'm from San Francisco, also known as the Yay Area.

So, I'm first and a half gen Chinese American.

And because both of my parents are immigrants,

they were working to make sure there was food on the table.

So I would say that I was raised culturally by like MTV, VH1.

I live and breathe social media.

I love to make connections with other people digitally.

I'll be going into The Circle as fun-size, firecracker, Yu Ling

'cause, honestly, I wouldn't wanna play anybody else.

I am a Gen Z-Millennial cusp.

Millennials are kind of burnt out and jaded,

but Gen Z is super excited, positive.

So I'll be relatable but also hilarious.

I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything.

I'm gonna fuck this bitch up.

Not so violently though.

Just like a gentle, sweet kind of fuck them up.

Ah! Circle, open the album Extremely Sexy.

Okay, this entire album is obviously sarcastic but also not.

I think that it is sexy when you're confident.

Circle, open the middle photo with the corn stool that I'm trying to eat.

- -We're gonna do that.

That has to be the second photo. I think it's just hilarious.

Yes. This is gonna show my personality. People will know that I'm funny,

and I know how to have fun, and I don't take myself too seriously.

Perfect. I'm... I'm good with this. I feel like people are gonna see me,

and not think that I'm a catfish, and also want to be my friend. Please.

Okay, she's bringing that firecracker energy.

Speaking of which...

Well, light me on fire and call me the Fourth of July.

I'm in The Circle. Let's go. This is awesome.

Unbelievable. What's going on in here?

Awesome. A pink comforter?

I could get used to this. This isn't so bad.

I'm John. I'm 24 years old.

I am a social media content creator from New Jersey.

I am as Italian as it possibly gets.

I got a tattoo of Saint Anthony on my chest,

grew up in the same hometown as The Sopranos was filmed in.

I've literally grown up in a bowl of sauce.

People come in here and try to portray people

by the outside looking in. That's not how it works.

The most popular person in every Italian family is the mom,

and that's why I'm going into The Circle as the matriarch, my mom Carol.

My mom is an incredibly smart, strong, independent woman,

and I know everything about her.

I know her favorite tea, that her favorite artist is Rod Stewart.

I know how her and my dad got together.

- Who's her favorite child? -Come on, not fair. It's obviously me.

Carol might be five foot nothing,

but she has the fight of an absolute beast.

Get ready, Circle,

because Momma Carol is ready to win the game.

All right, Circle, I want my About Me to say,

"Italian mom of two, with a love of dancing, baking and dogs."

We're gonna add some emojis for fun.

So we're gonna do the dancing girl, the cupcake, and the dog-face emoji.

"Can find me in the kitchen with a glass of red,

listening to Rod Stewart's Greatest Hits."

Let's end it with a nice little heartfelt note,

so people know they can always talk to her.

Let's go with, "Can't wait to get to know you all!"

"Exclamation point and a heart emoji."

Circle, lock in my profile.

Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm Carol.

And I am here for a 24 year-old dude from New Jersey

playing his own mom.

And if you think we can't top that,

then our next player is about to present us with quite the entrance.

Uh. Journal.

And then, this is very important because this is the vulva pillow.

And it actually matches so well.

She looks beautiful,

and it's a kind reminder that we all have beautiful vaginas.

Hi, Circle. I'm Alyssa. I am 27 years old from New York,

and I'm an assistant to a sex coach.

I love helping people have amazing sex,

and I can very comfortably say the word vagina. Vagina, vagina, vagina.

Vagina!

If you have had a romantic anything with any of my friends,

I know about every single detail

because we're all so curious about how everyone's sex life is doing.

My game plan is to go in as me!

If I can get people to tell me about their sex lives,

I can absolutely get people to tell me about their strategies.

Rule number one of The Circle,

don't play too hard, too fast.

Actually, that's kind of a rule in the sex industry too.

Circle, update my bio to,

"Italian New Yorker, who loves to cuddle up with my dogs,

a scary movie, and my dad's homemade wine."

"I'm a whopping five feet tall and an assistant to a sex coach."

I think that's gonna be, like, a fun talking point for people,

but I also wanna lead people into it. I don't wanna come out and be like...

Circle, set this as my profile.

I'm so excited.

Our first four are in,

and they're hitting everything on their Circle to-do lists,

unpacking, making tea,

and using magnets to spell out motivational slogans.

There it is. W, W, C, D.

"What would Carol do?"

I'mma have a little snack.

And just as they made themselves at home,

let's start a Circle Chat because we can.

- -Oh. "Circle Chat is now open!"

What?

I wanna see everybody.

All right, let's do it, Mom. Err. Circle, take me to Circle Chat.

Wow, who are these people?

Yu Ling is cool.

Oh my God! I'm the only boy so far, well, from what I see.

If this is the crew that we're going up against,

I'm feeling pretty confident.

Alyssa? She looks so pretty.

Alyssa, all right.

I love that Carol kind of gives me the same vibes as my mom.

That little, like, drink pose is very much her.

Okay, Circle, let's write... What should I say?

I definitely wanna come across as, like, fun and just me.

Okay, message, "Hello, you beautiful humans!"

"Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point."

All caps, "We made it, honeys."