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ShowsThe CircleSeason 4
Aired spring 2022 · Netflix · the format's first celebrity cameo

Season 4

Season 4 raises the prize pool to $150,000 and adds a franchise first: celebrity guest catfishes playing to grow the pot rather than compete for the win. A new Circle Data Breach twist reshapes how blocking plays out for a stretch of the season.

Filmed
Manchester, England
Same Manchester apartment complex as Seasons 2 and 3
Premiered
May 4, 2022
Netflix · May 2022
Episodes
13
13 episodes across weekly Wednesday batches
Format
Rate-and-block · celebrity cameo
Guest celebrities play catfish to grow the prize, not to win it
Cast size
13 players
13 players, several already active on social media
Host
Michelle Buteau
fourth season with Michelle Buteau at the helm
On this page6 sections
  1. 01The take
  2. 02The shape of the season
  3. 03Where it sits in the canon
  4. 04What to watch for
  5. 05Adjacent in the canon
  6. 06In this canon
01The take

Season 4.

A pop-group cameo plays catfish for the pot, not for the crown.
02The shape of the season

A rhythm worth tracking.

Season 4 raises the prize pool to $150,000 and adds a first for the format: celebrity guest catfishes. Two members of a famous pop group play invented personas purely to grow the pot, not to compete for the win themselves. A new "Circle Data Breach" twist ties an antivirus-style app mechanic to how blocking plays out, and the Superinfluencer sole-blocking round returns from Season 2. Some viewers noted this cast leans more social-media-savvy than earlier years' strangers.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #06 slot.

Slot #06 of 7 in the Circle Editor's Canon. Season 4 sits sixth because its most talked-about idea works against the format rather than for it. Letting celebrity guests play catfish personas purely to pad the prize pool is a clever stunt, but it dilutes the show's original premise, real strangers figuring out how much of themselves to reveal, in favor of a marketing moment. The prize raise to $150,000 and the new Circle Data Breach twist are genuine additions, and the Superinfluencer round returning from Season 2 keeps that mechanic in rotation. But this is also the cast viewers flagged as leaning more social-media-savvy than earlier years, which softens the stakes the format runs on.

No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
04What to watch for

3 moments, no spoilers.

  • Celebrity catfish arrive

    Watch for guest catfish personas built around real pop-group celebrities, playing to boost the shared prize pool rather than to win the season themselves.

  • The Circle Data Breach

    An antivirus-style in-app twist reshapes how ratings and blocking interact for a stretch of the season.

  • Superinfluencer returns

    The sole-blocking-power round from Season 2 comes back, handing one top-rated player a unilateral call.

06In this canon

Its Editor's Canon entry.

The Circle — Season 4 — tiered.tv