The Circle franchise just took a major hit. The show’s flagship version, which aired on Channel 4 in the U.K., is canceled. This version latest four seasons (three standard series and one celebrity version). The show, which sees isolated people compete and strategize through a social media app, has spawned three international spinoffs, including the widely successful U.S. version, which just wrapped Season 2 on Netflix. Netflix also produced French and Brazilian editions of the show. Despite this success around the globe, Channel 4 just didn’t want any more episodes of the original show.
“The Circle has been a huge hit for young audiences and has grown successfully over three seasons on Channel 4, consistently outperforming slot averages,” Channel 4 said in a statement to Digital Spy. “We’re incredibly proud to have worked with Studio Lambert North and Motion Content Group to invest in such an innovative show and to have given it a springboard for its international format success. In the same way as when we originally commissioned The Circle, Channel 4 has a responsibility to continually look at how we reinvent and create space for new ideas, and so we have decided not to commission the show for a fourth season.”
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This U.K. version of The Circle is currently unavailable to stream in the U.S., despite its success in the States. One might assume Netflix could swoop in and save the show since it is produced by Studio Lambert and Motion Content Group, the same minds behind the international versions. However, there has been no word whatsoever on that front.
If this is a wrap on The Circle, it lasted 67 episodes total since it premiered in September 2018. Maya Jama and Alice Levine hosted Series 1, and Emma Willis hosted further seasons. Its winners included Series 1’s Alex Hobern (a.k.a. Kate), Series 2’s Paddy Smyth and Series 3’s Natalya Platonova (a.k.a. Felix). The celebrity version, titled The Celebrity Circle, was won by rapper Lady Leshurr, who catfished as fellow MC Big Narstie.
