The U.S. edition of “The Circle” will finally return for a second season in April, Netflix announced Tuesday.
The new season will begin rolling out on Wednesday, April 14, with multiple episodes dropping each week leading up to the May 5 finale. The four-week run will precede a June rollout of “Too Hot to Handle” Season 2, which was also announced Tuesday in a blog post from Netflix unscripted exec Brandon Riegg.
“Although these shows may have felt a little too real at times, fans all over the world rallied around them with an energy and excitement we could not have imagined,” Riegg wrote. “We can’t wait for our members to see what’s in store in their second seasons. We’ve added new twists and surprises to keep the games fresh — and all new players that we think fans will love rooting for.”
“The Circle” was a hit for Netflix upon its debut in January 2020, earning the show a two-season pickup last May.
Featuring isolated contestants who can only communicate via the show’s own social network, “The Circle” awards a $100,000 prize to whichever player secures the title of “top influencer.” Stephen Lambert, Tim Harcourt, Jo Harcourt Smith and Toni Ireland executive produce for Studio Lambert, along with Richard Foster and Chet Fenster of Motion Content Group.
“Too Hot to Handle,” a dating show which challenges contestants to abstain from sexual contact in order to win a group prize, premiered on Netflix in April and has also been renewed for two more seasons. Amelia Brown, Saul Fearnley and Ros Coward serve as executive producers on Season 2 for Thames Productions, with Jonno Richards as executive producers for Talkback.