“The Circle” Jumping From Netflix To Hulu
Disney has slowly been building out Hulu’s reality television output, with hit shows like “The Kardashians”, “Vanderpump Villa” and “Secret Lives Of Mormon Lives”.
The next show to arrive on Hulu and Disney+ will be a celebrity version of “The Circle”, which was a Netflix original that ran for seven seasons, but will be jumping to the Disney-owned streaming platform.
According to Deadline, Netflix decided not to renew its deal with Studio Lambert for “The Circle” after it wrapped up its seventh season in late 2024, with Hulu picking up the rights to a new version, which has been “reimagined” as a “fast-turnaround” social experiment.
This new version will include celebrity contestants, along with members of the public, who will compete side by side in a game of popularity where identity is ever-changing, and anyone can be anyone. Much like the previous Netflix version, contestants move into separate apartments in the same building but are kept isolated from each other. They are only allowed to communicate via a specific app using text and photos but they can decide to play the game as themselves or anyone else they like.
There will also be another twist, with the show introducing audience voting in the United States, and the show will be filmed in real time, which will allow viewers to get access to the twists and player ratings unfold, with audience votes changing how the game plays out.
The original show’s executive producer, Susan House, will be returning as the showrunner, along with Studio Lambert’s Tim Harcourt, Jack Burgess, Niall O’Driscoll and Stephen Lambert, Motion Entertainment’s Martin Oxley and Chet Fenster and Omaha’s Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz and Colin Campbell.
While the show will come to Hulu and Hulu On Disney+ in the United States, it’s not clear if it will be released internationally on Disney+. Since All3Media International is handling the show’s format, as we often see game shows only get released in a single country due to licensing restrictions.
Roger’s Take: There has already been a celebrity version of “The Circle” in the UK, where it was done for charity, so it’s not a surprise to hear Hulu is jumping in to grab a slice of the reality game show pie. Hulu needs more content, and while picking up a show from another network isn’t normal, this might be different enough to grab a new audience, while also appealing to the originals.
What do you think of this new version of “The Circle” coming to Hulu? Let me know on social media!
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