The Circle (American TV series) season 4

The fourth season of the American reality competition streaming series The Circle premiered on Netflix on May 4, 2022. Michelle Buteau returned as host; the season consists of 13 episodes, initially released four episodes weekly. Players compete without ever actually meeting in person; they communicate through a simulated social media interface, portraying themselves in any way they choose.

Frank Grimsley, who had played the game as himself, won the US$150,000 prize on May 25, 2022. His win cemented him as the first LGBT winner. Trevor St. Agathe as "Imani" was the runner-up. Josh "Bru" Brubaker won the Fan Favorite award and US$10,000.

Format
The contestants, or "players", move into the same apartment building. However, the contestants do not meet face-to-face during the course of the competition, as they each live in their own individual apartment. They communicate solely using their profiles on a specially-designed social media app that gives them the ability to portray themselves in any way they choose. Players can thus opt to present themselves as a completely different personality to the other players, a tactic otherwise known as catfishing.

Throughout the series, the contestants "rate" one another from first to last place. At the end of the ratings, their average ratings are revealed to one another from lowest to highest. Normally, the two highest-rated players become "Influencers", while the remaining players will be at risk of being "blocked" by the Influencers. However, occasionally there may be a twist to the blocking process – varying from the lowest rating players being instantly blocked, the identity of the Influencers being a secret, or multiple players being blocked at one time. Blocked players are eliminated from the game, but are given the opportunity to meet one player still in the game in-person. Then, the day after a blocking, a video message is shown to the remaining players to reveal if they were real or fake.

During the finale, the contestants rate each other one final time, where the highest rated player wins the game and US$150000. Also, fans of The Circle are able to vote for their favorite player. The player that receives the most votes is known as the Fan Favorite and receives US$10000.

Development and release
The season was announced on August 9, 2021, when Netflix renewed The Circle for a fourth and fifth season prior the premiere of the third season. The season premiered on May 4, with four episodes releasing weekly until May 25.

A teaser for the season was released on April 27, 2022, showing bits of the cast and revealing that the prize money had been increased to $150,000 rather than the $100,000 prize awarded during previous seasons due to Spice Girls members Emma Bunton and Mel B increasing the prize fund by completing a mission while partaking in the season. During the trailer, it was also confirmed that previous host Michelle Buteau will continue to host the series.

Casting and filming
Filming for the season took place in Fall 2021 at an apartment complex in Manchester, England. The same complex that was used during previous seasons and other versions of the series. The apartment complex is prepared with twelve furnished and ready-to-use apartments for the players to live in.

After the third season began airing, casting for the fourth and fifth seasons opened on April 12, 2021. The initial members of the cast were revealed on April 27, 2022.

Players
The season consisted of 13 players. Various members of the first set of nine players were teased alongside a trailer release on April 27, 2022. An official cast reveal took place the following day. These players included two catfishes and five players participating as themselves. Additionally, extra players were revealed as the season progressed. The first celebrity contestants, Emma Bunton & Mel B from Spice Girls, competed to help increase the prize money, however they did not partake in ratings and were not competing to win. Other additional cast members included one catfish and two players playing as themselves, two of these players were revealed with the rest of the cast but joined The Circle later. Additionally, Trevor St. Agathe, who was the catfish profile of season two winner and his wife, DeLeesa St. Agathe, participated in this season.

Results and elimination

 * Color key
 * The contestant was blocked.
 * The contestant was an influencer.
 * The contestant was immune from being blocked.

Reception
Since the season premiered, it kept in Netflix's "Top 10 TV Series in the U.S." list, and kept in the top for its entire run. The series landed at number six on the list for its second week on air, for its third, the series landed at number three, and for its last the series ranked at number ten. However, the season received criticism for its casting of big personalities. Many fans were upset at the fact that most of the players were social media personalities and not "real people".