The Circle: The 10 most fake things about the show, according to cast and crew

The Circle's cast and crew, including creator Tim Harcourt, explain the elements of the show that were forged to make great television.

The fifth season of The Circle, called The Circle Singles, recently premiered with the first four episodes on Netflix. The latest season puts a new twist on the wildly popular reality show, as it only invites contestants who are currently single and ready to hook up -- virtually, of course. At the start of the show, the lineup consisted of seven real players and five catfish in disguise.

During the show's first four seasons, The Circle questioned what was real, and many catfish thrived in the format. However, it wasn't just the contestants who were fake, some of The Circle's cast and crew revealed some of the show's most important elements that were faked in order to make great TV.

The Show Isn't Filmed In The US

Throughout the US version of the show, viewers are shown aerial photos of US cities, including Chicago and Milwaukee, so fans may be surprised to learn that the show was not actually filmed in the US. In a conversation with Vulture The Circle creator Tim Harcourt, he revealed that the show was actually filmed in Salford, UK

The apartment building used for the game is the same One was featured in the British original. Harcourt said it was "very difficult" to find the perfect location for the production's needs, so it makes sense that the show would retain it for international releases as well.

Contestants Only Play The Game For Half A Day

The action in The Circle is fast-paced, giving the impression that alarms are going off and challenges are taking place at all hours of the day or night. However, according to popular The Circle season 2 contestant Jack Atkins (A.K.A. Emily), that's not the case.

Responding to a question on TikTok, Atkins revealed that contestants only play games — chatting with other players, playing The Circle games, or completing ratings — for about half a day. The rest of the time can be spent doing what they enjoy, though this may prove challenging since players are not allowed to use technology of any kind. Reading, completing puzzles, drawing, and journaling are some of the activities players engage in to pass the time.

The Chat Isn't Voice Activated

Although the show would like viewers to believe that the titular social media app is voice-activated, it is not. contestant message may appear Automatically appear on screen as they speak, but actually have a team of producers manually type in the messages (according to RadioTimes).

Tim Harcourt explained to Vulture that the show's producers intended to use speech recognition early in production, but the technology wasn't able to support their needs.

The Contestants Don't Write Messages By Themselves

Since the messages are typed by the producers, this also means that the contestants did not make them entirely alone. In an interview with RadioTimes, creator Tim Harcourt explained that each contestant has a producer assigned to them to guide them through the process, including writing a real Get the message across what they want to say.

Harcourt states, "Competitors dictate their information and we read it back because we don't want people saying anything wrong or offensive." While it's in the best interests of the players to do so, it does mean that it's not a show for spectators Everything in the game is 100% authentic, and players receive outside help to avoid miscommunications and maybe even hone their performances as the legendary The Circle catfish.

Communication Isn't Instant

The core concept of The Circle is that players can only communicate through the app, and on-screen, It looks like this chat is as seamless as sending an instant message to a friend. However, executive producer Toni Ireland debunked this in an interview with RadioTimes.

Ireland explains that the dictation method used actually meant that simple conversations could take a long time, where each message was typed in by the producer and read back to the contestants to make sure they were happy with it. Tim Harcourt jokingly described it as "like sending WhatsApp to your grandma".

Conversations Are Short & Limited

Unlike free scrimmage, where contestants can chat with whomever they like for as long as they want, communication between players is often short and limited. Jack Atkins revealed this when explaining on TikTok why contestants use so many hashtags when talking to each other, saying it feels like a form of communication given a limited amount of time natural way.

Since sending a simple message has to go through a lengthy process, it makes sense that most conversations are short and sweet. However, it does call into question what kind of really strong or real bond the players can form in such a short amount of time.

Not Every Conversation Makes It Into The Show

Although the conversation tends to In short, contestant Lisa Delcampo revealed to Buzzfeed that not every chat between contestants makes it to the finals. Delcampo explained, "When I first got into Circle, I had really nice conversations with River, but they didn't show it... At least for me, some of the conversations didn't show it."

The Circle, just Like any "reality show," entertainment is first and foremost, so it's likely, as del Campo suggested, that the producers "just sift through the juicy stuff." Dialogue that doesn't move a particular storyline forward or provide great entertainment will almost certainly be cut—after all, The Circle doesn't claim to be a 24-hour live show showing everything the contestants do; The set time is limited.

Blocked Players Aren't Really Sent Home

When a player is banned from the circle, it is wise to assume they pack up and go home. In reality, however, blocked players actually have to stay in their apartment until they film the finale - making their dramatic exit feel less dramatic. Popular The Circle season 1 contestant Sammie Cimarelli revealed this fact in a Q&A on YouTube.

There are apartments set aside for being locked down in production Contestants, they have to abide by many of the same rules that are enforced on the show. However, they can leave the apartment building if they are accompanied by an escort - something other players are not allowed to do.

Every Door Is Knocked On When A Player Is Blocked

Blocked players on The Circle sometimes have the opportunity to meet the remaining players face-to-face before they leave. Who they see is entirely up to them, and many episodes of "The Circle" end with a cliffhanger that leaves viewers wondering whose apartment door they knocked on. However, it turns out that the production staff actually knocked on every player's door.

According to Sammie Cimarelli in her YouTube Q&A, this was done so that the producers could capture the player's realistic reaction to taps. So while the knock might be fake, the responses to the knock definitely weren't — including fan-favorite The Circle contestant Cimarelli himself trying to climb into a kitchen cupboard to avoid a face-to-face meeting.

Producers Have Control Over Player's Routines

Sammie Cimarelli also revealed in her YouTube Q&A the fact that producers have a degree of control over the players' day-to-day activities. For example, in her case, production prevented her from at night because they wanted to portray it as part of her morning routine.

While she doesn't elaborate on why this is the case, it does reflect the idea that the producers have a fixed "role" that they want the contestants to play, and will feed into it a certain level of control over their behavior.