‘The Circle’ UK Needs to Stream on Netflix Right Now

Fans of The Circle are bummed that their Wednesdays are now “ALERT” free. But what Netflix subscribers here in the US may not know is that there are seasons of episodes of The Circle just waiting to debut here in the States. That includes 27 brand new episodes across two seasons that have aired in 2021 alone—but you have to live in the UK to see them.

Yep, our counterparts across the pond got to enjoy the one-two punch of The Celebrity Circle and The Circle Series 3, airing back to back from early March to just mere days before the debut of Season 2 here in the US. But even the most diehard Circle fans here in the States probably had no clue, because there is currently no easy way to watch the UK series of The Circle over here.

This. Needs. To. Change. The Circle UK needs to air in the US, Netflix. I don’t know what deal you cut—or possibly did not cut!—with Channel 4, but y’all need to sort this mess out ASAP. It is a damn shame that so many fans of this show are missing out on key moments in the franchise’s evolution—not to mention weeks of bingeable content. Netflix already has the US, Brazil, and France editions! I swear, if it’s just music rights keeping the UK series from streaming in the US, then swap out all of those ’80s jams for the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt theme song and make it happen.

Because the UK’s edition of The Circle is the original (the first two series aired in the UK before the US version debuted in January 2020), the flagship series really feels like the purest form of the game. By watching the three UK series in a row, you’re watching the game evolve into the show we know in the US. I need people to understand that rankings used to be literal ratings, like 5-star ratings as if each player was a Lyft driver.

Absolute madness, and one of the major lessons learned in Series 1.

The UK version is also the purest form of The Circle because the show takes its time—and it takes a long time. Each season over there is almost twice as long as here in the US! You get to spend around 20 episodes with the OG players before the finale, which allows you to form an even tighter bond with them. But also the expanded season allows for The Circle to throw some truly mind-boggling stunts at the contestants, stunts that absolutely blow away anything done in the US (so far). I need US viewers to experience the existential crisis and full-blown horror plot that was… Orange Tally.

The UK does wild experimentation with the format, and some of those twists and turns make it to the US and other international versions. It’s almost like the UK is where they ask, “What if we tried [insert some mind boggling game mechanic here]?” and the US is where they implement a streamlined version of that twist.

One thing I desperately hope they import to the US: The Celebrity Circle. Earlier this year, Channel 4 aired an all stars edition of the show to raise money for a cancer charity, and the tweaked format actually worked. Some celebs played as themselves while some celebs catfished as other celebs. This added the fascinating wrinkle of some genuine contestants actually being friends with some of the “celebs” in The Circle! You think catfishing is hard? Try catfishing as someone’s close friend right in front of them! And really, RuPaul’s Drag Race fans need to see the glorious wonder that is UK Season 1 finalist Baga Chipz just sitting alone in her apartment in drag.

I also just want the Netflix generation of Circle fans, of which I am 100% a member, to meet all these kooky British legends. There’s a mom who brings her baby into the Circle! There’s a conservative gay psychic! There’s Fatboy Slim’s son—no, seriously, Fatboy Slim’s son is on the show. And there are some of the most convincing catfish to ever swim in the Circle’s waters. “Rebecca” has nothing on them!

And then, my friends, there’s Tim.

Tim from The Circle UK Series 2. Quite possibly the definitive Circle-lebrity in the UK, and deservedly so. Tim is a 59-year-old gay former monk and former conservative who now speaks out against xenophobia and Brexit. Also he’s an artist, scholar, international lecturer, and a dandy in every sense of the word. You have not lived until you’ve seen Tim use the treadmill while in a tie and waistcoat.

In short, I love him. I want to be him when I grow up—minus the Thatcher-apologist part that turned fans against him for, like, 24 hours before the next episode aired and he did something lovable. See the benefits from getting a longer season? You really get to know these complicated people!

Oh, also? Tim brought his cat Bey into The Circle.

Tim is an absolute legend and it is wild to me that so many Circle superfans have not had the pleasure of seeing the rise and unavoidable fall of the #ScholarSquad!

So what is the actual deal here, Netflix? The deal is that there seems to be no deal to stream The Circle UK in the United States and that is an offense on the level of “Adam” using the word “aroused” (oh, you know I love you Alex!). Fix this. Do whatever it takes, Netflix! Because now that The Circle Season 2 has run its course, we all need to spend the summer bingeing a bunch of Brits chilling and scheming in isolation for a cash prize. Forget the Cardashians. The only alliance I truly care about right now is the one between Netflix and whoever can make this happen.

Stream The Circle US on Netflix