Channel 4's Social Experiment Show 'The Circle' Finally Gets A Release Date

Channel 4's digital age social experiment show The Circle is back for a second season - and now we finally have a release date.

The reality show sees eight 'players' all living in the same house but they are only allowed to communicate with one another through social media app The Circle.

The aim of the game is to gain popularity in a bid to win the 50k prize at the end, but contestants can choose to play the game as themselves, or create an entirely different character in order to gain the highest social ratings.

Now, we've learnt that season two is back on Tuesday 24th September - so block out all plans.

The second series will be hosted by Emma Willis, who is taking over hosting duties from series one hosts Maya Jama and Alice Levine.

The Circle recently unveiled its second trailer, which sees the 43-year-old TV presenter transform herself into a number of different alter egos - just as the show's players can.

As for the format, there's been some tweaks this year, which will see Emma popping in once a week for a live episode featuring interactive elements. No wonder it's being compared to Big Brother (RIP) in format.

Speaking about joining the show, Emma told Digital Spy: "I came to it late because it was on at the same time as Big Brother, obviously, so I was not watching it while it was on.

Channel 4

"I was obviously intrigued because it was up against us. So I watched it afterwards. And it was just one of those things where you kind of go, 'I'm going to watch another one. I might watch another one. Shit, I'm in, it's got me!'"

2018's show saw catfish 'Kate' - real name Alex Hobern - crowned as the winner of the reality series after receiving the highest points from his fellow players, bagging him the £50k prize fund.

Alex also went on to win an additional £35k after being voted the viewers' favourite player.

Channel 4

Last, year Netflix bought the rights to The Circle and revealed plans to make three new local versions for its international customers.

"The Circle has already proven to be a compelling, timely and buzzworthy show," said Brandon Riegg, Netflix's Vice President of Unscripted Content.

"We think the show's combination of modern social media interaction and competition will captivate Netflix members around the world, in multiple languages, and we're delighted to partner with Studio Lambert and Motion to produce these three new local versions."

We can't wait for this.

Topics: The Circle, TV Entertainment

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara is a freelance journalist working for Tyla. After graduating from the University of Sussex, Ciara worked as a writer at GLAMOUR Magazine and later as the Assistant Editor of Yahoo Style UK.

@ciarasheppard