The Circle is BACK | The Reality Flash

The Circle is BACK | The Reality Flash

From RHAP: We Know Reality TV by Friends of Rob Has a Podcast

June 11, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

Mike Bloom and Pooya Zand Vakili discuss the revival of The Circle on Hulu and its implications for the show's future.

The Circle is BACK | The Reality Flash Reality Flash returns with host Mike Bloom and guest Pooya Zand Vakili diving deep into the future of The Circle as Hulu announces its revival of the long-running reality TV series for an upcoming season. After its quiet farewell on Netflix, The Circle re-emerges with promises of fresh innovations and big changes, and Mike and Pooya break down what this means for fans and strategy lovers alike. Their conversation looks back at The Circle’s journey from its early, pandemic-fueled popularity and social experiment roots, to its transformation into a showmance-chasing, romance-heavy series. They discuss how recent seasons shifted back toward strategy, why the show lost steam, and what Hulu might do differently. The hosts highlight Hulu’s commitment, including the new live format, the hybrid celebrity-civilian cast, and the potential for real-time audience voting modeled after the UK version. What could these twists mean for alliances, catfishing gameplay, and the show’s signature mix of personalities and tactics? Mike and Pooya discuss: The impact of The Circle’s initial social experiment format and why its 2020 debut resonated during lockdown…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Bloom

Guest: Pooya Zand Vakili

Topics covered

  • The Circle revival
  • reality TV
  • Hulu changes
  • strategy in gameplay
  • showmance
  • audience voting

Keywords

  • The Circle
  • Hulu
  • reality TV
  • strategy
  • showmance
  • audience voting
  • social experiment
  • revival

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hulu

Books & works: The Circle

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