Apart from thrillers, romantic comedies and true-crime documentaries, Netflix has produced some of the most iconic reality shows of the past few years. This week, one of their most popular shows is “The Circle,” a reality series that came back with its sixth season.

“The Circle” is, according to FlixPatrol, the third most watched show on the platform in the US. The reality show, which is inspired by the British version of the same series, follows a group of people who live in the same building but are only permitted to interact with each other on a special social media platform.

The series is described as a mix of “Big Brother” with “Catfish,” as contestants can decide whether to appear as themselves or to create a whole new identity. The sixth season premiered on April 17, and it will end up on May 8 with a big finale.

‘The Circle,’ a social experiment that triumphs on Netflix

Fans of the series, which first was released in 2020, have been waiting for a new season since January 2023, when the last season ended. Now, as usual, producers have introduced some changes, including the first AI contestant.

Showrunner and Executive Producer Susan House told People that the decision to use AI to create a player was made because of the increased public interest in the technology. “I think that one of the best things about The Circle is that it always taps into what’s going on in the zeitgeist, what’s going on with people,” she said to the publication.

In the same report, executive producer Niall O’Driscoll said that the AI itself created Max profile, including his strategy. “We used an AI system and we just began by asking it, if you were going to play in The Circle, create a profile for the person, and it did that,” he explained.

Season 6 of The Circle: Release Schedule

For now, only four episodes are available on the platform. The remaining episodes will drop in batches every Wednesday at 3:01 a.m. ET, leading up to the Season 6 finale on May 8, 2024. Here are the dates:

Week 1, Wednesday, April 17: Episodes 1-4
Week 2, Wednesday, April 24: Episodes 5-8
Week 3, Wednesday, May 1: Episodes 9-12
Week 4, Wednesday, May 8: Finale Episode