‘The Circle’ Season 6 Upped the Ante by Moving to Atlanta: Go Behind The Scenes Of Netflix’s Big Investment

The Circle Season 6 really stretches the limits of “new phone, who dis?” The long-awaited new season of Netflix’s social media strategy game will introduce new players, but there are also new twists, new apartments, a new showrunner — and, uh, a whole new country. After five seasons of using generic and ever-changing establishing shots of random American cities, Netflix’s hit reality series is now officially an all-American production.

For its sixth season, Netflix’s most enduring reality competition show took over an apartment building in Atlanta, transforming it into Circle HQ. But this ain’t like when a social media platform changes icons from squares to circles and everyone loses their damn minds. As Decider learned during a set visit to The Circle’s new Atlanta home in October 2023, the show’s overhaul is indeed major — but every measure was taken to preserve the user experience.

“The Circle is a hit show. It’s like we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” said showrunner Susan House in an interview with Decider. “It’s a concept that works, it’s super popular… We’re hanging on to the entire essence of The Circle… I think Season 6 is gonna really blow fans minds. It’s different, it’s fresh, there are a lot of Circle firsts this season that have never happened before, and the players are really interesting.”

#ATLVIBES #CIRCLESUMMERCAMP

Still, exporting a production to another country is a major move — but this major move may seem like a surprise to viewers who never clocked that the first five seasons were filmed in the UK (what, y’all don’t pay attention to power outlets?). The series went to the trouble of flying all those Americans across the Atlantic because — well, when you spend the money to retrofit a bunch of apartments into livable, self-sufficient reality TV sets, you want to get your money’s worth. After debuting in Series 2 of the UK’s original Circle, those sets were used for Netflix’s international editions of The Circle, including the first five seasons of the US series. But following the cancellation of the UK series in May 2021, the writing was on the wall, probably next to a flocked, neon green deer head or something. With Netflix’s US series now the flagship of the franchise, it was time for the show to bust out that passport.

“[Atlanta] has been a really great new home for the show,” said House. It’s such a great home that, for the first time ever, the show is actually going to acknowledge where it’s filmed. “We have shot B-roll all over Atlanta, so you’re gonna see Atlanta on the show. We’re embracing the fact that we’re in Atlanta… I think it’s seeped in through every aspect of everyone on the show.”

New Circle art director Karen Weber was also thrilled to work in the city. “Atlanta is a dream come true. The people I’ve met have just been so overwhelmingly sweet and wonderful.” Weber told Decider during our visit to the Circle’s new home in Atlanta’s Sonder Midtown South — which offers fully-furnished rentals for short-term and long-term stays when it’s not hosting the cast and crew of a Netflix show.

That’s right: The Circle’s own crew also stayed in the building during filming, thus making The Circle a kind of reality TV summer camp for everyone involved. “Everyone’s just here in this building and going out at night, if they have the night off, and hanging out in Atlanta,” said the show’s new showrunner, Susan House.

House comes to The Circle after having previously worked on another Studio Lambert competition show: ABC’s The Hustler. With The Circle moving to the States, the production company turned to House. “When they approached me about The Circle, I was thrilled because obviously it’s an incredible show. I think it’s one of the strongest formats that have come out in the last however many years, besides another Netflix show, Love Is Blind.” But don’t think of this showrunner swap like Elon Musk taking over Twitter — excuse me, X. House knew The Circle didn’t need a bunch of confounding changes. “[Season 6] is a mix of what has not been done before and what is relevant to today in terms of social media, because it’s always evolving. We always wanted the show to feel very current with what’s happening in the world and mirroring that a little bit.”

As for the building itself, the show’s new art director knew that it needed one structure to make it really feel like The Circle. “There’s not a lot of branding in the show, but all those drone shots and the exterior shots — that is the signature of the show,” said Weber. “That is one signature spot, that circular trellis with the hot tub and all that lush, lush greenery. And everything’s lush and beautiful here in Atlanta.”

#DESIGNERLIVING #CIRCLEFLIRTING

And like House, Weber took a not broke/don’t fix approach to the overall vibe of the show’s signature apartments. “What was exciting for me is that every time anyone would walk into the room, they’d be like, ‘Oh, wow! Oh, wow!’ It became part of what the voiceover was about as well. You have to bring that wow factor into every space.”

But the players don’t just react to the apartments. They also have to react to whatever twists and turns The Circle throws up on their screens — and while those ALERTS come as a surprise to the players, they actually play out on a pretty strict schedule. “We are prepared to change things on the fly, depending on the players and what’s happening, but for the most part, the format that we’ve come up with is usually so strong that it is fitting of the players we’ve chosen,” said House. “Ultimately we come up with the format and we let it go. This season, it worked beautifully.”

More so than any other reality competition show, the competitors and the sets are uniquely and inextricably tied — and that is by design. “Every room has to be completely different,” said Weber, who explained that the rooms help the viewer differentiate the players, especially as they’re being introduced. “The room is also another character that goes with the player.”

The rooms also help viewers keep storylines straight since players can also go into the game as an entirely different person. While they may be using two names and two faces, they are still tied to the one room.

For Season 6, Weber designed around 14 drastically different rooms. Fortunately for Weber, Atlanta had exactly what she needed and so, so much more. “Atlanta has got so many great vintage shops,” said Weber, who dove right into the deep end of the eclectic, thematic, and maximalist interior design that defined the UK apartments. “There’s not a whole lot going on so the prop houses right now are full of stuff.” Sometimes that stuff is a rusty diving helmet, a hot pink toy car, or a suit of armor. In the midst of the carefully considered clutter, every apartment has a statement piece.

“It’s a driving force,” said Weber. “I start with a color or a color block idea. The one I’m working on right now is like a really deep rust with a kind of airy blue… There’s the room and the color and the textures, and then you can attach a theme to it. That’s where [set decorator] John [Sparano] and I come in and tag team. He’s got a great eye, I trust him, he trusts me, and we just go from there. Like, I love scarves and the suit of armor went up and I was like, ‘… He needs a scarf.”

All of those designs were then combined, mixed and refined to form a cohesive lineup of 10 apartments, which are located at opposite ends of a select floors scattered across the building to help with noise control.

Choosing a lineup of apartment designs is similar to the process used to pick a Circle cast — except the producers are choosing a dozen or so from roughly 47,000 applicants. “We have kind of loose theme for Season 6. I noticed Season 5 was Circle Singles. So we have a loose format idea or loose theme, and then we compile the right group around that theme that we think would work together.”

For Season 6, the theme seems to be strategy — and for once, they aren’t distracted by catfish. “I think the cast this season, they’re so laser-focused on playing the game that yes, of course they’re interested in who’s catfishing and they try to guess,” said House. “That element is there and it’s really, really fun — but it’s not the prime element. There are so many other things going on in the players’ heads this season.”

While the players may not be hunting for catfish, they are still looking for a #circleromance. “Social media is how people usually meet in the dating world with apps and everything, so I think that having some Circle romance and some Circle flirting is very relevant to the world we live in,” said House. “So I love when the players like flirt and stuff. I thought the Raven/Marvin, storyline [in Season 5] was incredible. This season, we definitely have some serious flirting going on.”

#AMENITIESFORDAYS #LAUNDERETTELIFE

Of course you can’t have flirting with the rooftop hot tub, but that’s not the only way the players can unwind in their new digs. For example, a bigger rooftop area allowed for multiple outdoor destinations. But instead of separating them, Weber designed the new rooftop with the show’s signature, over-the-top style in mind.

“[The rooftop] will look better if it is one area. You can focus where you want to focus, but this is a great space. It’s big enough to do at least three things, so let’s use it that way. It makes more sense and then it just feels bigger.”

The new building also has a gym and room for yoga, but the players can also strategize (or flirt) from a brand new location: the launderette. And in true Circle fashion, this ain’t your normal launderette. “I didn’t want it to be the laundromat at home,” said Weber. “I didn’t want Maytags and white. It was something that Susan was really excited about, so I really wanted to do something over the top and fun for her — and for myself, of course. Why wouldn’t you? When else do you get to design a launderette?”

The launderette has a quirky, off-kilter, retro vibe — it’s like where the Tenenbaums would send their laundry, y’know? Creating that moment, of course, took some work. “There’s a prop house here in Atlanta, and [the washing machines were] dirty. They were just beat. They were maybe a bone color. We had our scenics paint those up. We designed some graphics to help them make them feel a little cooler, cleaned them up like crazy. God bless the set dressers for getting them up here. Everything’s group effort.”

And it all comes together to create a fresh start for The Circle, six seasons into its run. It’s the same Circle you know and love — except with a fresh coat of peach and mauve paint. The creators want you to walk into The Circle Season 6 and react just like the players do to their apartments. Just take the showrunner’s words for it: “This season, I think the finale is really gonna blow people’s minds.”

The Circle Season 6 premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, April 17.