According to our Tribes, The Circle was more of a social experiment than a reality show
Amongst the majority of our Tribes who watched The Circle, the strongest impression was that the series was more than simply a reality show. They enjoyed the social media experiment element of the series, particularly how it delved deeper into the psychology of the contestants.
Our Tribes agreed that the series presented a lot of important life lessons by highlighting the dangers of social media, and how easily people can be manipulated via catfishing.
The behaviour of people on social media raised a great deal of interest amongst our Tribes. It strongly resonated with their everyday lives, with many enjoying seeing it presented in a TV show format.
“I’ve never been a big fan of reality TV shows but this felt more like a social media experiment than anything else”.
“I love the idea of a social media experiment”.
What shows did our Tribes compare The Circle too?
“It’s a reality show where Facebook meets Big Brother”.
“Black Mirror meets reality show”.
“To me it’s just Big Brother for online and social media”.
“Big Brother online but ten times better”.
Our Tribes enjoyed how relatable the contestants were
The Tribe referred to the cast as “normal people”, they found them easily identifiable and enjoyed the idea of how the show was almost like peeping into the private lives of normal people. Our Tribes said this was a nice contrast to “typical reality TV” where the participants aren’t relatable at all.
They also enjoyed the range of personalities and the fact there wasn’t pressure to form “romantic relationships” like Love Island. They were more interested in the participants morals on how to win the show; by either being themselves or cat-fishing. This led the Tribes to debate their own morals on that subject, agreeing or disagreeing with the behaviours of the contestants.
“I’ve never been a big fan of reality TV shows but this felt more like a social media experiment than anything else”.
“I love the idea of a social media experiment”.
they noticed the promotion of The Circle across various channels
Our Tribes also mentioned how much they noticed The Circle being promoted not just across linear TV and VOD, but also its strong presence on social media channels. Some Tribes said they had seen clips of the show on Facebook and Twitter that they looked interesting and made them want to watch the programme.
The extensive sharing of clips across social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, was recognised by many of our Tribes and generated a social buzz around the series.
