Gone (cat)fishing? Well #CircleFam, it’s time to log back on because major news just hit your DMs.

The competition is returning for Season 6, where contestants will once again compete to become the top influencer in the ultimate social media challenge. Hosted by comedian and Survival of the Thickest star Michelle Buteau, the game you love remains the same, as the online players strategize, plot, and hashtag their way to the top of the pack to win a cash prize of $100,000. 

Oh, but there is one game-changing twist we should probably mention: For the first time ever, an AI bot is entering the game as the ultimate catfish. Will the metal menace outsmart us all? Or will the human players use their intelligence to suss out anything artificial? 

Take a look below for everything you need to know about The Circle Season 6. 

When is The Circle Season 6 release date? 

The first four episodes of The Circle Season 6 will launch on April 17, with four new  episodes dropping every Wednesday before the season finale on May 8.

Where can I watch the trailer?

No private chat needed. You can watch the trailer above at the top of this article. 

Let’s talk about that AI twist…

Catfishing and The Circle go together like hashtags and emojis — players have used fake personas to scheme their way to the top from the very beginning of the social experiment. Now it’s time to take the game to the next level with the arrival of Max, an open-source artificial intelligence chatbot competing this season as a seemingly veryfrom human player. 

Designed to become the most popular player in the game, Max has studied past seasons and used previous competitors as inspiration to create the perfect profile. Basically, Max is social media catnip for the rest of the players, who initially have no idea that an AI bot is among them. 

So who’s Max? He’s a 26-year-old veterinary intern hailing from the Midwest. Why? Well, as the bot explains, choosing his age was all about being able to “leverage life experience and maturity, while still playing youthful.” His profession “highlights his caring and nurturing side” in order for him to appear “more likable to players.” Holding a dog in his profile picture is also part of the bot’s strategy, as photos with dogs “receive 38% more likes on social media.”

But programming can only get you so far, as Max has no information about the other players besides what they choose to share in the game. And he’ll be acting on his own — without the interference of producers — to establish genuine connections with his competitors. Learn how the AI twist came together and hear from Max himself in our interview here. 

Who is in The Circle Season 6 cast? 

As for the rest of the cast (they’re human, we promise!) keep reading to get better acquainted. And, remember, just because these players aren’t bots doesn’t mean they can’t still deceive the Circle Chat by playing as a catfish, so stay vigilant!

Kyle

Age and Location

31; Miami

About

“Proud dog dad” Kyle just couldn’t join The Circle solo, so he’s entering the game with his best (furry) friend, Deuce. The married professional basketball player is competitive at heart, saying, “I hate losing more than I like winning.” But to get players off his scent, he’s joining the experiment as an extremely single basketball trainer.

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Cassie

Age and Location

29; Manchester, Kentucky

About

This Southern belle has a history with catfishing, as she caught her ex-husband cheating after making a fake profile. “A fake can point out another fake,” she says. But Cassie is putting the past behind her by joining the game as herself: a newly engaged mother of two who’s ready to expose the competition. 

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Brandon

Age and Location

34; Columbus, Ohio

About

As a self-described “adult Cabbage Patch kid,” Brandon is ditching his real-life persona and going full catfish in the game. The nursing assistant will be playing as his friend and colleague Olivia, hoping to combine his “brains and personality” with her “body-ody-ody” to come out on top. “This is my opportunity to be hot because I’ve never gotten to do that before,” he says.

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Quori-Tyler

Age and Location

26; Los Angeles

About

This former NBA dancer is no stranger to making moves — and she won’t be dancing around anyone’s feelings in the chat. Quori-Tyler is coming into The Circle as a secret superfan, who’s watched every single episode multiple times. “I’m here to play the game and be a mastermind at it,” she says. And while she’s all about strategy, a Circle romance isn’t completely off the table for Quori-Tyler, as she says she’s “single as a Pringle.”

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Lauren

Age and Location

26; Philadelphia

About

Lauren is ready to “slay the day” by being 100% herself in The Circle. The former Twitch streamer is comfortable talking to people through a screen — after all, she used to game for up to 10 hours a day.  Lauren is open to all kinds of connections in the experiment, as she’s a “naturally flirty” nerd who’s fresh out of a relationship. 

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Caress

Age and Location

37; Dallas

About

A motivational speaker, Caress has a natural way with words. But she’s trading in speeches for bars,  joining the game as her younger brother Paul, a rapper and singer. “Everybody’s catfishing online, so why not me?” she says. Caress hopes that she’ll be able to harness her sibling’s social media power — he has more than 300,000 followers, while going into the game, she’s barely cracked 3,000. 

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Myles

Age and Location

29; Los Angeles

About

Don’t judge Myles (or his alter ego, “Yung Papi Fuego”) by appearances. While he openly embraces his self-described “fuckboy” energy, he’s also an AI engineer who has a knack for strategizing and calling out catfishes. “I’m either a you love or hate me type of guy,” he says. As a “huge flirt,” Myles is hoping the ladies in the game skew toward the former. 

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Steffi

Age and Location

35; Redondo Beach, California

About

Charge your crystals and unblock your chakras because Steffi is here to make her mark (along with her emotional support skeleton). The psychic medium and professional astrologer will be using her fine-tuned intuition in the game to outlast the other players. But she isn’t telling anyone about her (super)natural gifts — or that her dead aunt might be giving her tips in the game.

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Autumn

Age and Location

21;Murfreesboro, Tennessee

About

Players be warned: Autumn is used to getting her hands dirty, working outdoors, and wrangling animals as a full-time ranch hand. She’s bringing an “I don’t give a damn” attitude into the game, where she’s competing as her “genuine weird redneck self.” To land herself in the finale, Autumn is planning on building alliances, leveraging her Southern charm, and flexing her flirting skills if need be.

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Jordan

Age

24; Austin, Texas

Age and Location

 

About

Jordan is heading into The Circle as himself — but with a little bit of a twist. Since he now “gets easily mistaken as a douchebag” online, the photographer is turning back the clock a few years to appear more approachable. “Before I lost weight, everyone saw me as a friendly giant,” he says. But don’t let his “Big J” persona fool you, as Jordan is ready to get messy in the game and spread misinformation to make it to the top.

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Who is Caress’ brother, Paul? 

Caress decides to enter The Circle as a catfish, playing the game as her younger brother Paul. And, if he looks familiar, it might be because you’ve  heard his hit single, “Lil Boo Thang.” Yes, Paul is Paul Russell, the singer and rapper whose 21-second snippet of the feel good track went viral last year, racking up over 10 million views. Since then, he’s released two more singles and is set to go on tour with Meghan Trainor later this year. On Instagram, Caress frequently shares family photos and supports her brother’s achievements.

Where is The Circle Season 6 filmed?

This time around, the players will be making a home in a brand-new apartment building. While previous seasons were filmed in a small town in Northern England, Season 6 is moving stateside to Atlanta. 

For art director Karen Weber, designing the apartments — which included new communal spaces like an old school launderette, a yoga studio, gym, and rooftop courtyard — was like playing with an “amazing giant color book.” Tasked with transforming 10 separate apartments measuring approximately 1,200 square feet each, Weber aimed to make the living spaces feel both distinct and part of a collective vision. 

Her first directive? “Less plastic plants and HomeGoods,” she jokes, adding that both do pop up here and there in the apartments, which were given names like Glamour Room, Earthtone Bohemian, and Artist Loft. Instead, Weber and her team sourced the furniture and decor primarily from vintage shops, salvage yards, and prop houses around Atlanta to give the rooms a bespoke feel. 

Weber, who’s previously worked on reality series including America’s Next Top Model, began the process of designing the apartments by getting down to basics. “I like to start with a color combination and then throw in some wallpaper, patterns, textures, and textiles,” she says. “You put all those in a bucket and start thinking about what that theme could be.” The Circle might be known for its bold, colorful aesthetics, but Weber was conscious of the apartments not “becoming really over-the-top like a Disney ride.” For some spaces, she aimed to create “really bright high energy,” while other rooms were meant to feel “more adult, laid-back, and little more restful.” After all, the players really do have to live in the spaces throughout filming, so comfort is of paramount importance. And while each apartment is allotted the same amount of money, creating a variety of spaces and aesthetics is key to the show’s success. “Giving producers that kind of a range [of types of spaces] lets them figure out who fits where,” she says.” 

But in Weber’s eyes, the apartments aren’t just for the players who inhabit them. She also wanted viewers watching along to imagine themselves in the living spaces and perhaps inspire them to transform their own — be it stenciling something on a wall or spray-painting fish scales on a bathroom cabinet. “I try to do a couple of DIY projects in each space that could be done by someone at home,” she says. 

When filming wrapped, Weber had to do it all over again and design another 10 new apartments from the ground up for the already announced Season 7. “It’s the sandcastle theory, because you build this beautiful thing and then you let it all just get washed away and it’s done,” she says. “The rooms have their moment and then you have to move on.”

Has The Circle been renewed for Season 7? 

Yes, Season 7 is on its way, so check back here for more updates. End chat!

Who wins The Circle Season 6? 

This season, the players formed tight connections in the #CircleChat and honed even tighter strategies. But in the end, the winner was someone for whom feeling seen and forming genuine connections — despite harboring a pretty huge secret — was always a priority. Hear what the winner had to say about their journey and win during their interview on this bonus episode of the We Have the Receipts podcast. Plus, host Chris Burns chats with Myles (Yung Papi Fuego) and Too Hot to Handle/Perfect Match Season 1 alum Chloe Veitch about The Circle Season 6’s dramatic end.