Hooked on ‘The Circle’? Give ‘The Circle Brazil’ a whirl

Netflix’s social media-focused reality show The Circle became a viral sensation none of us could fight when it launched earlier this year. And now that we’re all stuck at home fighting an actual virus forcing us to avoid all human contact outside our virtual online relationships, it reads like a prescient hipster who knew social-distancing was cool way before everyone else did.

In the age of COVID-19, The Circle is the dumb, mindless, but somehow still heartwarming content we desperately need. And with no Season 2 release date in sight (especially in the wake of the delays sweeping the entertainment industry), there’s a circle-shaped hole in our hearts that no other trash TV can fill.

But friends, do not despair, for there is a neon light at the end of this tunnel. There actually is a brand new full season of The Circle you can watch right now to keep you company while in self-quarantine. 

It’s The Circle Brazil, and it’s just as good (if not superior) of a hang as the American one.

Now, before you let the foreign language turn you off, let me overreach by paraphrasing the words of Parasite director Bong Joon Ho: Once you overcome the one-inch barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so much amazing trash reality TV.

Seriously, though!

The Circle Brazil strikes the perfect balance of familiarity with a satisfying side of wanderlust.

Full disclosure: I am half Brazilian and speak Portuguese, so the barrier is smaller for me to cross. But I also made sure to watch The Circle Brazil with my born-and-bred American, English-speaking partner, who was absolutely as hooked as I was the entire time. He even pointed out some unexpected benefits its foreignness brings to the experience.

A lot of us are in need of comfort food TV that’s familiar, distracting, easygoing fun. But at the same time, we’re cooped up inside, deprived of the outside world and any new stimuli. The familiar will get boring real quick.

The Circle Brazil strikes the perfect balance of familiarity with a satisfying side of wanderlust. It’s the same format you fell in love with from the original, down to the similar archetypes of contestants.

And, hey, maybe you’re one of the unfortunate folks who had their upcoming trip abroad suddenly canceled by the global pandemic. Well, now you can take a virtual tour (however warped and constrained) of one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

You’ll be treated to a messy-ass caipirinha-fueled Carnival-themed party in episode one, then a virtual Brazilian dance-off guessing game in the next. To be clear, that competition entails a contestant putting on a full-body mo-cap suit that captures a virtual feed of their attempts to do a myriad of Brazilian dances, which the other contestants must then guess correctly.

I mean, could you imagine anything more beautifully batshit than the chaos I just described?

The cultural differences, rather than creating a barrier, add intrigue to The Circle Brazil and — dare I say it — even some timely lessons. Because as every gringo (particularly Americans) has told me over the years, no one in the world knows how to have as good a time as Brazilians in the face of crushing economic, social, and governmental crises.  

There’s also a stark contrast in the way the two countries evidently view social media, as seen in how the contestants take vastly different approaches to playing The Circle.

While the Americans place a high premium on the notion of being your “authentic” self in The Circle, shedding many tears over the real connections they believe they’ve formed with one another, the Brazilian crowd does away with pretenses. Winning the game is not framed as who’s the most loyal, most genuine, or most well-liked of them all.

No, for the Brazilians it’s about boldness and charisma, bringing enough personality to the table to remain “interesting,” rather than people-pleasing to win over your fellow contestants. And interesting is exactly what they do best.

There’s little concern over seeming too aggro, calling people out, getting too flirty, or showing too much skin. Many even unabashedly admit to being vain narcissists, and everyone loves them for what is, when you think about it, actually a more honest reflection of who we all are on social media.  People are up front about their profiles being a part they play rather than who they really are. And honey, you bet your ass that means they’re using everything they’ve got to strategize, whether that’s catfishing or sparking a romance with ulterior motives.

Basically, The Circle Brazil came here to win (and have a good time), not to make friends. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an uglier version of the social media game. But it adds some delicious drama that, retrospectively, the original Circle lacked as everyone fretted over rocking the boat too much.

There are as many similarities between the two nation’s versions of the show as there are differences. You still have the pretty girl who thinks she’s disliked for being too pretty, the nerd who appears to hail from a different planet entirely, the catfish so wildly missing the mark that you can’t believe they last as long as they do.

Ultimately what makes The Circle Brazil worth your time is that it reminds you that, regardless of language, place, or culture, we’re all the same beautifully garbage humans underneath it all. And in this moment, many of us are seeking a sense of connection to the global “we,” this feeling of togetherness that should come from dealing with the same invisible enemy no matter who you are and where you come from.

On Wednesday, the famed Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro was illuminated by all the flags of the world stitched together, along with uplifting messages of unity in the face of universal crisis. As this global pandemic brings out the worst xenophobia in some, we must insist upon seeing the beauty of our differences as only more evidence of our shared human experience.

Does The Circle Brazil present a whole, authentic picture of what Brazil is really like? Well, only in as much as the American version does — which is to say, no, not really.

But in these trying times, what can at least unite In our common love for trash TV.

The Circle Brazil is streaming now on Netflix.