The Circle is changing platforms — and reshaping the game along the way.

After four years on Netflix, the social media-driven popularity competition will move to Hulu for its eighth season. The new edition will be filmed in real time, introduce audience voting to the U.S. version and place celebrities alongside everyday contestants in pursuit of the $100,000 prize.

Season 8 will premiere Tuesday, November 17, on Hulu and through Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers. Three episodes will arrive each week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday across five weeks, followed by the season finale on Friday, December 18.

A real-time overhaul for The Circle

The central game remains built around players who communicate through social media without meeting one another in real life. Identity can shift, contestants can present themselves as someone else and popularity determines their standing.

Hulu’s version, however, is being positioned as a faster-moving social experiment. Because filming will take place in real time, viewers will get access to twists and player ratings as the competition unfolds. For the first time in the U.S. edition, audience votes will also help shape the game.

Hulu’s official synopsis says the reworked series will bring “everyday players and celebrities” together and intensify its established combination of strategy and deception for an “always-on audience.”

The addition of celebrity players marks another substantial departure. The Netflix version previously featured a special appearance by the Spice Girls as catfish players during Season 4, but Season 8 will formally mix famous faces into the competitive cast. The Circle follows other reality programs, including The Traitors and The Mob, in bringing celebrities into the format.

No contestants — celebrity or otherwise — have yet been announced.

Tinx takes over as host

Christina Najjar, also known as Tinx, will host the Hulu edition. She announced her new role during the October 21 episode of Get Real with Amanda Hirsch.

The move means Michelle Buteau will not return after hosting Netflix’s U.S. version from 2020 to 2024. Buteau, a comedian and star of Survival of the Thickest, said she was not asked to continue when the show moved to Hulu.

Speaking to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live! in July 2026, Buteau expressed support for the series while making clear how much she had invested in its first seven seasons.

“I’m glad that The Circle found a new home, because it’s a great show. I hosted the U.S. version, the longest-running version for seven seasons, and I put my foot in it, my back, my back fat, my right titty, I put all the stuff in it,” she said.

Addressing the decision to proceed with a different host, Buteau added: “But, they’re not going to go through with me being the host and so I say, good luck, bless up, I hope you have fun putting a square in the circle.”

ShowBiz Take

This is far more than a simple streaming handoff. Hulu is altering the show’s release rhythm, production timetable, hosting lineup and casting model at the same time.

The real-time approach and audience voting are especially meaningful changes because viewers will no longer be limited to watching strategy play out from the sidelines. Their votes will have an effect on the competition, while the Tuesday-through-Thursday release plan keeps the game moving throughout each week.

Mixing celebrities with everyday players could also complicate a format in which perception, deception and shifting identities are already central. Whether famous contestants enter as themselves or take advantage of the game’s identity-changing possibilities has not been disclosed, but Hulu has confirmed that both groups will compete side by side.

The transition also creates a clear divide between the show’s two eras. Buteau’s seven-season tenure has ended, Tinx is taking over and Hulu is rebuilding the series around a quicker connection between filming, audience response and the unfolding competition.

What Happens Next?

The major remaining reveal is the Season 8 cast. Hulu has confirmed that celebrities and everyday players will participate, but has not announced any names.

The revamped competition begins November 17, with new episodes released every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for five weeks. The identity shifts, ratings and audience-influenced twists will then lead to the finale on December 18.