Congratulations to Joey Sasso! We get to see the best moments of each of the Top 5 contestants, and they even bring all of the blocked players back to see who is named the winner. Although the final six contestants submit their final scores in penultimate episode “The Last Rating,” viewers don’t learn the winner of the streaming social experiment — and $100,000 — until the closing seconds of the appropriately-titled season 1 finale, “Finale.”. Still, no one is all that upset with him. If there were ever a time for a binge-watching experience to distract from all the queasy-making news, this is it. Wired may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Host Michelle Buteau crowns Joey the king of the The Circle after what can best be described as an hour-long reunion episode. But: “If you are going in wanting to catfish,” he says, “I would look at someone like Seaburn playing Rebecca as the best example, because you could just tell from watching him in his apartment that he was somebody confident and secure in himself just having the time of his life.”, “I think the difference for the other catfish is that they had insecurities and problems, which came out when they got eliminated. Only “Rebecca,” it appears, rated Joey towards the bottom of their list, naming him fourth out of five competitors. “We started an Instagram group, and we still talk,” Sasso says. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business, science to design. This is the moment Joey learns he has won and will take home $100,000 to celebrate. © 2020 Condé Nast. “You want to stay in the game as long as possible, but the longer you stay in the game, the crazier you end up going.”, The apartments were rigged up with intense lights to make sure the crew could accurately capture what the players were doing inside their rooms, which only amplified how uncomfortable the setting felt. After several rounds of blocking players and adding new participants, the final eight players become solidified and an alert sounds off to let viewers and contestants know that no one new will be added to the game. The show, which premiered on January 1 and released its final batch of episodes today, pitted contestants against one another in a digital popularity contest, pushing its young players to rank one another based on looks and on how well they jockeyed for influence. 1 ranking. The Circle champ is: Joey, a man who entered the game by screaming “Yeah, buddy” like he was Pauly Delvecchio’s long lost cousin from Buffalo. So I said, OK, for the rest of the game, no matter who comes in this frickin’ thing, they are who they are, whoever they say they are, I don’t even care, it is what it is.”, As four out of five of the final contestants were playing as themselves rather than as a catfish, Sasso believes in the the be-yourself strategy. But when Antonio was eliminated after being accused of catfishing, Sasso changed his approach. Everyone is so happy to see Joey enter the room that half of them jump up to greet him. Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Circle season 1 finale. Wow. During this section, Buteau points out that Joey betrayed two separate women — reformed catfish Sean and love interest Miranda — during the competition. I’m so happy for this experience, and that she didn’t hate me after I didn’t save her in the challenge for who we were going to block.”. “I went in assuming that everybody was a catfish,” Sasso says. Good guys finish last, huh? At the end of the day, the goal is to be voted most popular, as the person at the bottom of the popularity board risks getting blocked, which is to say, eliminated from the game. The Circle (sometimes called The Circle US to differentiate from other international versions) is an American reality competition series, produced by Studio Lambert and Motion Content Group which first aired on Netflix in January 2020 that is based on a British TV series of the same name. Sasso says he can’t reveal the exact shooting location (other media outlets have reported that the American series was shot in the UK), but he was happy to speak about the enforced surreality of his day-to-day life. Queer Eye: Season 3 is streaming on Netflix now. This bro with a heart of gold definitely endeared himself to us and worked his way into our hearts. He chooses Sean because he doesn’t “know where he stands” with her, as he explains during “Finale.” This is a move that solidifies Joey’s connections with primary allies like Shubham, Chris, and Sammie, who are now primed to rate him better in the final round. “I feel a responsibility to let these people know that I hear them, that they’re not silent, and that they are awesome just the way that they are,” he says. At this point, the final eight players are Rebecca (aka Seaburn), Shubham, Chris, Joey, Sammie, Sean, Adam, and Ed. Upgrade your work game with our Gear team’s. He carved out his early career as one of the content producers for UNILAD … I get that I’m a character, and I love that people are having fun with it.”, He estimates that he has spent 12 to 15 hours a day on social media since the show has launched, in an effort to respond to every single person who reaches out to him, especially young, vulnerable fans. The series bills itself as a game based around social media, … Once the final in-person “Circle Chat” is done, the show moves to a traditional reunion-style set. It is also hinted Shubham gave Joey his first spot. She Battled Cancer in 2011, Erika Jayne and Thomas Girardi Have Filed for Divorce After 21 Years of Marriage. Living through the first weeks of this decade has felt a bit like contracting the flu–it was way too hot, full of uncertainty, and the possibility of imminent death seemed ever-looming. The penultimate episode flips the whole show on its head, as the remaining five players aren't tasked with rating or eliminating each other, but rather get the chance to meet everyone else over dinner. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. The Circle seems to take place in a vacuum. It’s hard because I don’t want to be coy, or not give a straight answer,” Sasso says. I know that’s something people say doing interviews, and a lot of times it’s not true, but this really is one of those occasions where we are all bonded.”, Sasso didn’t just win The Circle. Circle, open circle chat. No phone, no computer, no socializing with nonplayers. The pair ended up kissing, and flirted when they were reunited during the finale. Then comes a round of secret ratings, where everyone must be strategic about rating the other players from favorite to least favorite. Connect with friends faster than ever with the new Facebook app. To tell you the truth, I don’t really know,” Sasso says. Miranda still wants to go out with Joey. He’s been delighted by the memes fans have made of him, especially screengrabs showing him yelling about brussels sprouts and quoting Old School. Do the guests on the show get to keep the furniture? It's part social experiment, part competition reality TV, and involves eight people living in the same apartment building but being able to communicate only through a social media app called The Circle. Just like that, after three riveting weeks and 12 hour-long episodes, The Circle is over. His popularity is undeniable. Party at his house — and Seaburn probably isn’t invited. “A lot of people have asked about me and Miranda, and what’s going on with that. (I accused him of having “based his entire personality off Jersey Shore reruns” in my initial review.) *Spoiler alert: This story contains MASSIVE spoilers for Season 1 of Netflix's The Circle.*. Filming for the show ended several months ago, and now Sasso can finally talk about his unanticipated victory. I never even thought about winning,” he says. With Seaburn Rebecca and Shubham as the final influencer duo team, the two decide to block Adam for "emotional" reasons, which is to say that they feel he's been coming on a bit too strong to Rebecca, and initially, to some of the other girls in the game. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, These voters traveled thousands of miles to vote in person, The famous, must-try sandwich in each state. Instead, the last episode brings us to a studio stage of sorts, and offers something of a retrospective to the series. You don’t know what time it is! Our new Netflix 2020 obsession will quickly cement itself as one of the best shows of the decade, and you should run, not walk, to catch up on the season, like, immediately. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Ad Choices, The Winner of The Circle Opens Up About Life IRL, WIRED spoke with the winning contestant of Netflix’s reality show about the apartment, the rules of catfishing, and what’s next. That means, at minimum, half of The Circle probably gave Joey a No. “But I know that once you confirm or deny something, it sets up expectations of something to come.”, “So what I will say with me and Miranda is that she is somebody that I absolutely love and adore. It is confirmed that Chris gives Joey his first place rating. Netflix delivered such an experience with The Circle, an American remake of the UK reality television program of same name—and an unexpectedly delightful diversion in the nascent days of 2020. The winner of The Circle has been chosen. As we reached the end of Circle’s inaugural season, the writing was all over the wall that Joey would be the series’ inevitable winner. Buteau checks in with all the blocked contestants and has a long-form interview with each of the remaining players. he says. Contestants are welcome to catfish and take on the personality of anyone they want, but they have to be strategic about it. It is heavily suggested that new guy Ed gives Joey, his favorite person in The Circle, his top spot as well. Despite its hideous premise, The Circle and its participants quickly gained a following, with fans wondering whether favorites like witty Miami-based Sammie Cimarelli or sincere virtual reality whiz Shubham Goel would take home the $100,000 prize. So I can’t even answer how long we were in the apartments for, from start to finish. Now, The Circle faithful have their answer. As the Superinfluencer, Joey alone is tasked with choosing which player to eliminate. The person who comes in first place, Joey, is given the unenviable task of blocking another player in real life. Ed (and his mother) eventually get blocked, which makes sense since the other players have all been together since the beginning, and we are left with our O.G. The entire The Circle crew is happy for Joey and crowds around him to close out the season. “The Final Rating” teases that Joey’s decision will work out for him. Two big moments leading up to “Finale” suggest Joey is the one to beat. But dinner isn't where the winner is determined. “I was going for the after party, you know what I mean?”. Wow. He was also part of the only real romantic intrigue on the show. And it was upsetting, because I think any one of them would have been more likable and could have made it farther in the game if they had just come in as themselves. “I’m hoping that this experience will allow me to go from a bartender slinging drinks to survive to someone who is on set as much as possible, doing what I love,” he says. I have a relationship with her unlike I’ve had with any other person. Just like that, after three riveting weeks and 12 hour-long episodes, The Circle is over. https://ew.com/tv/2020/01/15/netflix-the-circle-winner-interview Editing suggests Sammie also awarded him a favorable rating, even if he wasn’t in her top spot. And while it's not exactly clear how it's determined (rankings and blockings usually correlate directly with the most immediate rating scores), Rebecca comes in fifth place, Chris comes in fourth, Sammie arrives in third place, Shubham lands in second, and Joey takes home the title of most popular and the grand prize of $100,000.