'The Circle's Season 5 Finale Isn't Released at the Same Time As the Final Episodes

When Season 5 of The Circle premiered on Netflix on Dec. 28, you (along with a couple million other subscribers) might have felt a pang of disappointment. Not because the season is lacking in any way, but instead because just a few episodes were released in the first drop. That means you’ll have to wait quite a while before The Circle’s Season 5 finale premieres on the streaming platform.

Most reality shows on Netflix follow a similar schedule, which prohibits viewers from watching the finale until either the last batch of episodes premieres or until the last episode drops on its own. Unfortunately for those who would rather watch all of The Circle at once, that’s the case with this particular show too.

Although Season 5 of The Circle premiered on Netflix on Dec. 28, not all of the episodes were available right away. Instead, just Episodes 1-4 dropped. After that, there are three more weeks of a similar format. Except, of course, for the final release, which includes just the finale.

The Circle Season 5 finale premieres on Jan. 18 on the streaming platform.

That means, when you finish the batch of episodes the week prior to that, you’ll be that much more excited, and perhaps even annoyed, that you have to wait an entire week to find out what happens.

But, if we’re being fair, it could be a lot worse. At least with Netflix, you get a few episodes at a time to tide you over until the following week. So, you know, there’s that.

When it comes time for any given season’s Circle winner to be picked, the process is a lot like the standard ranking protocol that happens throughout each season. Before all of the players meet face-to-face and then meet with host Michelle Buteau, they rank each other. They choose who they would place in their number one spot and go down from there.

In the end, whichever player is ranked number one based on the players’ rankings, wins The Circle. They are the top influencer of the season and they alone walk away with $100,000. If the top player is a catfish played by two people, then they split that prize.

During the season, the top two contestants are named as the top influencers and they have the power to block a player together each time. But during the finale, there’s just one influencer, who also happens to be the winner.

Watch The Circle on Netflix.