Hulu has named creator, author, and SiriusXM host Tinx as host of its revival of “The Circle,” a reality competition series that will put celebrities alongside civilian players and let viewers shape the game through voting on TikTok and by text. The season premieres November 17.

Tinx, whose real name is Christina Najjar, is replacing comedian Michelle Buteau, who hosted the show’s seven seasons on Netflix. The series will stream on Hulu and on Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers, with three new episodes each week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for five weeks. The finale airs Friday, December 18.

The original format put contestants in separate apartments, isolated from the outside world and communicating only through a social media platform called “The Circle.” Players were blocked over the course of the season, with the winner determined by the final rankings. Some contestants played as themselves, while others posed as someone else.

The revival keeps that structure and adds two elements: celebrity players and live audience voting, the first time viewers will vote in the U.S. version. Hulu describes the new season in its logline as “a fast-turnaround social experiment” that is “filmed in real time,” with “audience votes shaping the game.” The winner takes home the $100,000 grand prize, according to ABC7.

The first fan vote is already open. Layla Taylor of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and her friend Kate Racker will enter the game catfishing as a single man, and viewers on TikTok or via text will decide whether they play as a persona named Doug or one named Steven.

Other celebrity contestants include “The Bachelorette” season 15 star Hannah Brown and “Dancing with the Stars” professional Sasha Farber, both playing as themselves, and “Vanderpump Villa” star Dominic “Chef Dom” DeAngelis, catfishing as Lisa Vanderpump. The civilian players include Gina, a content creator from Austin, Texas, who will play alongside her husband Yanis while catfishing as a single version of herself.

Tinx hosts the live SiriusXM call-in show “It’s Me, Tinx,” which premiered in 2022. Her 2023 book “The Shift: Change Your Perspective, Not Yourself” reached the New York Times bestseller list, and she released the novel “Hotter in the Hamptons” in 2025. Both books are in development as TV adaptations, with Tinx attached as an executive producer. She is represented by WME, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Paul Hastings LLP.

Studio Lambert produces the series with Omaha Productions, Peyton Manning’s company, and Motion Entertainment, a WPP Entertainment company, in partnership with Turnkey Studio Services, a division of Banijay America. Susan House is the showrunner.

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