Why ‘The Circle’s Shubham Restores Faith in the Kind-Hearted Reality Contestant
Opinion
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 1 of The Circle.]
If you haven’t had the chance to check out Netflix’s addictive new reality competition series The Circle yet, turn back now and binge as quickly as you can to avoid major spoilers.
I’ll admit it, I’m not a major fan of most reality TV competitions as of late. The main reason for this has to be the fact that the individuals put into casts in order to cause drama for the masses tend to be horrible.
While that may be a winning combo for some, I prefer to see good people having fun and being kind to each other. Surprisingly, I learned Netflix’s The Circle was a hot bed for such interactions.
(Credit: Netflix)
Following players as they’re locked into solitary apartments, interacting solely through screens via a social media-type group chat, The Circle bends the rules on a typical reality competition, so it should be no surprise its contestants do too.
Despite initial concerns upon meeting the players in the premiere, I was immediately taken by the genuineness of one contestant — a 23-year-old Californian named Shubham. Inspirational in his intelligence and quest to improve the world — he’s the youngest candidate for Governor in the state’s history — Shubham’s kindness is what he leads with from the moment you meet him onscreen.
Juggling apples in his apartment, the first time we meet Shubham, the virtual-reality designer’s being unapologetically himself. His qualms with social media — in which he has a “minimal presence” — make his role in the game all the more grounding.
“Honestly, I think social media is our modern-day bubonic plague. It’s actually the devil in all its forms,” he said in his introduction during the premiere. Even with his negative feelings towards the system, he said, “Although I despise social media, by me going into The Circle, being myself 100% authentically, it can show you don’t have to be fake. You can be yourself and that is good enough.”
(Credit: Netflix via The Circle’s Twitter)
Those sentiments are something Shubham constantly reminds us of throughout his time in the game. Whether its his authentic friendship with fellow player Joey, or comforting Sammie when others accuse her of being a possible catfish, Shubham is there to lift people up.
Sure, Shubham may have come in second place next to winner Joey, but that doesn’t mean his time in The Circle was any less important or moving. In a world where reality stars act like online trolls, it’s nice to see that a show centered on the concept of social media can weed out some of TV’s shiniest apples with a few laughs along the way.
(Credit: Netflix)
Shubham has restored my faith in reality TV competitions. Find out if he and the rest of The Circle gang can do the same by checking out Season 1 on Netflix.
The Circle, Season 1, Streaming now
