The best reality show I watched this year unfolded not on my TV but through an app on my computer screen. In April, a month into quarantine with no end in sight, some friends asked if I wanted to play a virtual version of “The Circle,” Netflix’s already lockdown-friendly series in which contestants live in separate apartments and communicate solely through texts and social media posts. This version would take place entirely over the messaging platform Discord, with occasional voting and challenges scheduled throughout the weekend. On a Friday, I figured I’d play a couple rounds, talk to a few people and call it a day. By Sunday night’s “season finale,” I was screaming in thrilled anguish on our Zoom reunion call, where I found out I came in second place to an eleventh-hour addition who had the good grace to be embarrassed by his win.
