Local Jewish mom turns Netflix star
Her wardrobe during the series included menorah earrings, a Star of David necklace and a “Jewlicious” T-shirt.
Deb Levy never dreamed that at 54 she would become a reality TV star.
Yet, this married mom of three from Upper St. Clair was chosen to compete in season 7 of “The Circle,” a Netflix popularity contest in which influencers vie among themselves for a $100,000 prize.
They are individually sequestered in an Atlanta apartment building and use a social media app called The Circle to communicate with — and rank — one another, striving to become head of the pack at the end of the 13-week series, which wrapped Oct. 2.
They can appear as their authentic selves or assume fake identities. Although viewers can see who they are, contestants don’t meet face-to-face until the finale.
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Closed circuit cameras roll 12 to 15 hours a day.
Levy, who works in higher ed technology, had no idea what she was getting into when a Gen Z friend, Maddy Rudoy, convinced her to try for a spot on the show, she said.
“I’d never even seen ‘The Circle’ when Maddy told me about it so I looked at a couple of previews, and then Maddy and I FaceTimed while I filled out an application. I said all kinds of ridiculous stuff like ‘I’m Deb and I’m awesome and I should be on your show!’”
Five months later Levy got a casting call.
“I’d actually forgotten about it and when they asked me if I was still interested I told them, ‘I’m kind of busy right now. I’ll get back to you,’ I figured it was never going to happen anyway,” she said.
The producers persisted, and two months later she was en route to Atlanta for an adventure that would keep her out of touch with husband Phil and sons Jason, 23, and Andrew, 21, for three weeks.
It happened to come at a harrowing time, since the show was set to begin taping just days after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, putting Levy in a quandary about whether to continue.
She had planned to catfish on “The Circle” as a 26-year-old, and to come across as the “super proud Jew” that she is in her everyday life, Levy said.
“But I felt it was wrong to go on the show and do something so silly and frivolous at such an awful time.”
She sought advice from her brother, an Orthodox rabbi living in New York, and Rabbi Aaron Meyer at Temple Emmanuel of South Hills, where she worships. “They both urged me to go on the show and be the proudest Jew I could be.”
In her debut, the first words Levy uttered were “Oy, gott, Oy gevolt,” as she struggled to seat herself on a stool. Her wardrobe during the series included menorah earrings, a Star of David necklace and a “Jewlicious” T-shirt.
Viewer comments on her Instagram account have been mostly positive, said Levy, who received supportive words from an Israeli woman in a bomb shelter Oct. 1. “There’s been some Jew hate. I got horrible things said to me, like ‘How dare Netflix put a Zionist Jew on one of their shows.’ I was called a genocidal baby killer. With those I just hit delete. Most non-Jewish viewers have been wonderful.”
“Circle” contestants spend all of their days alone in their apartments with no contact with family or friends, although they can summon help in an emergency, Levy said, noting that the show’s producers are in constant touch with families to ensure that all is well back home.
Groceries are delivered every two days.
“The Circle” originated in England in 2020, during the pandemic, to explore how people in isolation interact and form relationships solely through social media.
“We’re given games that help us learn things about each other,” Levy said. “We have one-on-one chats, and message one another. Alliances are formed and then they change. There’s a lot of scheming.”
“Everyone was in a constant state of trying to win the others to their side.”
Levy said she never felt self-conscious about being recorded, even during the show’s considerable downtime.
“I cooked. I read seven books and learned Hebrew. I did arts and crafts. I entertained myself and did fine,” she said.
“You also do a lot of thinking when you are by yourself all day. I really missed my husband — not being able to talk to him and bounce things off of each other.”
She had a pillow of her husband made to keep her company, and in one clip seats “Phillow” at the dinner table with a plate.
Although much of the show is in a light-hearted vein, there are poignant moments, too. In the first episode Levy tearfully reveals that her eldest son Jonathan passed away at 22.
“My son is here with me. He’s a part of me,” she said.
Spoiler alert: Levy made it to the top five but did not capture the ultimate prize. That went to Staten Island twin brothers Nicky and Jojo Scarlotta, who won by masquerading as Gianna, Jojo’s girlfriend.
Levy, a Staten Island native, had built an alliance with Gianna and said they saved her from being eliminated early on.
“So if I couldn’t win, I wanted it to be them,” she said.
Levy called “The Circle” “an amazing experience” and flew to Los Angeles for a post-season party Oct. 5.
But she doesn’t see a future in show biz.
“I’m a 55-year-old mom,” she said. “Once was enough.” PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
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