Netflix was doing something different with the fourth season of Love is Blind. They were planning to air a live reunion episode last night and hyped it for weeks, but that didn’t happen. The reunion that was supposed to air live at 8PM ET was taped and streamed over an hour late and Netflix had to issue a public apology. Messy season from start to finish.

Netflix ran into significant issues with its second-ever live event on Sunday evening. Love Is Blind: The Live Reunion failed to start streaming at its planned 8PM showtime, leading to major consternation from the show’s fans across social media. Netflix acknowledged the problem on Twitter soon after and promised to kick off the presentation within 15 minutes.

That didn’t happen, either. More than an hour later, subscribers were still encountering error screens when trying to watch the event. Netflix followed up by saying it’d be “worth the wait.” As the delay stretched on, hosts Vanessa and Nick Lachey posted to Instagram thanking fans (and a live studio audience) for their extended patience.

Finally, at around 9:30PM ET, Netflix shared a public apology and said the special would be filmed and made available on the service “as soon as humanly possible.” But it wouldn’t be live anymore due to whatever technical mishap caused all of this. Fans got to enjoy the season 4 reunion a short time later, though Netflix has yet to provide any explanation for what happened.

For unknown reasons, the Love Is Blind reunion proved far more challenging for Netflix than a Chris Rock live comedy special that streamed in early March without any snags. With tonight’s delay extending into the 9PM ET hour, Netflix risked losing many viewers to HBO’s smash hit Succession. As expected, the company faced an avalanche of complaints and mockery on social media due to the unexpected postponement. Even Blockbuster — whatever incarnation of “Blockbuster” this Twitter account is — couldn’t help but take a shot.

The embarrassing delay just two events in is a setback for Netflix, which has said it intends to regularly deliver live programming — including comedy specials and awards shows like the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards — as a way to entice subscribers and fend off streaming rivals. The company hasn’t announced what’s next on its live event calendar, but there will be major pressure on Netflix to come through and make tonight’s debacle an anomaly.

[From The Verge]

I didn’t even try to watch this live because I had stuff to do before Succession, but I feel the frustration of those who did. Nothing more frustrating than a technical difficulty delaying your timeline, especially on a Sunday night when you’re trying to unwind. Netflix hasn’t said what happened here, just apologized profusely. It’s annoying that Chris Rock’s special went live with no problems, but this actually entertaining show was delayed and had to be taped. Anyway, the reunion was messy in terms of content as well. It’s nice that Chelsea and Kwame seem to have resolved their issues. Brett and Tiffany are cute. And still side-eyeing Jackelina and Josh — and just give back the ring, jeez. This show gets a little more unhinged every season. So, where’s season 5 going to be set?






photos credit: Netflix