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.
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?
To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned. We're filming it now and we'll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and…
— Netflix (@netflix) April 17, 2023
photos credit: Netflix
I’m pretty unfamiliar with Vanessa Lachey in general and I’ve only watched one season of this show but my take away from the reunion is that she is…not good at her job?
She seemed like she was on something, or had too much work done too close to the show? Her facial expressions were weirdly timed. She also seemed to talk over people and harp on really weird things but gloss over others. Could be just the way it all shook out after the delays etc but the whole time I’m like VANESSA YOU IN DANGER GIRL.
I actually really enjoy her acting on NCIS Hawaii (and have not understood why she hosts these love programs with Nick when she has other interests) so maybe he really loves hosting and she goes along with it for the married couple hook but isn’t a natural?
It’s for those dolla dolla bills!
The decision to have a live reunion was so baffling because literally no one asked for it. We switched to streaming so that we could watch things on-demand…that is the whole value proposition. Netflix is super out of touch with the consumer that they gave us something we didn’t ask for and then bungled it this bad.
I waited for an hour to watch, realized it wasn’t happening, decided to watch someone streaming it on TikTok, realized how ridiculous that was, and then went to bed. I don’t envision myself watching the reunion because it’s already been spoiled for anyone who is Very Online and because the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Netflix and Love Is Blind got too cute with this special. They should have just taped the show and and aired it later. Take notes from the OG dating show The Bachelor and tape before a live audience and be done with it.
While we’re on the subject — Netflix, where is Season 2 of Is It Cake?!?! They spent a year hyping it for March 2023 and haven’t a word about why it’s not out yet. My kids keep checking and checking. What’s going on over there?
You are my people. That was an amazing, lighthearted show and we keep looking for it in my house, too!
we loved it here too!
Honking for “Is It Cake?” season 2!!! My daughter and I looooved it (she’s 10) and would crack each other up at each reveal crying “Is It CAAAKE???” and pausing the screen to try to figure out which one was cake. The bakers are so skilled, we only had about a 30% success rate. Please get the new season out, Netflix!
I watched it last night and had the impression it had been streamed live late but purely due to how terrible the directing was for at least the first 20 mins, they were never cutting to the right cameras. Stayed on hosts way too long and there was also some kind of audio issue that happened twice when I watched.
Not a fan of Vanessa’s hosting imo she’s not a good interviewer and seems more like a stan who is trying to be Andy Cohen.
However I loved it when Zack told Irina she was on the show for fame! Loved seeing all three couples seeming very loved up and happy.
I know it’s been said in a bunch of other spaces, but Vanessa’s focus on when each couple was going to have children was really not okay. Why would you think that’s even appropriate to ask folks? And it was very pointed. As a viewer, I felt uncomfortable and gross.
I am very old school, and will never get this no socks with shoes trend the young ones are running with these days. I can’t STAND how it looks, and it seems, that’s the look these guys were going for.
I don’t mind the look now that I’m used to it, but it doesn’t look comfortable to me.
There were too many hilarious responses to Netflix’s bungle. All these corporations got in on it! Hulu, Peacock, Blockbuster, Bravo TV, it was *chef’s kiss.*
I didn’t hate the reunion as much as I thought I would. It evened out my feelings about Kwame, I became more of a Marshall fan, and Irina got her just desserts. The only ones who got off scot-free were Micah and Shelby, for some unknown reason. And I’m actually happy Jackie and Josh are happy–she should have picked him right from the start because he was more her speed. She still needs to do a lot of self-work, though, because her emotions were all over the place during the show and I cannot imagine Josh is any help with that.
Netflix really messed this up. I don’t want live shows on streaming services. The primary appeal of streaming is watching shows on demand.