ANALYSIS: A show that worked so well on YouTube bombed after its first episode on streaming. But if they hold on to the original elements that made the show a success, there may still be hope for bringing the audience back.
“Pop The Balloon LIVE!” is having its own balloon burst after the first episode of the series didn’t get off to a great start.
Fans of the original show, which appeared on YouTube, were already skeptical after seeing that the show’s co-creator and host, Arlette Amuli, was no longer hosting—a role recast with the very talented and capable Yvonne Orji in her place.
Nevertheless, in the spirit of rooting for everybody Black and noting that Amuli and her husband/co-producer were now executive producers on the Netflix version, people still decided to tune in and give it a shot.
But episode one departed in a few ways from the YouTube show, and critics were quick to slam the look and feel of the new formula.
The most notable change was the lack of Black contestants on the show. “Pop The Balloon” on YouTube was unofficially a very Black dating show, but this new cast included only two Black women contestants in the lineup of women, with two Black male suitors out of five. While the diversity itself wasn’t bad, a subtle message that the show’s contestants needed to be whiter for it to ‘work’ in mainstream TV didn’t sit well with viewers, whether it was intended or not.
The problem with the casting was, more specifically, that this new mix of daters included quite a few former reality show contestants. Rather than using the normal, regular, everyday folk that gave the show so much flavor, this crop felt a little more rehearsed or superficial in an “I do TV” kind of way. There were a few breakout daters who did seem like they were there for love (shout out to Mr. Orange silk shirt), but the rest seemed like they were there for a TV breakthrough. Bring back people with imperfect teeth, bad wardrobe choices and natural features. They feel more like us at home.
Critics also complained that the show’s overall vibe felt chaotic, with jokes from Orji colliding with antics from daters and a lot of people talking over each other with the kind of energy that gave off nervous vibes.
Doing live TV is hard as it is, and doing live TV that requires the vulnerability of singles trying to find love is a whole other ballgame. So the network definitely took a chance by green-lighting this version of the show and may have bit off a lot to try to perfect at once.
But there were moments that showed glimmers of hope. After the first few awkward daters finished being offered up as sacrificial lambs to gods of streaming experimentation, the show seemed to have found a little more calm, enough that we could learn more about the singles and what they were looking for.
The funniest moment happened at the end of the show when a lanky, awkward, and somewhat shy Engineer/Entrepreneur Guy hit the stage looking for a relationship.
Despite his obvious nerves, the universe rewarded him for not being an arrogant jerk, and Engineer Guy ended up with two baddies interested in him at the end of his dating round.
Despite noting his Indian ethnicity, when Engineer Guy started asking questions to make a choice between the two women, one curly-headed dame has the audacity to say she that doesn’t like curry— right after him saying it’s his favorite spice.
Immediate balloon pop. Bye girl.
And that’s the kind of genuinely funny moment and twist of fate that makes a show like “Pop the Balloon” work— only in this world does a little revenge of the nerds moment happen where the video model baddie can get sent home for not reading the room, and women get to send home bad guys.
If Netflix’s “Pop The Balloon LIVE” can listen to viewer feedback and course correct in real time, they may be able to win people back.
It takes time to build an audience, and there may still be one for the show—the only question is whether it will include the people who helped make the show popular in the first place or a different group altogether.
Natasha S. Alford is the Senior Vice President of TheGrio. A recognized journalist, filmmaker, and TV personality, Alford is also the author of the award-winning book, “American Negra.” (HarperCollins, 2024) Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @natashasalford.
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“has-featured-video”,”true”)})}();
