YouTube has come a long way from its humble origins and now, there are more than just music videos, video game playthroughs, and vlogs on the platform. In the past few years, social game shows and dating shows have become really trendy on the video sharing platform and one of them has made the jump from just being a YouTube series to being a Netflix show that streams live every week.
To find out everything you need to know about Pop the Balloon, including what this dating show is all about and how to watch it, keep reading!
What is Pop the Balloon?
Arlette Amuli and Bolia Matundu started uploading episodes of their dating series, titled "Pop the Balloon Or Find Love," on YouTube in December 2023 and over the course of the past year, the show has taken the internet by storm.
In the series, one contestant is paired up with a lineup of hopeful singles that want to win a date with the main contestant. Each of them is holding a red balloon and the main contestant can talk to each of them, ask questions, and get to know them. If, at any point, they decide that they're just not feeling that person, they can pop their balloon and they'll be eliminated from the lineup.
Clips from the series, which is uploaded to their YouTube channel once a week, have gone viral on YouTube and TikTok and people can't get enough of the series, so it's no surprise that Netflix took notice.
Netflix recently announced that they'll be livestreaming special episodes of Pop the Balloon on their platform, but episodes will still be uploaded on YouTube as normal. According to Yvonne Orji, host of the new Netflix version of the series, they've made some minor changes from the YouTube format in order to make it slightly less permanent if a single's balloon is popped.
"Maybe you pop the balloon too soon, and now you're like, 'Ah, they could have been a great guy, but I judged them based on something superficial.' It's also an opportunity for people to have real learnings about themselves," Yvonne Orji shared with Netflix Tudum.
Netflix also shared that the show will feature everyday people like the YouTube version has, but it also promises that some big names in reality TV will come on the show looking for love.
According to Netflix Tudum, some of the famous faces that will be making appearances on Pop the Balloon include Johnny Bananas from The Challenge, Chase DeMoore from Too Hot to Handle, and Zaina Sesay from The Ultimatum.
How to watch Pop the Balloon live on Netflix
Pop the Balloon will now be airing separate episodes in two different places starting April 10, 2025. Episodes will still be uploaded every Wednesday to YouTube like before, but Netflix will now be producing their own separate episodes that air live on Netflix every Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
After the live stream is concluded on Netflix, the episode will be available for streaming on the platform.
According to Netflix, their iteration of Pop the Balloon will be putting more of a focus on making deep, personal connections with the people that appear on the series in order to make connections that the singles might want to take off-camera and into the real world.