Inflate-gate! Pop the Balloon Is About to Blow Up on Netflix

In good news for lovelorn singletons who get horned up by watching Is It Cake?, Netflix is adapting the viral YouTube humiliation ritual Pop the Balloon or Find Love into a full-fledged series which will stream live on Thursdays at 8 p.m. beginning April 10. The dating show, originally created by married duo Arlette Amuli and Bolia “BM” Matundu, will be upgraded from Fashion Nova sponsorships to a Netflix-slick production, featuring a mix of everyday contestants and reality stars like Johnny Bananas (The Challenge), Chase DeMoor (Too Hot To Handle), Farrah Abraham (Teen Mom), and Zaina Sesay (The Ultimatum).

Amuli will pass the mic to comedian and actress Yvonne Orji, who will host Pop the Balloon LIVE. “I know a thing or two about looking for love in a hopeless place. Hopefully the singles on Pop The Balloon Live will have much more success. As host, I’m looking forward to striking that delicate balance of heart and humor for our daters and the Netflix audience at home,” Orji said in a statement. Amuli and BM will stay on as executive producers.

For those who haven’t seen it, the original Pop the Balloon or Find Love has a simple enough dating-game-show format: An eligible singleton introduces themselves to a row of eligible bachelors or bachelorettes, each holding a red balloon and a pin. The contestant reveals details about themselves and what they’re looking for in a partner, and the others can tap out at any moment by loudly popping their balloon. These videos are the length of feature films and get millions of views. Conceptually, it fits right in with Netflix’s other dating “social experiments” like Love Is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, and The Ultimatum. I’ll be honest: Until today, I thought Pop the Balloon was like that RuPaul’s Drag Race mini-challenge where contestants grind on a half-naked guy until they pop the balloon nestled between the one’s crotch and the other’s butt. This is not that, but hey, Paramount+ has the opportunity to do the funniest thing of all time …

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