Netflix subscribers have been warned to skip a new dating show, which viewers claim they turned off after five minutes.
Pop the Balloon Live landed on the streamer on Thursday (10 April) and has already been slammed by audiences on social media.
The speed-dating show was originally a YouTube series created by Bolia Matundu (BM) and Arlette Amuli last year. It quickly became an internet sensation and has been emulated by other content creators.
Netflix has now taken the concept and given it its own spin. The Take Me Out-style series is live-streamed every Thursday evening in the USA and Friday morning in the UK. Emmy-nominated actress Yvonne Orji hosts it for the streamer.
The show's premise is simple: a group of singles are given red balloons at the beginning of each episode, and they have the right to pop it anytime. They are then introduced to a single man or woman, who must pitch themselves to the line-up.
The single person in the spotlight then asks the group compatibility questions, and they can pop any balloons they want to eliminate from the dating pool.
Devoted fans tune into the series weekly, with Arlette often amassing millions of views per video. Despite the dedicated following, however, Netflix's spin-off has received sour reviews.
One viewer took to X, formerly Twitter, to dub the live show a 'complete waste of time.' "The Pop the Balloon show on Netflix is a joke. It's a complete waste of time," they wrote.
Others confessed they did not watch the entire first episode. One TV fan said: "15 minutes into Netflix's version of Pop the Balloon and let's just say I popped the balloon."
Another echoed the sentiment, writing: "Turned on Netflix's Pop the Balloon challenge... turned it off after 5 minutes wtf was that."
Yet another disappointed viewer slammed: "The Netflix Pop the Balloon is a bore fest. They should have left it alone."
A fifth person confessed that a friend warned them to skip the series: "My friend just told me don't waste my time with that Pop the Balloon nonsense on Netflix."
Despite the overwhelming critiques, some audiences are convinced the series will improve over the next few weeks.
A hopeful fan shared: "Lmaoooo I watched Pop the Balloon on Netflix to see why everyone tripping, it's not that bad they can get better but it's okay for a start ngl [not going to lie]."
Pop the Balloon Live streams every Friday on Netflix.
