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Daijné Jones had been looking forward to watching Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” reunion show on Sunday night. But it didn’t work out like she — or the streaming platform — thought it would.
Sunday was a day of waiting, waiting and waiting some more for many “Love Is Blind” fans. The reunion show was delayed after apparent technical problems. In response, Netflix taped the episode instead and aired it.
“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,” the streaming service tweeted Sunday night.
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
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
“Love Is Blind” fans weren’t the only ones playing the waiting game.
Coachella attendees had their own lengthy wait for one of the festival’s headliners, Frank Ocean, to perform his set. But they had already waited: The R&B singer had not performed since 2019. Attendees waited approximately an hour after the scheduled time for him to appear onstage.
Meanwhile, the headline-grabbing Dominion v. Fox trial was delayed until Tuesday as both sides agreed to meet to seek out a potential deal. And on Monday morning, SpaceX halted its own flight-test attempt.
All of these delays had social media running amok with speculation, quick fixes and panic. And it pushed fans to resort to all sorts of tricks to stay tuned to what was happening.
When the live stream of the “Love Is Blind” reunion wouldn’t load, Jones texted her friends who were also eagerly anticipating the show. Maybe it was a problem on her app. Nope. Her friends couldn’t watch the episode, either. Jones then scrolled Twitter, wondering whether it was just her account that was left in the dark. It wasn’t. So she pulled out her laptop and her phone to see whether the live stream would work on those devices. She opened up Netflix’s Twitter account, too, searching for an update. Still, nothing.
Around 9:30 p.m., she opened TikTok and noticed someone was live-streaming the show. So she watched a Netflix live stream from a TikTok Live video.
“I think the fact that it wasn’t just happening to me made me have more patience,” she said, adding: “I get things happen, … so there were bound to be issues, but keeping us in the loop would’ve been nice.”
Similarly, Shelby Susnick of Atlanta said she was scrolling through Twitter during the delay.
“Time seems to move faster when you’re with people going through the same thing and laughing about it,” she said.
People across social media posted memes, including of some “Love Is Blind” cast members, to completely dunk on Netflix. And brands soon chimed in, too, posting quips about Netflix. While some poured one out for the company, others did not shy away from poking fun at the streaming giant in its attempt at having a live show.
“We would never keep you waiting for a Reunion,” tweeted Bravo, which hosts reunion specials for its many reality TV shows, including its Real Housewives franchise.
my girlfriend thought it was my tv and left me thanks a lot
— Slim Jim 🚀 MEATA (@SlimJim) April 17, 2023
Blockbuster made the point that starting on time might be something from a bygone era.
“Remember renting vhs’ from us. You could start it on time no problem … This is what we get,” the formal video-rental giant tweeted at its onetime rival.
As for Frank Ocean’s performance at Coachella, not only did it get off to a late start — but it ended early, too. Not a good recipe if you want five stars.
According to Tom Coulter of California’s Desert Sun, the singer ended his performance early because of a local curfew. Some fans booed or cried once it became clear that the show was wrapped, he wrote.
“Ocean still reminded fans of his generational talent Sunday night, hitting the high notes and offering glimpses into the enigmatic music he’s been working on as of late. But sadly, the curfew rules stole the spotlight in the end,” Coulter wrote.
Fans made sure to provide negative reviews after his set was over, too, so the performer might want to avoid his mentions for a bit.
“Started the set late, didn’t let them live stream it, now ending the set early … frank ocean you will rue the day,” wrote one Twitter user.
Many sought salvation in the Roy family of HBO’s “Succession.”
“The fact Netflix doesn’t know the Venn diagram of #loveisblind viewers and #succession watchers is a circle and HBO is about to eat them up in 15 minutes,” tweeted Imaeyen Ibanga.
MSNBC analyst Brittany Packnett Cunningham said she was live on MSNBC “discussing the very serious news of the day” when the “Love Is Blind” delay happened Sunday night.
Throughout the night, she said that she had to fend off those in her Twitter mentions, because Netflix had retweeted her earlier in the day for saying that live reunions might be the future of reality television.
But Cunningham held her ground. She didn’t want to bend, despite the backlash.
“The tweet aged like milk but I stand by my claim. Maybe I’m just ahead of the curve!”
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