Netflix apologizes after botching "live" Love Is Blind reunion

Live from Netflix, it’s a Sunday night catastrophe. Reality TV lovers were kept waiting—and waiting, and waiting—to watch the Love Is Blind reunion. Unfortunately, the streamer’s second-ever live event faced some sort of technical difficulties, and the reunion did not go forward as planned, much to the chagrin of Twitter users everywhere. Most users who attempted to watch the show at 8 pm E.T. on Sunday were greeted with an onscreen message that read “There is an issue with the livestream,” per The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Netflix attempted to communicate with fans via Twitter. “Love is … late. #LoveIsBlindLIVE will be on in 15 minutes!” The streamer’s official social media account posted around the start time. “Promise #LoveIsBlindLIVE will be worth the wait….” the page added with a photo of contestant Irinia. The event finally began more than an hour after it was scheduled, though many users who did stick it out that long reported experiencing glitches, according to the NYT.

Netflix was finally forced to concede and issue an apology: “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 sorry,” it posted to Twitter.

In a since-deleted video on Instagram (via the NYT), co-host Vanessa Lachey apparently attributed the reunion’s technical problems to high audience volume. “Apparently y’all, everybody broke the internet to see this reunion. So we are ready to roll. We just got to figure this out,” she shared with followers as the cast waited to kick things off. “Don’t turn the channel. Don’t stream something else,” she urged, a big ask for a packed Sunday night television schedule that included heavy hitters like Succession and the premiere of Barry. Meanwhile, cast member Marshall Glaze posted a meme of a man standing in front of a mess of wires, joking, “I’m trying yall.”

Because this is whatever stage of capitalism in which brands pretend to have personalities, it was more than just fans getting in on the ire against Netflix on Twitter. “We’re never #LateFromE…we’re always #LiveFromE,” E! Entertainment posted with a winking emoji. Similarly, Bravo—home of the Real Housewives—wrote, “We would never keep you waiting for a Reunion.” The official Blockbuster Twitter, which somehow exists though the company largely does not, posted, “Remember renting vhs’ from us. You could start it on time no problem… This is what we get.” Hulu, a competitor in the streaming space, shared a screenshot of Kerry Washington with the simple caption “Hmm,” while Peacock posted a gif of John Krasinski pouring himself wine and saying, “Oh my God.”

Netflix must have been spoiled by the relative success of Chris Rock’s special, which aired live largely without a hitch. As for Love Is Blind, the show will eventually go on, though seemingly not live, on Monday. “Love Is Blind: The Reunion will be available globally at 12pm PT on April 17,” Netflix posted on Twitter. “Promise.”