The much-awaited Love is Blind Season 4 reunion turned into a disaster before it even began. The episode, which was to be aired live, was supposed to start on Sunday, April 16, 2023, at 8 p.m., but started much later, sending fans into a frenzy. Why attempt it in the first place?
Looks like show creator Chris Coelen finally has an answer. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he expressed how it was a bad idea to air the reunion live. The producer said he wasn’t present in the studio but was at home watching everything unfold in real-time. A lesson learnt the hard way, Chris! Never attempt a large scale event knowing there might be risks.
Chris further said, “Normally in that situation, I’d be in the control room. I’d be in the host’s ear. And I wasn’t … I lost my mind. I was sitting in front of my TV like, ‘What is happening? Give me the updates. What’s going on?’”
It was a “bad idea” to begin with
In his interview, Chris revealed that it was Netflix’s idea to do a live reunion. He said, “They came to us, and we all had some misgivings about it.” That is why they say, listen to your intuition. If the idea was making anyone a little apprehensive, maybe it was a bad idea to go with since the beginning.
Chris revealed that he sought help of a former client after they decided to go for it. He said, “But, collectively, we decided that if we’re going to do it, we’re going to bring in my former client, [Who Wants to Be a Millionaire producer] Michael Davies. We’d done some shows with him in the past. So we weren’t actually producing it.”
Honestly, it wouldn’t have made a difference if the reunion was previously taped or if it aired live. Even if there were spoilers, nothing could take away from the fact that the show was popular enough for people to tune in regardless.
Chris, however, echoed the statement when he said he didn’t see the “benefit” of trying a live reunion ever again. He agreed with host Andy Cohen’s views that it’s a bad idea “creatively” to air the reunion live.
The Love is Blind creator further said, “Would we do a live reunion again? Possibly, but what is the benefit? I’d have to think about it and obviously talk to my partners about the real benefit of going live.”
Chris understood that they’d have to understand what aspect of a live reunion would be different or exciting than an already taped one. I agree because other than the potential spoilers, not a lot would be given away if it was taped. Moreover, it would give leeway for editing, more balanced opinions, and a better outcome.
The live aspect definitely had fans looking forward to the reunion, but considering Netflix did a poor job handling it, I doubt if it’s worth taking that chance again. By the time the reunion aired the excitement had already died down and the episode proved to be even more of a disappointment. It honestly wouldn’t have made a difference either way.
Although it was chaotic to say the least, Chris looked at the positives. He said, “It was a chaotic night, but I’m an optimist. Ultimately, the great thing that came out of that night was it showed how much significant interest there is in Love Is Blind. I really appreciated that.”
Well, that’s one way to look at it, Chris. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the live reunion was just a bust.
Love Is Blind returns for its fifth season to Netflix in September 2023.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK THE LIVE REUNION WAS A BAD IDEA? DO YOU THINK THE EPISODE MADE UP FOR THE DELAY?
