Yvonne Orji‘s latest gig? Live dating show host!

She’s now taking her hosting skills to the next level as the host of Netflix’s Pop the Balloon LIVE. Coined as the only live dating show, and based on the YouTube series hosted by Arlette Amuli, singles pair up and must protect a shared balloon while getting to know each other. Amuli and husband Bolia Matundu executive produce the Netflix iteration of the series.

With romance and drama in the air, keeping the balloon from popping becomes crucial — because once it does, their chance at finding love bursts too. Blavity’s Shadow and Act spoke with the Insecure staple about why this world was appealing to her.

Congratulations on your new hosting gig for Pop the Balloon Live. Tell me about how this initially came about — and did you watch the show on YouTube?

Generally in our industry, we have general meetings sometimes with different networks, with different executives, producers, etc. I had a general meeting over at Netflix in their unscripted department. And little did I know that that was kind of like my audition tape.

One of the casting executives had obviously seen Insecure, and they’d seen my comedy specials, and they knew that I was getting into live hosting because I’ve done red carpet live, I’ve done a Super Bowl thing with e.l.f., and also, as a comedian, you work in live.

And so, the opportunity came about and I was like, “Oh wow,” because Netflix is really doing a push into the live space, so they were looking for someone that could do that. Once I knew that it was circling, I did start watching a lot more of the YouTube episodes, just so I could be familiar with the format and the vibe of the show. Of course, we had all seen the clips, we saw the SNL sketch, but that’s kind of how it happened.

What about it being a live dating series was attractive to you? We’re in this world of Love Is Blind and, of course, long-term series like The Bachelor, so they’re always popular. But what about this specific show made you say, “I want to host this”?

Well, a couple of things. Sometimes when you’re like, “Oh, I wanna host the Oscars,” or “I wanna host the Emmys,” or “I wanna host…” — those are all live. I think God was basically like, “OK, you wanna do all that? Let me prepare you.” Sometimes you’re like, “Oh, I wanna do this,” and it’s like you don’t know if you’re ready or not.

So I think the sharpening of the skill — sharpening of the muscle — because when you do comedy, that is live, but this is different. It’s like 18 cameras, and there’s no resetting or editing — it is live. I was up for the challenge.

And then also, for the love aspect, I really do love love. I definitely talked to the folks in charge and was like, “OK, what’s the tone?” Because I’ve seen some stuff and it can get kind of gangster. But are we really trying to help people find connections? Because that’s what I’m all about. That’s my brand. I love love. I wanna be in love. I wanna help other people find love.

And they were like, “Yes, we are really hoping that the people who are coming here really want to find a connection.” Obviously, we can’t control what people say or do, and the conceit of it — you kind of have to have a little bit of tough skin because when the balloons pop, they pop.

I think what I bring to the opportunity is a bit of levity to soften some of the blows that could come. We don’t want people to walk away feeling just hurt and cracked on. So I think that’s where some of the levity comes into play.

What are some common dating woes that you’ve noticed?

I know with a lot of my friends, what they’ll say is — someone said they saw the bigness of who they were, and not just fame or nothing, but just being a boss chick, and whatever that means — and they’re like, “Yeah, I wanna date you.” And then they get into it and it’s like, “Oh man, you know, I’m just not ready for all of this.”

And it’s like, “I was not looking for you. You sought me out. So why did you invade my space when I was very happy being single — and you’re playing games?”

So there is that thing: “Where is our equal compatibility? Where’s our equal match?” That’s definitely a recurring theme with a lot of my friends, especially as we’re getting into our late 30s, early 40s. It’s like, “Who is stepping up to the plate?”

Other dating woes include things like — I know women who don’t want to make the first move. We want to be courted. We want someone to see us and be like, “Hey man, I think you’re super dope. I would love to take you out,” as opposed to we gotta be the aggressors. And some people don’t have a problem with that, but some people kind of want that traditional: guy sees girl, girl sees guy, guy asks girl out.

What do you think sets this show apart from everything else, and from all this other competition?

I think one is because it’s really not a competition show. The true prize at the end is a hopeful connection. But there’s no million-dollar prize. Whoever you get is the prize. If you do get matched with someone, then that can be a damper — but it’s not a competition. So I think just by virtue of that, it sets things apart. It’s not a shiny-floor competition show.

And the fact that it’s live. I don’t think there are too many things in the reality world or in the dating world that are live, and so I think that in and of itself sets it apart. And then obviously, it happens in real time — not just the live aspect of it, but just real time. You can see like, “Hey, could this be?” and we’re watching a possible connection in real time.

And also, when was the last time we had appointment TV? Netflix definitely was the streaming service with their shows that had us binging and Netflix-and-chill. And then now it’s like, “Let’s watch this as a group.”

It’s just dropping every Thursday and making it a priority to watch in real time. So it’s creating gathering spots, if you will.

Pop the Balloon LIVE airs Thursdays on Netflix.

Pop the Balloon

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