Inside: USA season 1 episode 3 recap: Ekin-Su turns matchmaker as a shocking game slashes the prize pot

Sideman’s Inside: USA premiered on Netflix with its first four episodes on September 21, 2025.

Creators, streamers, and reality TV stars participated in the game show to compete for a grand prize of $1 million. 

In episode 3, titled Are Friends Electric, the insiders (contestants) discussed strategy, with many agreeing to take out Sketch due to his distrustful gameplay. However, some saw Max as a threat and wanted him gone.

Elsewhere, Ekin-Su played matchmaker, trying to get Sydney to connect with Zach.

The contestants then participated in a challenge, where they lost money despite winning. Toward the end, they started to scramble when faced with the risk of being exposed.

The official synopsis of episode 3 of Inside: USA reads:

“Secret purchases and crushes stir the pot, casting suspicion on other contestants. Decisions in the control room push buttons - and people’s patience.”

Inside: USA star Sketch’s plan backfires, while Ekin-Su plays matchmaker

The episode started with the previous segment’s cliffhanger, which revealed that the house had voted to eliminate Jay from the competition.

Jay admitted that he was disappointed with the verdict, but he was also grateful for the opportunity.

With Jay gone, Sketch tried his best to form secret alliances with different contestants, hoping to keep himself safe from elimination.

However, the players were skeptical of his allegiance, convinced he tried to pit people against one another for his own convenience. 

Within a short span of time, Sketch promised to work with Dwight, Max, and Fannita, but none of them believed his words. Instead, he became a target himself.

Elsewhere, Ekin-Su played matchmaker, trying to figure out if Sydney fancied Zach.

“I quite want a romantic thing to happen in here. Sydney and Zach is a very cute couple. I want to try and get them to spend a bit more quality time together. I do think Zach really likes Sydney and there’s definitely something,” she told the Inside: USA cameras.

She approached Mark with the same question, but it backfired when he revealed that he liked her more than anyone. 

Contestants feel the heat in a twisted challenge, which deducts money from the prize fund

As the episode progressed, the contestants continued to spend more and more money, buying cookies, ice cream, a mega cornhole, and more miscellaneous objects, further slashing the prize fund.

Soon after, the Inside: USA stars assembled for a daily challenge called ‘Control Center,’ where they had to guess a predetermined five-color sequence. 

Every correct guess would earn them another opportunity, but a wrong one would electrocute a random person in the house and deduct $1000 from the fund. 

They had two hours to solve the sequence; failure to do so would result in a $10,000 deduction from the prize fund.

Additionally, five randomly arranged gray buttons were present that contestants could press if they wanted.

Bre went first and pressed the wrong button, which resulted in Alissa getting shocked. Then came Max, who also pressed the wrong one, zapping Sketch. He then pressed a gray buzzer, which released a goose in the house. 

Ekin-Su came next and rightly guessed the first color of the sequence, which was yellow. However, she also pressed the ‘Do not push’ button, which secretly deducted $5,000 from the fund. 

Sketch followed suit, getting another color correct. Sydney failed to guess the correct color, but figured out which ones to avoid. With that information, Dwight entered the arena and successfully completed the sequence. 

Additionally, he also pressed a few gray buttons, unaware that he had deducted $5,000 from the fund, released another goose in the house, sacrificed Bre’s bed, and activated the hot show for three minutes.

Although they won the challenge, the Inside: USA stars were not happy with the outcome because Ekin-Su and Dwight’s gray buzzers alone cost them $10,000 from the prize pot. 

Inside: USA stars Bre and Alissa fight temptation while some face the risk of being exposed

Later, Alissa and Bre were called to the temptation room, where they were lured with massages and alcohol worth $30,000. Although they were tempted, the ladies restrained themselves and did not give in. 

Later, they played Spin the Bottle, during which Sydney kissed Zach on the cheek and Fannita gave a peck to Sketch. 

Toward the end of the episode, the boys purchased three Expose the Insider cards, forcing the contestants to reveal their secrets before they were aired.

Fannita told the group that she spent $50,000 to return to the game, while Aisha admitted that she bought the cornhole. 

The Inside: USA episode ended on a cliffhanger as the contestants gathered to see what secrets would get revealed.

Stay tuned for more updates.