diff --git a/crates/polars-core/src/chunked_array/ops/explode_and_offsets.rs b/crates/polars-core/src/chunked_array/ops/explode_and_offsets.rs
index 65706ff40b52..5d3a277651dd 100644
--- a/crates/polars-core/src/chunked_array/ops/explode_and_offsets.rs
+++ b/crates/polars-core/src/chunked_array/ops/explode_and_offsets.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 use arrow::bitmap::MutableBitmap;
 use arrow::compute::cast::utf8view_to_utf8;
-#[cfg(feature = "dtype-array")]
 use arrow::compute::take::take_unchecked;
 use polars_utils::vec::PushUnchecked;
 
@@ -25,7 +24,7 @@ impl ChunkExplode for ListChunked {
         let offsets = listarr.offsets().as_slice();
         let mut values = listarr.values().clone();
 
-        let mut s = if ca._can_fast_explode() {
+        let (mut s, offsets) = if ca._can_fast_explode() {
             // ensure that the value array is sliced
             // as a list only slices its offsets on a slice operation
 
@@ -39,13 +38,16 @@ impl ChunkExplode for ListChunked {
                 values = unsafe { values.sliced_unchecked(start, len) };
             }
             // SAFETY: inner_dtype should be correct
-            unsafe {
-                Series::from_chunks_and_dtype_unchecked(
-                    self.name(),
-                    vec![values],
-                    &self.inner_dtype().to_physical(),
-                )
-            }
+            (
+                unsafe {
+                    Series::from_chunks_and_dtype_unchecked(
+                        self.name(),
+                        vec![values],
+                        &self.inner_dtype().to_physical(),
+                    )
+                },
+                offsets_buf,
+            )
         } else {
             // during tests
             // test that this code branch is not hit with list arrays that could be fast exploded
@@ -63,16 +65,61 @@ impl ChunkExplode for ListChunked {
                     panic!("could have fast exploded")
                 }
             }
-
-            // SAFETY: inner_dtype should be correct
-            let values = unsafe {
-                Series::from_chunks_and_dtype_unchecked(
-                    self.name(),
-                    vec![values],
-                    &self.inner_dtype().to_physical(),
-                )
-            };
-            values.explode_by_offsets(offsets)
+            if listarr.null_count() == 0 {
+                // SAFETY: inner_dtype should be correct
+                let values = unsafe {
+                    Series::from_chunks_and_dtype_unchecked(
+                        self.name(),
+                        vec![values],
+                        &self.inner_dtype().to_physical(),
+                    )
+                };
+                (values.explode_by_offsets(offsets), offsets_buf)
+            } else {
+                // we have already ensure that validity is not none.
+                let validity = listarr.validity().unwrap();
+
+                let mut indices =
+                    MutablePrimitiveArray::<IdxSize>::with_capacity(*offsets_buf.last() as usize);
+                let mut new_offsets = Vec::with_capacity(listarr.len() + 1);
+                let mut current_offset = 0i64;
+                let mut iter = offsets.iter();
+                if let Some(mut previous) = iter.next().copied() {
+                    new_offsets.push(current_offset);
+                    iter.enumerate().for_each(|(i, &offset)| {
+                        let len = offset - previous;
+                        let start = previous as IdxSize;
+                        let end = offset as IdxSize;
+                        // SAFETY: we are within bounds
+                        if unsafe { validity.get_bit_unchecked(i) } {
+                            // explode expects null value if sublist is empty.
+                            if len == 0 {
+                                indices.push_null();
+                            } else {
+                                indices.extend_trusted_len_values(start..end);
+                            }
+                            current_offset += len;
+                        } else {
+                            indices.push_null();
+                        }
+                        previous = offset;
+                        new_offsets.push(current_offset);
+                    })
+                }
+                // SAFETY: the indices we generate are in bounds
+                let chunk = unsafe { take_unchecked(values.as_ref(), &indices.into()) };
+                // SAFETY: inner_dtype should be correct
+                let s = unsafe {
+                    Series::from_chunks_and_dtype_unchecked(
+                        self.name(),
+                        vec![chunk],
+                        &self.inner_dtype().to_physical(),
+                    )
+                };
+                // SAFETY: monotonically increasing
+                let new_offsets = unsafe { OffsetsBuffer::new_unchecked(new_offsets.into()) };
+                (s, new_offsets)
+            }
         };
         debug_assert_eq!(s.name(), self.name());
         // restore logical type
@@ -80,7 +127,7 @@ impl ChunkExplode for ListChunked {
             s = s.cast_unchecked(&self.inner_dtype()).unwrap();
         }
 
-        Ok((s, offsets_buf))
+        Ok((s, offsets))
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/test_explode.py b/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/test_explode.py
index 50e52e5ed3b2..5936c729873a 100644
--- a/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/test_explode.py
+++ b/py-polars/tests/unit/operations/test_explode.py
@@ -416,3 +416,31 @@ def test_df_explode_with_array() -> None:
         },
     )
     assert_frame_equal(df.explode("arr", "list"), expected_by_arr_and_list)
+
+
+def test_explode_nullable_list() -> None:
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"layout1": [None, [1, 2]], "b": [False, True]}).with_columns(
+        layout2=pl.when(pl.col("b")).then([1, 2]),
+    )
+
+    explode_df = df.explode("layout1", "layout2")
+    expected_df = pl.DataFrame(
+        {
+            "layout1": [None, 1, 2],
+            "b": [False, True, True],
+            "layout2": [None, 1, 2],
+        }
+    )
+    assert_frame_equal(explode_df, expected_df)
+
+    explode_expr = df.select(
+        pl.col("layout1").explode(),
+        pl.col("layout2").explode(),
+    )
+    expected_df = pl.DataFrame(
+        {
+            "layout1": [None, 1, 2],
+            "layout2": [None, 1, 2],
+        }
+    )
+    assert_frame_equal(explode_expr, expected_df)