The Big Picture
- Love Island USA has been renewed for two more seasons due to its increasing viewership and potential for growth.
- The decision to renew the show for multiple seasons was a statement that NBC believes in Love Island USA and wants to signal to the unscripted community that they are still buying new content.
- Love Island USA has a loyal fan base that is dedicated enough to watch episodes six nights a week for five straight weeks, and NBC sees it as a long-term project with potential for continued success.
Season 5 of Love Island USA ended this summer, with Hannah Wright and Marco Donatelli being crowned the winners. Soon after, speculation circulated about when or even whether the hit dating show would be renewed. Recently, NBC Entertainment confirmed they extended the rights to broadcast the franchise for two more seasons. Corie Henson, head of unscripted content for NBCU Entertainment, told Vulture, based on last season’s rising viewership, the decision was made. “There were huge numbers for this summer’s season five, which was the second season on Peacock,” the exec explained. “It’s not like all the fans that were going to come came that first season; the numbers have multiplied, so there are still new people coming to the show every season. You see the potential growth,” Henson added.
Love Island USA grabbed everyone’s attention when it premiered from its luxury villa in Fiji, in the prime time slot on America’s network channel CBS. Despite high expectations, the viewing figures remained average during its CBS tenure. After two seasons on the US network, the UK broadcasters who own the show’s franchise decided to open up the rights to Love Island USA to both the US networks and cable channels. After a multi-million dollar bidding war, Peacock won the rights to the American version of the hit British series. The NBC Universal-owned streaming platform signed a two-season deal, promising the viewers more than just fun and games for the contestants. With Love Island USA now being shown on an on-demand streaming service, Peacock would have more freedom in the content they broadcast. In the synopsis leading up to their debut season, the cable giants wrote, “It will be hotter than ever as Islanders couple up in new surroundings to compete in naughtier games and sexier challenges.” Season 4 of Love Island USA premiered on Peacock, from a Californian villa, on July 19, 2022. The fifth season premiered from a villa in Fiji. The show’s reboot proved to be a big hit for the streaming platform. Viewing figures from Peacock reveal the audience for their second summer grew 20 percent over the previous season, and now ranks Love Island USA as its No. 1 original reality show. Love Island USA was a success for Peacock.
‘Love Island USA’ Renewed for Two More Seasons Because they Believed in the Show
Speaking to Vulture, Corie Henson says the decision to renew Love Island USA for two seasons at the time was not a mandate by ITV, the U.K. media giant that controls the global franchise and produces the U.S. version via its ITV Entertainment division. “We could have picked up the show a season at a time, but we wanted to make a statement that we believe in this show,” she says. “We also want it to signal to the unscripted community, which like everyone else is going through a bit of a challenging time right now, that we’re still very much in the market, and we are still buying.” When it comes to watching strangers find love in reality TV shows the US audience appetite is still there. According to Gitnux reality shows statistics, around 39% of reality shows focus on relationships and dating, making it the most common genre on TV. Though show like Big Brother and Survivor have the highest viewership. Survivor has an average global viewership of 2.5 billion.
For those who haven’t seen Love Island USA, the concept is a dating show where 10 good-looking contestants live together in a secluded villa in search of love. Throughout the weeks, the contestants have to couple up with another person. Ideally, this is because they like the other person, though sometimes they just want to stay in the show for a bit longer. New contestants are constantly brought in to replace the outgoing ones, adding new dynamics to the show. There are challenges and prizes, and several ways to get dumped from the show.
Love Island USA is broadcast over five weeks, with episodes six nights per week. The final week is when the public gets to vote on which remaining couple should win. That winning couple receives $100,000 and the chance to further their relationship in the outside world. The announcement of the renewal of Love Island USA comes just days ahead of the finale of the franchise’s first-ever spinoff, Love Island Games, which is also shown on Peacock, and has been streaming episodes on the platform since 1st November 2023. This current series sees twenty-six fan-favorites drawn from the global Love Island pool shacked up in a luxury villa in Fiji. The international contestants looking for a second chance at love hail from the US, UK, Australia, Sweden, Germany, and France. Episodes are streaming daily on Peacock, except for Saturdays, with the finale scheduled for Monday, 20 November.
‘Love Island USA’ Has a Loyal Fan Base
Love Island Games has many similarities to this summer’s Love Island USA, including the format, the daily airings, some of the cast members, and the location, a villa in Fiji. The benefits of broadcasting the show every day and using the same locations are more cost-effective and practical, according to NBCU. Instead of broadcasting once or twice a week during its six-week spell, Love Island USA offers new episodes six out of every seven nights. NBC Entertainment sees this as more affordable, especially the longer the show runs. “It’s very much like the Big Brother model,” Corie Henson explains. “They built that house once back in season six, and they still use that same house because, essentially, they paid their mortgage off if you will. So we hope that we’re talking to you again on season 35 of Love Island, because it’s about the economy of scale. The more episodes we commit to, the more it makes sense to us financially.”
According to NBCU, it seems Love Island USA is a long-term project. Whether the viewing audience agrees only time will tell. Based on a loyal fan base with enough stamina and enthusiasm to watch episodes six days a week for 5 straight weeks, it would be hard not to agree with them. There is also whether having a fixed time slot works for the viewer. A lot of shows aired on streaming service platforms typically make the content available just after midnight. Love Island’s new episodes premiere in prime time, streaming live at 9 p.m. ET. NBCU Executive VP, Corie Henson told Vulture she believes the traditional linear model benefits the show. “It’s created a sense of urgency for people to come to the platform so that they can be part of the social-media conversation in real-time,” she says. “It’s appointment viewing again, like what we see on linear when a show is working and people sit down in front of their television at eight o’clock.”
The two new seasons of Love Island USA are expected to premiere in the summer of 2024 and 2025, respectively. Love Island USA season 5 is currently streaming on Peacock.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
