Here's What You Need to Know About Risqué New Dating Show 'Love Island'

Philip Ellis

June 25, 2019 3:51 PM

The reality dating show Love Island became a pop culture phenomenon when it first aired in Britain in 2016. There have since been four seasons, all of which dominated social media as they aired each summer, and the show's format has been rolled out across the world - most recently in the United States, where the first season will air on CBS starting in July.

Risqué Dating Show 'Love Island' Hits Network TV

The premise of the show is a little bit like Big Brother meets Bachelor in Paradise: a panoply of attractive young singles spend the summer living together in a villa, where they pair up. Viewers watch as romances blossom (it's a real-time viewing experience, with the show airing five nights a week), and then vote which couples should be eliminated. The couple that makes it all the way to the end wins a cash prize.

Excluding the five nights a week scheduling, it all sounds pretty standard for a reality show. But what makes Love Island slightly different, and has captured the public's attention and spawned dozens of think-pieces, is just how unapologetically horned up these young singles are. This is a dating show for the Tinder age, with everyone keeping an eye out for the next hottie to come along, and a revolving door of romantic encounters. Perhaps less shocking is just how much the producers encourage them to hook up, installing night-cams in the villa bedrooms and introducing flirty challenges and risqu games where sex is always top-of-mind.

"I think it resonates with young people and the way the dating world is," executive producer David Eilenberg told Entertainment Weekly . "One thing we hear about dating apps is youre constantly contending with FOMO and that some hotter better person might be right around the corner - so when do you actually commit? The mechanics of this show bring that conundrum to life."

The American version looks set to be slightly less in-your-face with the sexual content, airing on the family-friendly network CBS, but Eilenberg is confident that even a toned down version of Love Island has what it takes to be a ratings smash: "CBS very much supports the show thats been a hit elsewhere," he said. "We want to make sure the show is the show. Its an aspirational, sexy, fun summer show. And the U.K. show has become less provocative and more broad appeal over time."

The American version of Love Island, hosted by actress and comedian Arielle Vandenberg, will debut on CBS at 9 p.m. EST on July 9.

Philip Ellis