Love Island USA‘s seventh season captured the attention of many viewers — including those who don’t usually watch reality dating shows.
Viewers have tuned in six times a week to watch the show (including Love Island: Aftersun, which airs on Saturday nights and analyzes events of the week) — a seeming anomaly in the age of on-demand streaming.
The Peacock show’s gist is classic reality TV meets social media: a bunch of conventionally attractive 20-somethings, many with large social media followings, couple up and compete for a cash prize and love — or perhaps more internet fame.
For weeks, contestants lived in a villa in Fiji where they participated in challenges (such as getting each others’ heart rates to soar), the men brought the women breakfast and there was a lot of lounging around in brightly-colored swimsuits. The contestants were cut off from the outside world and filmed by cameras embedded all around the villa 24 hours a day.
Clips are all over social media — with one in particular taking on a life of its own. The TikTok video of contestant Huda Mustafa explaining to fellow contestant Nic Vansteenberghe that she was a mom has amassed over 43 million views. It goes:
Mustafa: “I’m a mommy.”
Vansteenberghe: “Mommy.”
Mustafa: “I’m a mom.”
Vansteenberghe: “Mamacita.”
Mustafa: “No, I’m a mommy.”
Vansteenberghe: “A mom of what? A dog?”
Mustafa: “I have a daughter.”
Vansteenberghe: “Like in real life?”
Mustafa: “Yeah.”
Vansteenberghe: “Like a daughter, like a real baby?”
Mustafa: “Yeah, like a human child.”
The public voted in Sunday night’s 2-hour long finale to crown Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales the winning pair. Both were “bombshells” — or contestants who entered the villa after the season began. They were each given a sealed envelope either containing $100,000 or nothing. Arenales got the $100,000, which he split with Espinal.
So what is so special about this season?
Nadira Goffe, who covers culture for Slate magazine, says one reason the show may have been such a hit this season is because of fan involvement and the controversially outsized role it played.
Goffe said fans this season “have basically realized that they have sway because of their social media presence. So if they really love a couple, then maybe production might try and push them together. Or if they don’t, then they can dig through that contestant’s past social media presence, see if they’ve ever done anything untoward or inappropriate, and then launch what is essentially a smear campaign to get them off the show.”
Contestants Yulissa Escobar and Cierra Ortega were both removed from this season for past use of racist language online recently dug up by viewers.
“And this has been rewarded twice in one season,” Goffe said “The show has set a precedent that I’m not sure it wanted to set in terms of fan involvement and fans being entitled to what happens.”
What fans thought of this season
NPR caught up with several Love Island USA fans at a finale watch party Sunday night in Washington D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood.
“We think everyone this season hasn’t been super genuine to find love,” said Emma Santulli who attended the watch party with friends.
Some noted the influence fans had on the season. Through the Love Island USA app, viewers can vote on their favorite contestants — and those with the least votes are at risk of being removed from the island.
“It seems like the voters, like the viewers, have more power of like who stays and goes,” said Deonte Lee, who was also at the watch party.
Others felt the show reflected the struggles of modern love.
“People are love bombing on the show. People are like ghosting each other. People are preying on each other, which is precisely what dating right now looks like,” said Manan Talwar, who came to the watch party as part of “boys night” with two friends. His main exposure to the show has been through clips of it on social media.
Goffe says Amaya, one of this season’s winners, was essentially crowned “the people’s princess” and that the couple’s win had much more to do with her.
“They won because fans mostly love her. She has been incredibly, just herself and authentic,” Goffe said. “And Bryan is kind of there. But it seems like they did form an actual relationship and people are happy and this is the win we wanted to see.”
This digital story was edited by Obed Manuel. Kaity Kline contributed.
Transcript:
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
NPR covers all the news you need to know, and that is why we tell you that “Love Island” has a new winning couple. If you’re unfamiliar with the show – how could you be? But if you were unfamiliar, this show is on Peacock and here’s the gist – a bunch of 20-somethings couple up and compete for $100,000 and love. Season 7, which ended last night, captured the attention of those who don’t usually watch and kept those who do.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We think everyone this season hasn’t been super genuine to find love.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: It seems like the voters, like, the viewers, have more power of, like, who stays and goes.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: People are love bombing on the show, I know. People are, like, ghosting each other. People are, like, praying on each other, which is precisely what dating right now looks like.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: So if there’s, like, a day where you’re like, oh, like, I can’t watch “Love Island.” Like, then you’re behind.
INSKEEP: That was Emma Santooli (ph), Deonte Lee (ph), Manon Talwar (ph) and Gabby Bartley (ph) at a watch party in Washington, D.C. last night. Nadira Goffe was also watching, I presume. She covers culture for Slate – is on the line. Good morning.
NADIRA GOFFE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) How was it?
GOFFE: You know, it was a very long episode. It was two hours.
INSKEEP: OK.
GOFFE: Tons of things happened, not all lovely. But, you know, it was a fun episode of television overall.
INSKEEP: I would like to explain something about the production of this program, which makes it different from other reality programs. I know sometimes they put it all in the can, so to speak. They record everything. It’s broadcast a year later. This is released in real time, six days a week, while it’s still going on. Is that true?
GOFFE: Yeah, close enough to. I believe that the events that we see happen either the day before or maybe two days before, but it’s certainly happening as we are watching it.
INSKEEP: How does that affect the viewing experience?
GOFFE: In tons of ways. One massive way is that the show sort of relies on fan involvement, on fan votes, right? But there’s a big controversy this season that this season has relied more on fan involvement than years past.
INSKEEP: In what way?
GOFFE: So obviously, fans vote for things like who’s their favorite couple, and that has barring (ph) on who wins. However, this season, fans have basically realized that they have sway because of their social media presence. So if they really love a couple, then maybe production might try and push them together, or if they don’t, then they can dig through that contestant’s past social media presence, see if they’ve ever done anything untoward or inappropriate, and then launch what is essentially a smear campaign to get them off the show. And this has been rewarded twice in this season.
INSKEEP: Wow.
GOFFE: And so – yeah, the show has set a precedent that I’m not sure it wanted to set in terms of fan involvement and fans being entitled to what happens.
INSKEEP: OK, so the fans can now mob somebody off the screen, so to speak. OK, so we have the newest couple, Bryan and Amaya. Do I have their names correct? Is that right?
GOFFE: Yes, that’s true.
INSKEEP: Tell me something about them.
GOFFE: Well, Amaya – well, both of them actually were bombshells coming into the show, meaning that they weren’t members of the original cast of the show. And Amaya is kind of the people’s princess. I do believe, in my personal opinion, that they won because fans mostly love her. She has been incredibly – I don’t know – just herself and authentic. And Bryan was kind of there, but it seemed like they did form an actual relationship, and people are happy. And this is the win we wanted to see.
INSKEEP: I’m just dwelling on the fact that you have a particular meaning for this show of bombshell. I mean, I’ve heard that mean something else entirely, that might be relevant.
GOFFE: Yeah, I know. The show has a way of creating its own lingo and its own world, really.
INSKEEP: OK. Well, Nadira, thanks so much for your insights.
GOFFE: Thanks for having me.
INSKEEP: Nadira Goffe covers culture for Slate.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
