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Ayomikun Adekaiyero
- "Love Island USA" was born after CBS saw the success of the show in the UK.
- The CBS version started its third season last week.
- On the whole, the UK version has been regarded as better than the USA version.
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ITV's "Love Island" has been able to win over fans internationally including Margot Robbie who recently hosted a "Love Island" themed party. However, CBS' version in the US has not been able to gain a similar sort of traction. With "Love Island USA" entering its third season, the differences from the UK blueprint are becoming more apparent.
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The US version has a higher turnaround of contestants
One of the main components of the dating show is the contestants "coupling up," which means that those not in a couple are at risk of being booted off the show and sent home. Whilst both shows use this to add drama to the series, "Love Island USA" makes it more of a revolving door.
According to Screen Rant, "Love Island USA" had 31 contestants in its second season, which only lasted 40 days. If you compare this to the UK version, which had 36 contestants in 58 days, you can see that the US version does not leave contestants too much time to work out their feelings.
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'Love Island UK' is based in Mallorca, while 'Love Island USA' is currently shot in Hawaii
The UK version of "Love Island" found its home in season one on the island of Mallorca, Spain, and has stayed there ever since (barring the winter version in 2020, which was moved to Cape Town).
Meanwhile, "Love Island USA" has had three different locations in each of its three seasons. The first was in Fiji, which looked very luxurious in the promo video, but ended up a bit of a wash due to the island's rainy season.
In season two, the island in "Love Island" was more metaphorical as they were restricted to a rooftop in Las Vegas as the series was filmed during the pandemic. The third season is being filmed near the beach again, this time in Hawaii.
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The British narrator is a little wittier than his US counterpart
Of course "Love Island USA" will have a different host and narrator to the UK version. However, the presenting style is also very different.
"Love Island" UK was previously hosted by Caroline Flack before her death. Now it's hosted by Irish TV presenter Laura Whitmore, who married the series narrator Iain Sterling in 2020. Both present the show in a more stoic way whilst the humor is brought in by Sterling.
The roles seem to reverse in "Love Island USA." Matthew Hoffman hosts the show in a manner that has led to viewers begging for him to be replaced by Stirling. Meanwhile, Arielle Vandenberg channels the presenting style of most American shows, being less graceful and more humorous.
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The US version has made stronger strides towards diversity
As the popularity for "Love Island" UK grew, so did the calls for diversity in body shape, race, and sexuality. So far has failed in all three areas to provide adequate representation. The series did not have a black female contestant in its first season.Season seven was the first to have a contestant with a physical disability. Despite ITV claiming that this year would be "diverse and inclusive," so far the cast has been filled with blondes with the only Asian contestant, Shannon Singh being sent home in the third episode.
Whilst "Love Island USA" has not been perfect in terms of diversity, CBS has set a standard for this current season to have 50% of the cast be people of color. Both shows are not so different in their attitude towards including LGBTQ+ representation with ITV's version recently coming under fire for commissioner Amanda Stavri telling Radio Times that "gay islanders" are a "logistical difficulty."
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Fans love the UK version for its 'glorious depravity'
After the first season of "Love Island USA," The New Yorker tried to analyze what the series was missing and concluded that the first season was missing the "glorious depravity" that the British version is praised for.
David Eilenberg, ITV America's chief executive officer explained to The Hollywood Reporter that swear words had to be censored and the sexual elements of the show had to be toned down for the US version. As Lou Stoppard from the New Yorker put it "Without the swearing and the smut, it lacked what made the British series so alive: the combination of the most chaotic and most sincere elements of reality television."
You could not artificially replicate the previous contestant Maura Higgins viral moments from UK's series 6 from her memorable "f---ny flutters" phrase to the way she was brutally honest with other contestants. By trying to restrict "Love Island USA" into a more respectful, less raunchy show, you lose the drama that brings so much excitement for fans.
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The US version faces stiff competition from the likes of 'The Bachelor'
Another main difference between the two versions is the amount of competition they have in their home countries. In the UK, there isn't really anything like "Love Island" allowing it to take the focus every summer, it is a much different story in the US. The US already had a dating show with massive cultural significance: "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette."
"Love Island USA" has a lot more to compete with to gain the same amount of success as the UK version and that was before Netflix got into the dating game with its successful shows, "Love is Blind" and "Too Hot To Handle."
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