If you like trash TV, this is the show for you. "Love Island" is like "Bachelor In Paradise" on steroids. And it's British. I'm a sucker for British reality shows, so this was right up my alley.
My roommate and I were watching something COMPLETELY unrelated, and a commercial for "Love Island" came on. It looked really cringey and really stupid, so we figured that we would watch at least one episode to test it out. We were NOT disappointed.
The show is set in a MASSIVE villa during the summer. At the beginning of the season, they introduce the contestants and show the audience some introduction videos. The contestants are TOOLS. Their intro videos consist of statements like "Yeah, girls can't keep their hands off me," "I love girls," "I have a lot of sex," and "I'm very attractive." The first "competition" happens when the girls are introduced to the guys.
The guys line up in the pool and wait to meet the girls. As each girl is introduced (only the viewers at home see the introduction videos), the guys step forward if they're interested. It's just as cringey as it sounds. Once the girl knows who's interested, they can choose to "couple up" with the guy of their choosing. Great, OK. But wait, there's more.
Once a guy is "coupled up," he can STILL step forward if he's interested in a new girl. If the girl wants, she can choose to "couple up" with a guy that's already taken. If that's the case, the previous girl goes and BASICALLY SITS ON THE BENCH. She waits until the end of the game and is then allowed to choose another guy.
Within the first ten minutes of the show, my roommate and I were already FLOORED. As the show goes on, the couples are forced to sleep in the same bed. Even weirder is the fact that the couples each don't get separate rooms–there's just a room full of beds.
Oh, also, every contestant wears a really cute fanny pack over all their clothing. I guess they hold the mics and some audio equipment (they catch EVERYTHING that's said). The contestants are usually in bathing suits, so...
The islanders are all given phones, which is a twist that we don't often see on trashy reality TV gameshows. The phones can only be used to contact other people in the villa and are the main form of communication between the host and the islanders. If there's an announcement, someone gets a text. Simple, right?
Every once in a while, the islanders are sent an announcement text that they're allowed to "re-couple". That's the only time that the couples are officially allowed to change their status.
The show continues on "Bachelor In Paradise"-style–there are new contestants introduced every so often, and whoever isn't chosen to be in a couple is sent home. Whoever's left at the end wins. They win some money, but I'm not sure how much since I'm not well-versed in the amount of pounds.
There are currently four seasons on Hulu. Each season has a CRAZY amount of episodes–the last season has 57 EPISODES. Yeah, you read that right. 57.
Oh, and just a warning: Caroline (the host) is really annoying, at least in the first season. I don't know if she gets less annoying in later seasons, but I don't mind either way. This show is 10/10. Great to binge-watch when you're feeling down. (Or when you're feeling fine. Either way.)
"I'm not a man-whore, I'm just a lad."
- Max, Season 1
