Why ‘Love Island USA’ hits different this season

Warning: Spoilers from Season 6 of "Love Island USA" ahead...

For five years, “Love Island USA” has cultivated a devoted fanbase. But the show had largely fallen short of replicating the cultural relevance of the franchise staple, “Love Island UK,” which has had viewers across the pond hooked since 2015.

This summer, however, there's been a shift. In June, a mainstream “Love Island” craze finally arrived stateside, and the American version of the popular dating reality show — which also has spinoffs in France, Australia and more countries — stepped out of the “shadow” of its predecessor, as ITV Entertainment executive producer Simon Thomas says.

It's not an overstatement. Season 6 of the Peacock series, which welcomed new host Ariana Madix, has become the No. 1 reality series in the United States across all streaming platforms, NBCUniversal announced in a press release July 11. (NBCUniversal is the parent company of TODAY.com.)

Variety also reported that viewers watched 919.1 million minutes of the series the week of July 5-11, placing it at the top of all streaming charts.

Thomas, who has worked on “Love Island USA” since it premiered in 2019, tells TODAY.com that the show captured “magic” with its cast this season.

Season 6, specifically, has brought the series to a “tipping point” in the zeitgeist, he says.

“It’s 9 o’clock every night that it’s on, so that if you want to talk to your friends about it — and when I say friends, I mean online, the virtual water cooler — you’re all unified. You’re watching the show together, which is the way the best television has been since forever,” Thomas says.

Even if you aren’t a fan of the dating show, you’ve likely seen memes and clips from Season 6 pop up on your social media feed. Whether it's a snap of JaNa Craig peeking over her shades, a sweet moment between Serena Page and Kordell Beckham (yes, he's related to Odell Beckham Jr.), funny quips from Leah Kateb and Olivia “Liv” Walker or tweets from fans playfully mocking Kaylor Martin’s often expletive-filled cries of, “It just sucksssssss, Aaron!”— the show has been inescapable.

“When you have other shows, which maybe drop all at once, sometimes what happens is that you’re all on different places, so you can’t have a conversation. But here, it became an appointment," Thomas says.

But how did it happen?

“It’s not a science. It’s not even an art, necessarily. It’s magic," he explains. "Which is to say, you get the right things together and suddenly something happens that you never would have thought of.”

Below, Thomas opens up more about the success of Season 6, claims that producers influence recouplings and straying from the show’s expected format.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The season began earlier this summer compared to past seasons and aligned more with the timeline of ‘Love Island UK.’ Did that impact how you approached this season?

Yeah, we did it all faster. Both us and the UK have the Olympics in a week, and so I think both of us wanted to not run into that. It put us in sync in a way that we haven’t previously been, or at least close to being in sync. Which just meant everything happened faster and we had to build a brand new villa. So it was crunch time.

This season also followed ‘Love Island Games,’ which I really loved and fans enjoyed. How did that show influence Season 6, especially the casting process?

What I would say is that we are obviously huge fans of all the versions of the show around the world, and so we watch them religiously. But doing “Games” — which we loved making, and (it’s) possibly my favorite 21 hours of “Love Island” ever leading up into Season 6 — brought in different people that we hadn’t seen on the US show before. Because when you see somebody in the microcosm of their local version, you think of them as one thing. And then you take them and you put them into the international version — I think all the islanders were surprised. And so people like Callum (Hole) and Jess Losurdo and Liberty (Poole), they really shone with us. And so when we were doing the casting for Season 6, we were like, "OK, what else can we do here? What else can we look for?"

What were some personality traits you wanted to bring to the Season 6 cast?

We’ve always (preferred) the ability to have a conversation. And when I say that, I mean banter — like actual funny conversation. We’ve always (preferred) people that you might want to be friends with, or at least the cast will be friends with each other. (That’s) always been, since Season 1, a priority for us.

Looking for people with a sense of humor, people with the ability to talk — we set our bar as high as it’s ever been. And I think also, it’s magic. It’s not a science. It’s not even an art necessarily. It’s magic. Which is to say, you get the right things together and suddenly something happens that you never would have thought of.

I think you look at people like Rob, who was in (Casa Amor in Season 5), and then out of Casa last year. We cast him well before we ever did "Games," and he has been a highlight of this season. So it’s just about the positioning and the other people they’re in there with and the mix. So you kind of plan for it and hope for it, and you think you know what you’re doing, and then you see what happens.

How do you explain the explosion this summer in terms of viewership and social media dominance?

I think I’ve called it a "perfect storm" previously. The thing is that we are really practiced now, and we’ve tried a lot of different things. And I think we’ve sat in the shadow of our international contemporaries for a long time. I think Season 4 and 5, like, we learned a lot. Season 5 was a really good, solid season. Came straight off that one into "Games"... And so, "Games" kind of gave people permission to watch the US version of the show, I think.

I think that by doing "Games" and having your favorites from the other versions of the shows, it gave people an opportunity and permission to try something new. I think that built a slight level of excitement, so that when you then get to Episode 8 or 9 in this season, and Rob jumps in the pool, people want to talk about it.

I think the biggest thing that I credit: The cast is phenomenal. They have given so much of themselves. Again, that’s magic. You can’t predict that. You can’t plan on it. You got to hope for it and cast as well as you can.

I think Ariana (Madix) joining the show — massive right? Her personal story matches very well with some of these other stories. People feel for her. She feels like the big sister that they want. That’s a great coming together of different people who fit and (she) brings an audience with her.

But I think the other thing that we’ve tried to do from day one, and we’ve really believed in, is a set time and space to watch "Love Island." Like, we drop that show at 9 o’clock, even though it’s a streaming service, even though it’s not live... It became an appointment, and people talk about it on social. So we’ve got a really big social team, really amazing, credible team that does all that social content. They put out amazing clips…and it drives that conversation. So then, you want to be a part of something.

I think, truthfully, all those things combined this season just led to a tipping point where the conversation then becomes loud enough that you hear about the show. Because there’s so many shows, it takes such a big steamroll effect.

So great cast doing great, amazing things, really feeling all the real feelings, cut really well, Ariana’s there, great social content and appointment time all coming together — boom. I hope that as an industry and as a medium, TV returns more to this appointment television, so we can have a sense of community and we can find things together because it’s so much fun.

I’ve loved seeing so many people get involved with it on social media and all the viral tweets.

The TikToks are out of control. I will sit there, and I can lose an hour of my evening watching other people be funny about our show. And they’re so funny.

You mentioned stepping out of the UK’s ‘shadow.’ You’ve introduced unexpected twists this season and aren’t following exactly what the UK is doing. Did you plan to have this season switch up the franchise and stray from the UK’s format?

Ben Thursby-Palmer, who’s been showrunner on the show since day one, (and I have) been in Fiji together, and he’s obviously done hundreds of hours on this show now. He really prides himself on not just doing things because we’ve always done them, but also not changing them just for the sake of change.

Everything is motivated. Everything has a sub-purpose. He really challenges the team to come up with new ideas and then he’s also great at having ideas himself... They generate it as they go. They’re laying the track as the train's moving. They’re changing up. Ben called me at 7 o’clock this morning to say, "Hey, I’m thinking of doing this with the finale. What do you think of this?"

I think we should challenge ourselves to be surprising and that’s kind of why I think "Games" is really great, as well, because it gave us free rein to really learn what the most important parts of the show are when you’re unbuckled from the classic format. There’s a lot of synergy there between those two shows as to what’s actually important. And what’s actually important is how people feel. That’s why we all come here.

I want to go back to Rob. He was there last season. How early did you decide to bring him back as an OG islander?

It’s hard to remember now. It’s always about the mix. We’re changing the islanders going in constantly. We’re asking them, "Who do you like, not like?" So with Rob, he’s always been in the conversation, for as long as I can remember.

But solidifying him into the opening lineup would have probably happened once we had every other piece, as well, like right towards the end. But I think coming back from Casa, it made sense for him to start in the show, rather than do Casa. But that being said, Harrison (Hans Luna) and Kassy (Castillo) (from Season 5) came in, and they came in last this time around. So it really (is) sort of like the tool for the job, and that’s a horrible way to put it.

You want to make sure that they have the best chance of success and that was the best way for Rob to experience this.

Speaking of Harrison and Kassy, why were they the two Season 5 people you decided to bring back?

Truth is: Harrison is the No. 1 cited guy amongst the islanders as the hottest man who’s ever been on the show. We always ask them, "Who did you like?" because we’re trying to get their type, so we can make sure that there’s people there for them. Everyone says Harrison.

I mean, Maura Higgins ("Love Island UK" Season 5 alum) says Harrison. So that made sense because it’s really hard at this point in the run to break into these couples. You saw it in the show. The girls are falling over themselves for him. But they also had emotional connections that overruled. So, it is what it is with him.

Kassy is just a great islander. She is open and wears her heart on her sleeve. She’ll always be a part of the show, and I can imagine that we’ll see her not only this season, but potentially in the future. If we do another "Games" or whatever, she’s potentially in the mix. Because she’s just a great person. And I think even coming in (at) the very last minute, (her) chats cut to the core. Not everyone can do that. It’s really hard for the bombshells to come in and be present. She’s got those skills. She can talk underwater.

What new addition this season are you most proud of?

Apart from the fact that there ended up being a place slightly under the deck that Rob could hide when he was in the pool, I think that thing that people cite the most… the favorite little cherry on top for me, was asking whether they wanted to go to Casa.

That whole sequence I think just captured the fun of Casa and what the audience’s feeling. And when you’re seeing the slo-mo runs off to Casa, you are in sync with them because it’s so fun and the show is fun. But you’re also watching it going, "You’re going to regret feeling like this as you go in. Make some good choices!"

One challenge that returned was the social media challenge which they don’t really include in the UK version anymore. How do you balance the risk of doing a challenge like that where they’re going to learn about their public perception while still in the villa?

It’s actually less risk and more the purpose. We curate it in such a way that you don’t want hate to filter in and to make people feel bad about personal aspects of themselves. It feels savage, but it’s selected precisely to not create the worst feelings in people.

Post-Casa, you have a "he said, she said" that continues for the rest of the season. Videos or not, they don’t know what happened in the other villa. Not just for Casa, but generally, because the villa’s a big place. Things can happen, but they won’t see each other.

Social media challenges give an opportunity for them to see things or hear things and to re-question their connections and whether the people that they’re with are being 100% honest with them. We would never just go in there and be like, "Guess what, he’s lying to you." But you have to lay it out in front of them so they can make the decisions that best fit themselves. And I think those games help with that.

Fans are an active part of the show and comment on social media. As you mentioned, Rob is one of the main characters this season, and fans have pointed out that he’s been in the bottom three for multiple weeks but has been saved. Then, Caine recently suggested on TikTok that producers wanted him to save Liv so she could continue on the show. What do you say to fans who think producers are being too heavy-handed?

Look, each individual’s experience is their own. (Laughs) We called Caine after that. And we’re like, "What are you talking about? Like, this is not how things went down. We try to keep some magic to the show. So like, don’t talk about who’s smoking. It’s not for us. Just leave it alone."

And he was like, "Oh, I didn’t realize I said anything that big a deal." This is why he’s a great islander because he’s talking, and it’s going out into the world without him filtering himself.

He may have felt that way, but it was certainly not the way that it was constructed. It doesn’t make any sense for us. I think we can see the connections on the screen. Putting people together, like, it just doesn’t work. If you force the couples together, you will never get the kind of naturally emerging stuff. I always say that what a producer can think of is never as interesting as what will just happen for real. And so what we have to do is put them in situations where they can make decisions — good, bad or indifferent — that they then have to own… That’s the Casa, "Do you want to go?" That’s not a manipulation. You make your decision. And so with coupling up, they always have 100% agency. I’m still confused with Caine.

Every islanders’ experience is their own. I think people like Rob, who’ve been saved by the islanders, that’s about their connection. And again, this isn’t "Big Brother." We don’t vote to evict. We just ask people, "Who’s your favorite Islander? Who do you think has the best connection or who are your favorite couples?"... Then they have to sort it out themselves. And it’s always way more compelling to watch them sort it out themselves, i.e. Andrea (Carmona) going, than simply saying, "Open the vote. The least favorite goes home." And I think that’s why we do it the way that we do it.

So you would say Rob still being in the villa is something that has happened naturally given his connection with the other contestants?

Look, having a best friend like Aaron (Evans) means that you have Aaron and Kaylor on lock. Then Leah, for whatever reason, feels like she owes him something. And so these things happen the way they happen. And I think that’s what makes it compelling. That’s why we’re talking about it. Whereas if Rob just went because he was the lowest vote — and I don’t know, I haven’t actually looked at the votes to know who has been the lowest vote in the last couple of weeks. I just see the blocks, like, these are the lowest three — I don’t even know if he would have gone at any point anyway.

It’s "vote to save" on our show, as opposed to "vote to eliminate," and I think "vote to save" has a tendency to keep the people on the show who are the most engaging. And so here we are.

I want to talk about Episode 32. The ‘Mr. and Mrs.’ challenge was very ‘Survivor’-esque, by having them compete to determine who would get to meet their families. What was the thinking behind turning the family visit into a competition?

I think we’ve ratcheted it up slightly — our competitive edge of the show. It’s still not a game to be the couple to win. But there are little games within the game that determine fun things, hideaways or messages from home. So I think that’s our version of that. And I think America has always classically preferred strategic game competition shows. That’s not what we’re going for — it’s just that it’s another tool in our repertoire coming out of "Love Island Games."

Again, because (on) "Love Island" the extent of the producing is really put them in the box (and) see how they’re feeling. The only way that we can kind of move stories along is by doing these sorts of things. By giving them situations where they can make choices and reveal things about themselves. Because that’s the thing that will move their interpersonal relationships a lot.

Is there anything new you won’t bring back in the future?

Oh, man, I’m not thinking of anything off the top of my head.

We are approaching the end of the season. Is there a contestant that you are surprised is still in the villa?

No, there’s not. I think that often on this show, actions don’t directly correlate with elimination or as we would say, dumping.

Dumpings are dumpings because they generally mean the end of a relationship. And I think that with all the stuff that’s happened between these islanders — Leah and Rob and Taylor and Aaron and Serena and Kordell — like, all these islands have history. So there’s relationships I’m surprised are still strong. They’ve definitely gone through twists and turns and that’s surprising. But I’m not 100% shocked by any of them being there.

But this is such a phenomenal collection of people. You could almost mix and match everyone (and) I would have been like, "Oh, yeah, that makes sense that they’re there." Some of the Casa people who came back I absolutely adored, and people left in Casa that I would love to have seen more of.

I felt like this has been a season of more disappointment that we eventually have to say goodbye to everyone rather than surprised that anyone has stuck around.

Going forward, would you like to extend the season so that it is as many weeks as the UK? It feels like it is ending so quickly.

I always love it when you feel like you want a little more. Because I feel like right now, like, "Oh yeah, I could do another week of this. We could do another round of bombshells." But we’ve never been to the point where you’re like, "Oh, God. Thank God this is over."

You don’t want us to feel like homework. And I think the number of episodes has been really good for us. I feel like this is our sweet spot. The UK has a long history of nightly entertainment reality programming. It’s different. So I’m just proud that we’re at the length and number of episodes that we are, because I think when we first started doing this in the US, people would have said they’re not here for that. But I think that’s to a point about appointment viewing and having a conversation. It’s our greatest strength.

Also, I think what I love is that we’re broadening out what "Love Island" can be. So if you feel like you’re missing "Love Island," don’t worry, there’ll be another version of "Love Island" coming... I want there to be something that can scratch your itch. But I also don’t think that we should run what we all love into the ground for fear that we no longer love it. And I think being six, seven seasons in and to be just hitting our stride feels like we’ve kind of walked that line.

Anything you can tease about the upcoming finale?

No, because we haven’t finalized it yet. That’s the wonderful thing about this show. I think we’ll go away today, we’ll have a bunch of conversations about, like, "Is this the best way to do this?" And maybe it’ll be the way that we’ve always done it. Maybe it won’t.

I think ultimately, at the end of the day, America is going to be voting for their favorite couple. You want to talk about audience influence — the only people who can win this game are those that we as an audience believe in the most.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com