Due to concerns with COVID-19, Love Island USA season 2 is being filmed at a boutique hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. During its first season, the American version of Love Island was filmed in a villa in Fiji. That setting was purposely chosen so that the villa in the US edition could resemble the scenery shown in the original UK series. After all, the British Love Island show is filmed in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, Mallorca. Ultimately, those surroundings are the perfect backdrop for a villa where a group of singles will fall in love and enjoy their summer.
Unfortunately, CBS had to postpone many of its summer reality shows, including Love Island USA and Big Brother. Around July, the network figured out how to safely quarantine each of its potential contestants individually and for an extended period of time. This gave CBS the ability to greenlight Big Brother 22: All-Stars for the beginning of August and move forward with Love Island USA season 2 for the end of August. With the new location set in Las Vegas, the network also had an easier time quarantining the production staff and keeping the entire operation contained to a single location.
Love Island USA season 2 is currently being filmed at the Cromwell Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. This particular hotel is part of the Caesars Entertainment umbrella of properties, which also owns Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Rio, among others. The Cromwell is located on the Las Vegas Strip and is described as a boutique hotel. It features 188 guest rooms and is right next to Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, and Paris Las Vegas. In many ways, these hotels will serve as the official backdrop for the second season. In the video below, Love Island USA host Arielle Vandenberg gives fans a guided tour of this new villa in Las Vegas.
While it is true that a Las Vegas hotel doesn't exactly match up with the title of the Love Island show, this is the best that the production team could do under the circumstances of COVID-19. Thankfully, the fans are getting a second season that in many ways will not be affected by the pandemic... all while maintaining the islanders and the production staff as safe as possible. In the end, the fans will get a welcoming daily distraction on their screens and the network will still be able to move forward with a show that it has invested a lot of money in.
Love Island USA season 2 has just begun, but Las Vegas already seems like a promising new location for this fresh batch of American islanders to fall in love. Hopefully, the show will have stronger ratings than it did during its first year, and the fans will get the U.S. edition of Love Island that they've always wanted.
Love Island USA airs nightly at 9pm EST on CBS.
Sources: The Cromwell, YouTube