Love Island first aired in the UK in 2015 and became an instant hit. The success of the show sprung new versions all over the world, including Love Island USA, which premiered in 2019. The popularity of Love Island USA has grown significantly over the years and is arguably second to Love Island UK. Other versions include Love Island Australia and Love Island South Africa, with Love Island SA being the first venture into Africa. The franchise has since then announced plans to expand the show with new upcoming versions all over the world, including another African country, Love Island Nigeria. However, with all these versions available, fans still rank Love Island UK as the best.
With Love Island UK being the first version, fans can’t help but feel a little sentimental as they have watched the show grow to be the international sensation it is now. Love Island UK has run longer and is more successful than other spin-off, especially Love Island USA, which premiered with poor rating back in 2019. Not only does this make the show binge-worthy, but it also means that they had more time to perfect it. The UK version was the first to try out new concepts to keep the show interesting, such as introducing a second villa to bringing back islanders who had been dumped. The original UK version set the tone for the other versions of the show, meaning every twist fans enjoy in the US versions were first tested in Love Island UK.
The UK version also gives fans a chance to get to know the islanders better by giving them a sneak peek of what goes on behind the scenes through specials like Unseen Bits and Aftersun. Love Island USA can learn from the UK version as it's also not afraid to show everything that goes on in the villa. Love Island is much more censored on CBS, which follows strict guidelines on the type of content it can air. Also, the Love Island USA episodes that are aired seem to have a lot of footage cut out compared to the episodes streamed on Paramount Plus. What this means is, in order for fans to get the full Love Island experience, they’d have to watch the show on multiple channels, which can sometimes be a hassle.
Love Island UK was also the first to make the show interactive by letting fans take part in what goes on in the villa by launching the Love Island app. Through the app, fans can choose their favorite islanders, and their favorite couples, plus they even get to choose who gets voted off the villa. The fans also get to choose who the new islanders get to date when they first enter the villa, whether coupled up or not, which tends to stir up a lot of the main drama. Love Island UK was also the first in the franchise to introduce the Love Island games for fans to participate in on the show's crazy antics.
However, Love Island USA has grown in popularity within its latest season, getting more views compared to its previous seasons. With the success of season 3, Love Island USA has been picked up for another two more seasons. Now that Love Island is moving to a new platform that promises better content, it might just catch up in popularity to Love Island UK.