Love Island fans ditching show for series they're hailing as 'perfect reality TV'

Love Island might be back on our screens for another summer of grafting, recouplings and head-turns but viewers are already calling time on the UK villa and saying the drama has officially moved across the pond and they are heading to the USA version for their fix of drama, chaos, and actual entertainment.

While the ITV2show has long been considered a staple of British reality telly, this year’s series hasn’t quite hit the mark. Now, Brits are tuning into Love Island USA, claiming it’s bringing the messiness, diversity, and wild energy they’ve been begging for - and some aren’t even watching the UK version at all.

Social media is flooded with Brits raving about Love Island USA, with some even resorting to dodgy Google streams to watch the American version instead. “Love Island USA is actually better than UK now that I’m locked in, because the UK girlies always looked the same year after year. This show is far more diverse,” one fan tweeted.

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Another viewer said: “Look at how fun Love Island USA is compared to the UK, we’re acc starving out ere,” after Megan Thee Stallion popped into the villa - something fans reckon would never happen over here.

It’s not just about A-list appearances. Fans say the US version is messier, sexier, and more unpredictable, while the UK show has become, well, beige. Complaints of boring couples, over-produced edits and safe casting have plagued recent seasons.

And they’re not wrong - the numbers tell a very similar story.

This summer’s Love Island UK launch episode brought in just 1 million viewers, a major drop from 2.5 million back in 2019. That’s a sharp nosedive for a show that once defined summer TV. The 2022 opener had 1.3 million, 2023 climbed to 1.7 million… but now, things are looking bleak. Excluding Unseen Bits, the first week of this year’s series averaged just 855,000 viewers, with only 144,000 aged 16–24 young viewers it used to thrive on actually watching.

For some long-time fans, the drop-off feels inevitable. The spark that once made Love Island a cultural phenomenon from iconic bust-ups to jaw-dropping Casa Amor moments has been replaced with safe casting, familiar storylines and a vibe that some say just doesn’t hit anymore.

Even 2019 winner Amber Gill weighed in, blaming the decline on over-policing and public outrage. “Reality telly is dead,” she said in a fiery post, blaming hyper-sensitive viewers for sucking the fun out of it. She also took aim at backlash over one contestant saying a girl was “too glamorous for a 9-5,” calling the outrage over the top.

Love Island USA’s rise isn’t new - fans were already saying last year’s series was “the best ever.” But now, with UK ratings slipping and viewers switching sides, it seems the American villa has officially stolen the crown despite the show starting in the UK.

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