Yahoo News Missing Love Island? Here are 11 alternatives to plug the gap…
The start of June usually promises sunnier climes, warmer evenings and of course, the start of Love Island.
For the past five years, the first week of summer signals the Love Island klaxon as we get ready to meet the latest cohort of sexy singletons that are gearing up to find ‘The One’ – or at the very least enjoy a summer holiday and get a few thousand Instagram followers to boot.
However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen the upcoming summer series of Love Island (as well as a number of other productions) put permanently on hold, despite ITV’s fight to try and keep the show on air (with execs genuinely considering a Cornish edition of the reality series).
A break for the dating goliath is no bad thing, with Love Island recording its first dip in ratings with its lacklustre winter edition. The time off screen gives the show some necessary breathing space before returning for another series for us to get hooked on.
The lack of Love Island, though, does leave a large gap in our summer scheduling as we’re now looking for something new to get stuck in to. Reality TV fans, fear not, we’ve got you covered.
1. Love Island Australia
What else can plug the Love Island gap betterr than more Love Island? The Australian edition is now being aired on ITV2 in a clear bid from ITV to keep us hooked on the franchise, and in all fairness to the channel, it’s not a bad shout.
The first series of the Australian edition of the show, which aired in 2018, is on par with our early series of Love Island. With the show not yet promising the instant fame that the Islanders have enjoyed in later series, the actions of the contestants are far less filtered. Expect more sex, bitching and arguments – with one physical fight between two Islanders after a shock recoupling going viral, which made our Love Island dramas look positively tame.
However, true Love Island die-hards may already be familiar with the Aussie export, after it was aired on ITVBe in 2018.
2. Too Hot to Handle
With its uncanny similarities to the ITV dating series, Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle was billed as the streaming service’s answer to Love Island.
Eerily familiar, the show sees a group of sexy singletons from all around the world come together at a luxury resort to win a share of $100,000. However, in a shock twist to the format, those in the villa would see the prize fund dwindle if they engaged in any sexual contact with each other. Watch as our gorgeous contestants struggle through the process...
3. Temptation Island
An American reality format that originally aired in 2001 and was revived in 2019 for the Love Island-obsessed generation, Temptation Island is true bargain bin reality TV.
The show, which was always set to cause controversy, sees a number of couples ‘test’ their relationship by splitting and living on separate islands with a group of attractive singles of the opposite sex. While you’d be hoping true love to conquer all, Temptation Island very quickly shows this is very rarely the case. Prepare to be shocked.
4. First Dates Hotel
A spin-off from one of the most heart-warming shows on television, First Dates Hotel takes the cuddly sentiments from First Dates and puts them in a charming hotel in the South of France (or, for the second series, in Italy).
Should the date be successful, our daters can check in for the night and have a second date the next day. It may not be as high-drama as Love Island, but it’s certainly just as bingeable as we root for our favourite couples
5. Ex on the Beach
The MTV dating series, which has been running for an incredible 11 series, sees a number of semi-famous reality stars head to a luxury location to get to know one another.
However, the infamous ‘Tablet of Terror’ puts a spanner in the works, as it sees a number of their exes emerge from the sea and cause havoc. Famous episodes include Gary Beadle’s threesome with Charlotte Dawson and Olivia Walsh in series five, and the entirety of series three, which launched the careers of Megan McKenna and Stephen Bear. It’s rude and raunchy and makes Love Island look positively PG, but you don’t feel the same connection to the singletons on Ex on the Beach.
6. Celebs Go Dating
With Megan Barton-Hanson, Jack Fincham and Amy Hart all having appeared on the E4 programme (amongst others), Celebs Go Dating is fundamentally Love Island grad school for those who failed to couple up with The One.
For the uninitiated, the series follows a group of celebrities and reality TV stars as they enter the Celebrity Dating Agency in a bid to be matched with the right person. Love Island star Olivia Attwood, who appeared on CGD in 2017 and routinely got smashed on her dates, was one of the best celebs to watch in her series.
7. Love is Blind
If you failed to watch the frankly insane dating show when it first premiered on Netflix earlier this year, now is the time to become obsessed with it.
The series pioneered isolation dating before it was even a thing, with the men and women dating through pods without seeing what the other looked like.
Through the strength of their emotional connection alone, the couples would get engaged, holiday and live together to see if they would get married at the end of the ‘experiment’ – with varying results. After a very slow start, prepare to be stunned at some of the outcomes.
8. Dating Around
The Netflix equivalent of First Dates, each episode of Dating Around sees one singleton date five individuals in New York, before picking one to go on a second date with.
The way the show is edited means we see all five dates at the same time, which can be a little confusing at times, but is otherwise a strangely addictive programme fuelled by its incredibly awkward first-date moments. What’s positive about Dating Around is how it celebrates a far more diverse look at love than Love Island’s usually heteronormative line-up, and sees people discussing real issues.
9. Naked Attraction
An eye-opening (and eye-watering) look at dating, which sees one individual choose someone to date based on their naked body, which is slowly unveiled by the feet up.
Like Dating Around, the show needs to be applauded by showing the vast spectrum of sexuality and body types, but this is often overshadowed by the no-holds-barred looks at genitals.
10. Terrace House
It’s Love Island meets Gogglebox meets wholesome content in this Japanese reality show, available on Netflix. The show follows the lives of six strangers, three men and three women from different walks of life, who live under the same roof while getting to know and date each other.
However, Terrace House differs hugely from Love Island, by being the very opposite of over-produced, letting relationships and dramas blossom naturally as opposed to being forced through tasks.
Throughout the programme, a group of studio commentators share their opinion on just what’s happening, cutting to the group after conversations to analyse what’s happening in the house. Imagine Big Brother’s Bit on the Side becoming part of the main show.
11. Love Island
If none of this takes your fancy, then there is the chance to rewatch every series of Love Island so far on streaming service Britbox.
You can once again relive Malin coming back to confront Terry, Chris and Kem’s bromance, and Megan and Wes’s shock attraction.
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