Summer will soon heat up with new episodes of the popular reality dating series Love Island USA, arriving Monday, Aug. 24 at 8/7c with a two-hour premiere on CBS and CBS All Access. The show will then move to its regular timeslot of 9/8c.
Season 2, which will air seven nights a week this season, finds a new set of Islanders searching for love in a gorgeous villa at Caesars Entertainment’s boutique hotel, The Cromwell, in Las Vegas. The original plan was to return to Fiji for the new season, but in light of COVID-19, the series was then moved to Sin City. The new location certainly lends itself to uninhibited debauchery like never before, which is why this season of the American series might be the most exciting yet.
“We’ve really built on last year, our first season,” executive producers Jessica Castro and Ben Thursby-Palmer told TV Guide via email. “We are taking all the good bits fans loved — the fun games and challenges, dramatic recouplings and epic dumpings — and adding more. More Islanders. More challenges. More games. More dates.”
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With filming underway in such close quarters in the middle of the pandemic, the show is taking serious precautions to ensure the safety of everyone on the crew and staff, and each contestant. For starters, all cast and crew were required to quarantine before production began and were tested prior to starting their work on the show. Islanders have also been quarantined and will be tested for COVID-19 before they enter the villa. Plus, there will be regular testing throughout the season as well as daily screenings for symptoms.
It’s also mandatory for all crew and staff to wear PPE and work in their own pods to ensure proper social distancing, and there will be ongoing cleaning and disinfecting throughout the filming and production areas. In addition, COVID-19 compliance officers will be on-hand to monitor and ensure that all health and safety protocols are being enforced.
“The health and safety of everyone involved in Love Island is the highest priority. We’ve done everything we can to make sure the Islanders are safe and have the best summer of their lives and viewers can have a great summer living through them,” Castro and Thursby-Palmer said.
Because of the safety protocols put in place behind-the-scenes, things will be business as usual on-screen. Islanders will still be sharing beds, hanging out on the lawn, and just taking full advantage of the villa’s stunning facilities.
As we gear up for new episodes, fans can expect to see the return of several franchise staples as well as a few fun surprises. Castro and Thursby-Palmer confirmed that the show is bringing back some of your favorite games and challenges from last season along with several new twists, like a secret jacuzzi where Islanders can sneak away for some much-needed privacy. Plus, this season will feature Casa Amore, an entirely new villa that will introduce five new gals and five new guys who are certain to shake up the already-established couples. That unique twist was first introduced in Season 3 of Love Island U.K. and has been a fan-favorite ever since.
Matthew Hoffman will be back as narrator, along with host Arielle Vandenberg, who Castro and Thursby-Palmer say will be around quite a bit this season. “We love Arielle and we know the fans do to!” they said. “You will definitely see a lot of her this season and we are excited for what she will bring.”
Season 2 of Love Island USA premieres Monday, Aug. 24 at 8/7c on CBS and CBS All Access.
Love Island USA