They say you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
And that’s something many a reality television veteran could relate to.
It’s a common trend in reality television for cast members to bounce around from show to show, but there’s been a trend, especially recently, of cast members who were once super popular popping up on a new series and the audience souring on them the second or third time around.
Shows like The Challenge on MTV or whatever channel it’s currently on have casts filled with people from various other shows who quickly fall out of favor with fans when they partner with the “wrong” person or are on the side the audience is rooting against.
While some people won’t be liked simply due to viewers’ preferences, we all know that reality television, as real as it claims to be, is still produced at the end of the day.
There will always be a hero or a villain, and each time you go back for more, you raise your chances of falling from grace rather than ascending from obscurity.
And that’s why the latest entry in the Love Island USA world makes me nervous.
Love Island USA has existed since 2019, but it really exploded during Love Island Season 6 in the summer of 2024.
The cast of unknowns quickly became the most popular cast to date, as they fell in love, fought, reconciled, and then fought some more all over the villa in Fiji.
The power of Love Island will always lie within its cast. Although the hook, games, and twists help enhance the show, without a solid cast, the show is nothing.
The sixth season featured a colorful group of characters who exploded in a way we’ve never seen with the casts in the United States.
Love Island is a religion across the pond in the UK, but over here, it never caught on in the same way, probably because it always felt like just another dating show in the vein of The Bachelor. Just this time, everyone was in the swimwear 24/7.
The cast was led by PPG (The Powerpuff Girls), the trio of JaNa Craig, Leah Kateb, and Serena Page. They became fan favorites and are the main attraction of the upcoming spinoff Love Island: Beyond The Villa.
The three, who were in the finals and are still with the men they paired up with on the island, each walked away from the villa with enormous popularity. They’ve popped up in numerous campaigns and have continued to expand beyond being part of Love Island.
I’m thrilled to see them back on television, but also scared for them.
The girls’ friendships and relationships have always felt authentic, and I’m not worried about that changing, but I know that, ultimately, this series thrives on drama and unpredictability.
As much as I’d love to see the friendships and relationships thrive, we all know that is not what this series will be after.
Someone is liable to fall prey to a bad edit, and sometimes, it is through no fault of their own.
Sure, a lot of the worst reality TV “villains” you can think of did it to themselves. Still, the right edit can twist something innocuous into something else entirely if the show is desperate to inject some drama and set up good guys versus bad guys edits on a show.
Outside of the PPG and their men, the rest of the cast rounds out with other big personalities from the season, including some exes and others who “dated” some of the girls while in the villa.
They’ve set it up to capitalize on the season’s fame, as after the season is over, you don’t get to see your favorite islanders day in and day out anymore.
But it’s naïve to think this show will be all rainbows and butterflies and not whatever Peacock decides it wants it to be. And that’s the part that keeps me from getting overly excited.
Many of the cast went on there, found love and growth, and they’ve amassed so much goodwill with fans, who’ve followed them post-show and engaged with them as they’ve built their brand.
My fear is that this show could taint that as Peacock tries to capitalize on their popularity.
All right, Love Island fans, what do you think?
Are you excited for the spinoff?
If so, are you at all worried about what the show will look like for your faves?
Let me know so we can chat!
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