"Less raunchy": The differences between Love Island USA and UK
Love Island has now officially become a cultural phenomenon, and it seems that audiences in the States are gagging to get their USA version up and running.
The show is finally making its way across the Atlantic, with 11 sexy singletons heading to Fiji in the South Pacific to soak up the sun and maybe even find some romance.
While there are many similarities between the ITV2 show and the USA version (those on-screen graphics), but there are some big differences compared to the British version for American audiences.
ITV America's chief executive officer, David Eilenberg, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the core changes to the American version, such as censorship and 'toned down' swimwear.
The show launches on CBS at 8pm, prime time in the US, and viewers are already prepared to give up their social lives and give in to their new obsession.
The US version will feature less 'revealing' swimwear according to Eilenberg; "Of course, we're going to conform to broadcast standards. We're on at 8 o'clock on a major broadcaster."
He added; "That said, even the way that the UK show has evolved, it has shifted more towards a mainstream general entertainment audience."
If the dodgy language ('effing and jeffing') gets too extreme, censorship will ensue as a result.
Eilenberg said: "Probably the biggest difference of all is likely to be around language because we'll have some bleeping obligations that the UK simply doesn't.
"I don't think that's going to make a huge difference in terms of the experience of it. But for superfans of the show, that will probably be notable because the UK version doesn't require censoring in the same way."
Love Island USA will be hosted by hilarious actress, online personality and comedian Arielle Vandenberg.
Arielle will double-up the hosting with doing the voiceover as well, which is the job of Scottish comic Iain Stirling. Caroline Flack has become a household name in the UK since landing the host job,
Producers are still unsure whether the audience will take to to voiced over quips as the action unfolds in the US version.
Eilenberg said: "We are utilising voiceover, which we were very happy that CBS was committed to, because we think that is an integral part of the UK show but not a device that gets used very frequently in the US.
He continued; "There will certainly be differences. Some of those differences won't just have to do with the type of platform it's on, but simply the cultural differences between American islanders and UK islanders."
Off-screen, Arielle is coupled up with boyfriend and fellow comedian/influencer Matt Cutshall. Flack is still looking for her perfect man to couple up with, maybe she'll meet him on the show this year?
Seeing as this is the first season of the American show, there are many unknowns. The series will only be about one-third of the length of the UK version until popularity grows.
Eilenberg said: "The UK show is pushing something like 60 hours of content over the course of the summer, and that's not counting ancillary. That's just every night. Will we ever get to that place in the US? I don't know.
"You look at other territories of the show and some of them are more similar to what we're doing, which is about 20-something hours of content," he concluded.
Currently there are no plans to bring Love Island USA to UK and Irish screens, but you can catch the action by subscribing to Hulu or searching for clips online. It looks worth the effort…
Feature image: CBS
