Ariana Madix saved the terrible show

Love Island USA is finally good television.

For the sixth season Love Island USA Presenter Sarah Hyland has chosen the Vanderpump Rules Star Ariana Madix. The change is minor; Ariana is a great host, but so was Sarah. Honestly, it’s not that hard a job. What’s different is the ethos of the show. Love Island USA was rated Bravo.

The American spin-off of the British dating show suffered from a lack of fan interaction. In previous seasons, there were hardly any reliable characters and the drama remained banal. Love Island USA needed an adrenaline shot to push it forward; NBC seems to have found that boost in Vanderpump-it.

The experiment paid off: NBCUniversal reports that streaming reach has doubled compared to previous seasons and that the series is now Peacock’s “most watched and most talked about series.” In a time of need Love Island USA got the Bravo boost.

Like every good Housewives Franchise, Love Island USA was not afraid to look for talent. Rob was there last season; this is his second chance to cause chaos and act like an arrogant idiot. Aaron was there The traitors Great Britainand Kordell is the brother of Odell Beckham Jr. Better yet, Kordell is blatantly cowardly: He immediately claims to be an aspiring actor, model, and Cheez-It ambassador. And Kordell is one of the more boring new additions.

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What the girls lack in reality TV experience or Nepo connections, they make up for in whip-smart choices. Kaylor breaks down when Aaron shows mild interest in bombshell Liv with her classic “FAWK,” only to hit on newbie Connor the next episode. Liv eventually passed over Aaron; she chose Rob, seemingly for no other reason than to stir up controversy. Of course, the two decided it wasn’t going to work out after Liv said she fancied Ed Sheeran; Rob is a beabadoobee guy.

Throughout the show’s broadcast, fans have been using the template of Vanderpump Rules to the islanders. The connection seems inevitable with Madix’s presence, but some of it is true. Liv is constantly referred to as a “girly girl”, as VPR‘s Ariana or Katie, although the real strength of the friendship is more likely to be Serena. Meanwhile, Rob and Aaron have drawn comparisons to VPR‘s Toms. Rob is creepy like Sandoval, while Aaron is as dim-witted as Schwartz. Even better, the duo has a lusty homoerotic streak that resonates in the Toms’ relationships.

However, there is more to this connection than just a few immediate VPR Parallels. The show is edited in Bravo style, relying heavily on confessionals and cutting to dramatic scenes mid-conversation. There’s that comforting feeling of a gay guy sitting behind the computer, assembling the clips in Final Cut Pro while sipping his iced coffee, that has become crucial to Bravo’s success. Even the soundtrack reflects that: “HOT TO GO,” “Von Dutch,” and a shockingly emotional acoustic rendition of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.”

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Like some old seasons of RHONYthe show is also just plain funny. After Connor tells JaNa he loves to read, she replies earnestly, “Before I came here, I read the dictionary.” Hannah, who drops out at the beginning, never really learned how to do her makeup and makes every guy she kisses look like they robbed a doughnut factory. Kaylor tries to figure out if the United Kingdom is in Europe, while JaNa cries over her inadequate knowledge of plant species.

If Love Island USA has something of an apple holder in the middle, then it’s Leah. She, like any good housewife, has gone viral for her soundbites, including the infamous “Suck my dick, whatever you’ve heard about me, multiply it by a million, and if you think it’s bad, make it worse.” She also does an excellent impersonation of the asshole Rob, almost as good as RHOSLC‘s Meredith’s impersonation of Whitney. The “Calabasas Queen,” as TikTok has dubbed her, is reality TV gold.

And then the dumping from hell. The girls vote to dump Andrea, who had settled down with Rob, after which Rob threatened to leave the villa. It’s dramatic, it’s cheesy, it’s poorly produced, but who cares. The fights of RHOBH‘s Amsterdam dinner party meet the divisions of RHONJ‘s wine-throwing fight with Cabo in two absolutely shocking episodes of television. Rob stays; no one really expected him to leave in that tacky jumpsuit. But as the girls sob around the makeup counter, it almost seems worth it.

Since that devastating night, the drama has been somewhat more obscured. Here lies the error in the explanation Love Island USA a full-fledged Bravo fair; once the relationships start to harden, the drama seems staid. There are some high points: the dissolution of Kendall’s “nice guy” streak, the psychological torture of Kaylor, even just Leah’s side commentary. Like the Love Island Traditionally, there are also some sweet moments: Serena and Kordell finally work on their budding relationship and JaNa finds her prince charming in sex bomb Kenny. Nevertheless, everything is overshadowed by the first half of the season.

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Despite the decline, the sixth season surpasses all previous episodes of Love Island USA. The premiere on CBS was unbearably dull, while the later transfer to Peacock somewhat softened that barrier of artificiality. The show’s strength grew slowly: In season five, Sarah Hyland seethed with anger at an islander who called her question “incredibly disrespectful” and muttered with dignity, “Boys will be boys.” It was a glimpse into a new era that was only now becoming a reality.

During several of Ariana’s performances, contestants mistake her for a sex bomb. They imagine she’s joining the cast and not stepping in to supervise them. The confusion seems fitting: Love Island has turned into a romantic Vanderpump Rulesfilled with delicious Stassi wannabes and ignorant Jaxs. And given how bad the last season of VPR was, NBC might consider hiring him.