A little bit of Love Island USA came ashore in Chicago over the weekend.
Peacock’s sexy, improvised dating series staged an event aimed at auditioning locals looking for a chance at love and adventure, while also promoting the show and beauty products from Maybelline and Batiste, which are also TV sponsors of Love Island.
According to NBCUniversal, about 950 people attended the Love Island USA Pop-up installation of the Mobile Villa on a Saturday afternoon in a normal parking lot in the old town district.
Everyone was hot. That was because the temperature was over 30 degrees. But overall, the crowd was, as expected, rather young and attractive.
At the Pop-Up Villa, Maybelline had a co-branded makeup room where artists were on-site offering touch-ups using the brand’s latest products, including Sunkisser Liquid Blush and Bronzer and Firework Mascara.
After touching up their makeup (and collecting free samples), they blew each other a kiss in a slow-motion walk-up video to use on social media. Then they auditioned in front of the casting company’s cameras.
Also present were Carsten (Bergie) Bergersen and Taylor Smith, who met a year ago in the fifth season of the show and are still a couple.
Peacock is hosting three such events this summer. The first on June 14 in Los Angeles drew more than 804 presumably single people. The caravan will move on to the bar Anticipation in Lake Como on the New Jersey shore on June 29.
What can the show expect at these events?
“We are obviously looking for people who will spread the word about the show, but also show them that we are a fun bunch,” says Jodi Thomas, senior casting director at City Media Entertainment, a casting company owned by Love Island Producer ITV said Broadcast+Cable.
Fun is an important element as social anxiety can be a big part of reality shows. On Love Island, singles find partners quickly, but partners can be taken away, leaving some islanders single again. And at regular intervals, very attractive ‘sex bombshells’ are thrown into the mix to heat things up even further.
“It’s an amazing adventure to be on Love Island,” said Thomas. “It really is. It’s the summer of your life where you can make friends who will be there for you forever and hopefully the love of your life.”
The live events “give people a chance to go to the beauty bar, go in and experience what it’s like to walk the runway and be part of the interview process, just to get a little insight into what it’s like to be part of the show,” she said.
At the same time, the live events give casting participants the opportunity to meet potential islanders in person and test their social skills while recording their auditions. In LA, casting directors were on site and sometimes stepped in when someone particularly interesting was accepted.
Thomas said her company doesn’t have anyone on site in Chicago, but “I personally watch all the tapes, which is great because I’m obsessed with the show.”
There is no set number for how many of those who audition in person at one of the pop-up locations will actually appear on the show.
Peacock held some live auditions last year. “We found a mix of amazing Islanders from last year’s pop-ups who are still in the running to appear this season,” Thomas said. “Hopefully you’ll see them soon as our next bombshells in the villa.”
Love Island Graduates Bergersen and Smith took selfies with the potential applicants and gave tips on the reality show experience.
“I was in Madison, South Dakota, population 7,000,” said Bergersen, a Minnesota native who played football at Dakota State. “I applied online, but if there was an opportunity like this, I definitely would have come in person.”
When he decided to do the show, “it wasn’t so much about finding my personality or being on TV,” he said. “It was about going to Fiji. How often do you get a free trip to Fiji? That was the big motive for me. It wasn’t so much about being on TV or becoming famous. It was an adventure.”
Since I was on Love IslandBergersen also appeared in the second season of The traitoranother Peacock show.
“Believe it or not, I actually prefer Scotland to Fiji,” he said.
Bergersen can’t imagine working full-time in the entertainment business. “I see it as a side job,” he says. “It’s not sustainable as my only source of income.”
He plans to train as a physiotherapist and hopes to later work for a sports team or open his own practice.
Smith and Bergersen advised the hopefuls to remain true to themselves.
“I told them to be as natural as possible and be their true, authentic selves,” Smith said.
Bergersen added: “If they don’t like you for who you are, you can’t control that.”
Smith, a California native who lives in Dallas, said participating in the show was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“If you’re not in that environment, no one really understands what you’re going through,” she said. “It takes a lot of mental health to engage in that kind of environment. I would tell people: stay true to yourself.”
Smith cannot imagine a career in the entertainment industry. “With Love Islandit just fell into my lap. But as for the future, if something comes my way, maybe,” she said.
She has already worked on product promotions for sponsors, but her goal is to work in human resources in the corporate world.
One of the hopefuls at the Chicago event was Chris Hernandez, whose accent revealed that he was from London before moving to the Windy City, where he works as a software developer and entrepreneur.
“I’m looking for my queen, you could say my next Queen Elizabeth,” Hernandez said. “Someone I can definitely spoil and definitely have adventures with.”
Looking at the crowd at the event, he said: “I can already see some candidates.”
Season six of Love Island USA premiered on Peacock on June 11 and is hosted by popular TV personality Ariana Madix, a cast member of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules who is also a candidate at ABCs Dancing with the stars.
According to Peacock, the islanders can expect more drama than ever before, with jaw-dropping revelations, challenges for new couples and even some surprise guests.
Love Island USA is produced by ITV Entertainment, an ITV America company. The series is based on a format owned by Lifted Entertainment and GroupM Motion Entertainment and distributed by ITV Studios.
Executive producers include David George, Adam Sher, Simon Thomas, Ben Thursby-Palmer, Claudine Parrish, James Barker, Blake Garrett, Courtney Rosenthall, Richard Cowles, Mike Spencer, Richard Foster and Chet Fenster.
