A summer of love, romance, and relationships: the eighth season of “Love Island,” a reality show, is filled with drama and excitement. 

With both a British and American version on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the show has drawn the attention of viewers from worldwide and has especially gained recent popularity due to TikTok, a video streaming app. Contestants come to “Love Island,” which is located off the cost of California, with hopes of finding love, coupling up with someone they believe is their match and working to win the hearts of the audience in order to be voted as the best couple and receive the prize of about 50,000 dollars. While participants initially pick one person to be their counterpart at the beginning of the show, they typically split up to date others until they find their true love.  

“I really enjoy watching ‘Love Island’ because it is funny. They put random people in their twenties on a stranded island and force them to build relationships (…) I really wish they would make seasons faster so I can watch more of it,” Brooke Belsito, senior, said. 

During the show, contestants have no contact with anyone off of the island, as phones, magazines, and books are all banned. Along with this, they have other restrictions that are difficult for some of the contestants to follow, such as no sexual contact or drinking. Some have said banning these activities has only increased their desire to do them. While many try to secretly break the rules, cameras are everywhere, and the world gets to watch the young adults attempt to revolt. 

“I like watching ‘Love Island’ because it is interesting how they are not able to have phones, which makes it more interesting to see how they interact with each other without having social media while on the island,” Ava Baldwin, sophomore, said.  

The show is known for being interactive with its viewers, as they get to vote each episode for who will be staying and who will be kicked off. They get to choose what couple won their hearts and who left them heartbroken. This makes it even more important for the contestants to focus on not just finding a match but being the best match in order to win the grand prize. 

“’Love Island’ is one of my favorite shows because it is so interactive and fun to follow along. I think it is cool that the viewers get to vote for their favorite couple and see how it all plays out,” Victoria Sprecher, freshman, said. 

Though this season ended on Aug. 1, 2022, “Love Island” is still a great watch for those wanting a show of excitement, drama, and fun twists.