CBS ‘Love Island’ Crosses the Pond for ITV2 Debut

The CBS series, which has this year relocated from Fiji to Las Vegas due to COVID-19, will debut on ITV2 from Sept. 7. Singles will occupy a “bubble” in a villa atop Caesars Entertainment’s boutique hotel The Cromwell.

Season 1 of the U.S. edition aired last year in late-night slots on ITV’s secondary family channel ITVBe. As such, the 9pm slot handed to the show’s second season on ITV2 marks a significant step up, although the impact of COVID-19 on the broadcaster’s schedule is likely to have played a part.

International versions of ITV Studios’ hit format have been a saving grace for the U.K. broadcaster, which was forced to pull the plug on the popular U.K. summer and winter editions of “Love Island” due to COVID-19 concerns around international production. Earlier this summer, ITV aired the Australian edition of the program across ITV2 in lieu of the domestic show.

Paul Mortimer, ITV’s head of digital channels and acquisitions, said: “Las Vegas may seem like an odd destination for the show but the canny producers have beaten COVID with a show that adheres to all production protocols and that could well be sensational. Certainly the ‘villa’ is impressive and the cast diverse and amazing. We believe ‘Love Island’ fans will embrace this Sin City twist, my bet is the series will be another big hit.”

“Love Island USA” is produced by ITV America’s ITV Entertainment, with David George, Adam Sher, David Eilenberg, Simon Thomas, Ben Thursby-Palmer, Jessica Castro, Richard Foster and Chet Fenster serving as executive producers.

ITV Studios, which handles global distribution for the format, brokered the deal for ITV2 to air the CBS series. The U.S. show will also air on Bell Media in Canada, which will simulcast the series, as well as Nine Network in Australia, Sky in New Zealand, Virgin Media Ireland, RTL in the Netherlands, TV2 in Norway and TV4 in Sweden.