Does Love Island UK need to pull the US version for a chat?

What’s your dream Love Island series on paper?

Some watch for the heartwarming romances, like Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury falling for each other back in 2019, while others prefer intense dramas – we see you 2022 winners Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti.

Others tune in for exciting challenges like Snog, Marry, Pie or the ones which literally send heart rates soaring.

For most, it’s a mix of all of the above, and it’s a balance TV producers have been trying to strike for years with the original UK series, as well as a host of spin-offs and international editions.

It’s no secret that Love Island UK linear viewing figures have dropped from their 2019 heyday, with streaming and social media becoming more of a focus.

Across the pond the US edition has been reaching new heights, with the latest eighth series ranked as the number one reality show for five weeks in the States across all streaming platforms, according to its streamer Peacock.

It also had an injection of star power as US celebrity fans, including Lizzo, Demi Lovato and Kesha, sent messages of support to the finalists, while rapper Megan Thee Stallion has become a regular guest.

BBC Newsbeat has been speaking to fans, commentators and an ex-Islander to see what they feel the UK edition could learn from the US version to regain its spark.

The 13th series of the UK show ended on Monday, with Julia Majchrzak and Lorenzo Alessi crowned the winners.

The final drew in an average audience of 1.1m viewers across all devices, including streaming, according to its broadcaster ITV, but this was a notable drop from last year’s, which had an overnight audience of 1.3m.

By comparison, series five in 2019 broke the show’s viewing records with 6m tuning in to an episode post Casa Amor, and that year’s final had the highest average audience to date.

However, ITV say this 2019 figure was a consolidated number reached once it “had received all the data post final” and said it do not yet have an “equitable” figure for Series 13.

According to the network, more than 60% of its audience now engage with the show through streaming and the latest series, as well as its companion shows Aftersun and The Debrief, have had more than 180 million streams on ITVX.

Content creator Sarel, known for her Love Island debriefs to her 1.2m followers on TikTok, feels the biggest issue with the most recent UK series is “there hasn’t been much love” between the couples, so she wasn’t rooting for anyone at the end.

And while she knows people watch it for the drama and conversations it sparks, she thinks those are just “added extras” and the romances should be at the centre of the show.

“I want somebody to fall in love. I love stories where we get the butterfly moments,” she says.

“Where you had your Indiyah [Polack] and your Dami [Hope] when they ran to each other, or you had couples like Molly-Mae and Tommy.”

She thinks that’s an aspect which the US version has been getting right, as it feels like “everyone who is in there actually fancies one another” and there is “no box” they have to fit into.

Someone from the UK who chose to go on the US version is Aaron Evans, but this wasn’t his first reality series as he was one of three winners on the first series of The Traitors UK.

He feels the US edition’s success is helped by having “fresh eyes” on the format and the show having “so much social media presence”, which makes it “highly engaging”.

Stats given to Newsbeat by TikTok – which called Love Island “one of the most influential entertainment franchises” on the app – suggest he’s not wrong.

During the latest series, the hashtag #LoveIsland was mentioned in 123,000 posts in the UK, with #LoveIslandUK featuring in 88,000.

While in the US, #LoveIsland appeared in 1.09m posts and #LoveIslandUSA was tagged in 502,000 posts.

That said, the US population is nearly five times the size of the UK’s.

US entertainment journalist Carly Thomas says executive producers have told her they look for ways to “bring in the US audience”, be that through social media, challenges and the islanders they choose.

“I think for the US audience, we love to just relate and connect with people,” Thomas, who works for The Hollywood Reporter, says.

She also feels the US edition wants to “push the limits” of the islanders with intense challenges and viewers “love to see how far they’ll go”, including rapper Megan Thee Stallion hosting one which saw them sit on cakes and throw them at each other.

Love Island USA has not been all smooth sailing, though.

Contestants in last year’s series faced relentless online bullying which forced the show to broadcast a statement saying it does not tolerate “cyberbullying, harassment or hate”. The show insists it takes duty of care seriously.

The US version runs for six weeks once a year, while the UK summer edition typically airs across eight weeks.

There is also now an additional series in the UK throughout the year, with a winter edition airing in 2020 and 2023, which has now been succeeded by All Stars.

The finale of the third All Stars version, which sees ex-islanders return to the villa, attracted about 910,000 viewers earlier this year.

During the most recent UK series, producers tried to get hearts racing, and TikTok numbers up, by introducing some new twists.

A few islanders were summoned for a sleepover at a different villa before Casa Amor, and for the first time, only three couples were in the final after two pairs got dramatically dumped.

Some fans have appreciated the changes, while others, like Sarel, feel they didn’t land.

Love Island superfan Dami Amoo, who has watched every episode of the UK, US and All Star editions, says the UK series is starting to feel “overproduced”.

“I do think it’s been on a steady decline because they’re trying to give us what we want, but then they’re overdoing it and then they’re taking away the classic [elements].”

She thinks this may have been due to budget constraints, but missed the islanders going on exciting dates and taking part in “fun activities or games” where you see their personalities more.

Amoo, 28, also thinks you can really see the impact of investment in the US version, which was aired almost simultaneously with the latest UK edition.

“They’ve invested so much into the props, the games and all of these brands are part of the actual production,” she says.

“Whereas the UK version, it seems like they’re just on an island somewhere just doing it on their own.

“You don’t get a lot of hype, we don’t get British celebrities contributing to the discussions.”

The US edition has been able to bring in revenue by becoming a major space for advertising, with numerous content partners and more than 1,000 media partners, according to Peacock.

Evans isn’t surprised by the US version capitalising on brand partnerships, saying “everything’s bigger, everything’s brighter, everything’s just very American”.

So as the sun sets on another run of Love Island series, what could UK producers do ahead of the next launch?

Superfan Dami thinks “they should really get some real fans in the production room”.

“The people that do the debriefs online, people who engage on Twitter, they should get us in a room and we tell them what we really, really want.”

An ITV spokesperson told Newsbeat “reaction of the fans is at the heart of the show as seen in public votes and including opinions as part of the challenges.”

They added Love Island UK “continues to wield huge cultural relevance, both in the UK and in the USA” and to date it has had “over 2bn streams on ITVX and remains the biggest 16-34 show in commercial television”.

Additional reporting by BBC Newsbeat reporters Srosh Khan and Jack Gray.

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