Love Island USA’sproducer interference hasn’t been slick throughout this dramatic season, andwith blatantly over-produced storylines, viewers like me have been wondering if they’re being duped. After the rabid success ofLove Island USAseason 6, many were nervous for the rollout ofLove Island USAseason 7. Chasing previous success isn’t typically the best formula for making good reality TV.
Even so,Love Island USAseason 7’s cast listwas released to fanfare and excitement, and viewers got ready for another intense season of the series. While I’ve enjoyedLove Island USAseason 7,I can’t say I haven’t noticed the flagrant producer interference, nor can most of the viewing audience. Though some production interference makes sense, this feels like too much.
Moving through season 7, there have been authentic interactions where production wasn’t pulling the strings, butmany moments thatLove Island USAfans have been intense about have touches of interference. Whether it be the relationship between Nic Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen or the removal of keydetails surrounding Huda Mustafa’s heart rate challenge performance, producers have been playing in our faces.
Producers are required to make reality TV, and some of the best in the business are able to work through a season seamlessly, creating reality gold without a shred of evidence. While there are produced moments that work well on screen,the majority ofLove Island USA’sover-produced drama has been tough to stomach. Viewers like us deserve better than orchestrated stories.
AsLove Island USAseason 7 comes to a close, it’s been fascinating to watch the Islanders move through their storylines, especially knowing that what we’re seeing on screen doesn’t entirely reflect the experiences they’re having in the villa. With dumped Islanders coming back to the internet with their take on the show and its happenings,the production interference has been all-but-confirmed.
5Nicolandria Took Over Love Island USA’s Pivotal Twist
Nic & Olandria Were Brought Back Together For Fans
As viewers got intoLove Island USA,some felt they saw sparks between Nic and Olandria despite them coupling up with different people immediately in the villa. While it was clear that Nic and Olandria were attracted to one another,the fan base behind the pair were strong, vocal, and intenseabout there being more between them than just a friendship.
Dubbed Nicolandria, viewers were open about the fact that they saw more chemistry between the pair than they had with their other partners, Cierra Ortega and Taylor Williams. During the Casa Amor twist, whenNic and Olandria both wound up singleand seemingly dumped from the villa,Love Island USAproducers saw their chance to step in and make Nicolandria happen.
While the producer interference it took to get both Nic and Olandria in a position where they had to choose to couple up or leave the villa was intense, I didn’t mind it until later. Left without partners again, Nic and Olandria chose to couple up and,despite having consistently said there was nothing between them, are exploring a romance.
Though Nic andOlandria may finally have some genuine interestin one another, the majority of their moments together are filled with shots of them smiling at each other in moments where the other is clearly talking, dubbed over with romantic music. The couple may work, butit feels like they’ve been told to play up their connection by producersall season long.
4Love Island USA Season 7’s Casting Caused Issues
The Cast Wasn’t Vetted Properly
At the beginning ofLove Island USAseason 7,it quickly became clear that there was a casting issue on the series. Once viewers knew about the original Islanders joining the series, they began researching their social media presence and backgrounds, finding that oneIslander had openly used a racial slurduring a podcast appearance online prior to the season.
Yulissa Escobar, who hasattempted to apologize for her behavior, was removed from the series after backlash.Love Island USAshared they had a zero-tolerance policy on the use of racial slurs, but things got worse as the season went on. After discoveringcast members like Austin Shepard and TJ Palma had liked troubling posts, viewers continued digging things up on other Islanders.
Cierra, who was coupled up with Nic throughout the season,was shown to have used a racial slur against the Asian community in multiple posts, and as her popularity throughout the season grew, viewers pushed hard to have her removed from the villa. Toward the end of the season,Love Island USAproducers removed Cierra, but the damage of having her was done.
AlthoughLove Island USA’sproducers took the right steps after discovering troubling cast behavior,the fact that Islanders with that behavior in their past were cast in the first place was difficult to stomach.Love Island USAviewers have called for more thorough vetting of the cast members in the future, making it clear they don’t want to see problematic Islanders in the future.
3Huda Mustafa’s Behavior Has Been Intense & Challenging
Many Believe Huda Should Have Been Removed
As an original Islander,Huda has had one of the most complicated storylines of the seasonthus far. Initially coupling up with Jeremiah Brown,Huda came intoLove Island USAseason 7holding a secret. She didn’t feel comfortable publicly sharing that she had a young daughter back at home, but divulged the information when she felt closer to Jeremiah & the girls.
WhileHuda’s relationship with Jeremiah deepened quickly, it faded out just as fast. As Jeremiah felt things were getting intense, Huda’s behavior became tough to handle. Needy, abrasive, and overwhelming, Huda made it tough for others to defend her. After her crash out when she split from Jeremiah,Huda’s behavior was thoroughly analyzed byLove Island USAfanswho were concerned.
As the season’s continued, Huda’s got to know herself better, butit was clear that some of what was happening in the villa wasn’t being shown. Asher problems with Chelley Bissaintheand Olandria deepened, things were left out of Huda’s story that would’ve made her look guilty.Love Island USA’sproducers protected her rather than removing her, which viewers requested.
2Love Island USA’s Challenges Encourage Hypersexual Behavior
Rather Than Building Connections, The Challenges Push Boundaries
Love Island USAseason 7’s challenges, arranged and orchestrated by the producers of the series, have been some of the most difficult to watch in the show’s history. While the challenges in the past were used, at times, to spark drama,they’ve typically been played in order to build the Islanders' connectionsand stir the pot with their answers to provocative questions.
This season,Love Island USA’schallenges have been disgusting most of the time. From the Islanders consistently spitting in each other’s mouths and getting into hypersexual positions with people who aren’t their chosen partners, it’s clear that the challenges have been put in place to spark drama. The Islanders have even been choosing who they want to kiss outside of their couples differently.
With women choosing to kiss other women rather than exploring their connections with the opposite sex, some have found theLove Island USAseason 7 challengesto be a useless part of the season.Producers have positioned the challenges to seem like they’re intense, but with their minimal impact on the season and their consistently gross-out nature, viewers have pushed back against them.
1Casa Amor’s Rules Have Changed For The Worst
AsLove Island USA’strademark twist, Casa Amor is something viewers look forward to year after year. Unfortunately,Love Island USAseason 7’s version of it was vastly different than in the past, which led to the twist being ineffective and uninteresting most of the time. Althoughviewers were ready for Casa to shake things up, the twist fell flat.
Moving through the season,I was ready to see Casa Amorafter watching the original Islanders struggling to build genuine connections with their partners.It appeared many of the guys in the villa weren’t interested in making real connections, so I was hopeful that Casa would bring new life into the show, creating fun new couples to watch on screen.
Unfortunately,with new rules changing Casa Amor, I didn’t love the outcome. Bringing the girls to Casa instead of the guys wasn’t an issue, but seeing them immediately put into new couples, despite that never having happened before, was strange. Ultimately,Casa created a few new couples, but it felt far too produced for it to be authentic toLove Island USA’svision.
Love Island USAairs every night at 9 p.m. EDT on Peacock, except Wednesdays.
