Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Peacock’s Love Island USA Season 6.After 36 episodes of one of the franchise’s fan favorite seasons, Love Island USA season 6 has crowned its winners: Serena Page and Kordell Beckham. The two were coupled up during the season’s first episode, but were also coupled with others during the season, before reuniting for good. After the announcement of their win, the two faced a final villa challenge. Presented with two envelopes, one held the grand prize of $100,000, the other empty. The Islander choosing the winning envelope could keep it all or share it with their partner. Beckham selected the winning envelope and chose to share it with Page.
Alongside Page and Beckham, JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez, Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington and Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi made up the season’s final four couples. The final episode featured the final on-screen dates for all the couple. The final minutes revealed each couple’s positioning: Jacky and Washington landed in fourth. Rodriguez and Craig took third, while Kateb and Harichi came in second.
With its previous five seasons, Love Island USA had failed to live up to the hype of the franchise’s UK editions, but season 6, which streams on Peacock, saw a radical change. The season was the number one most-watched streaming original series in the U.S. during the week of July 5th to 11th. That marked a 61% jump from the week before and a staggering 257% increase from its premiere week.
So how did Love Island USA reach peak popularity this season? According to executive producer Simon Thomas, the show’s success can be attributed to several factors, including its cast and host. During a recent interview with Today, Thomas shared:
“I think the biggest thing that I credit: The cast is phenomenal. They have given so much of themselves. Again, that’s magic. You can’t predict that. You can’t plan on it. You got to hope for it and cast as well as you can.
I think Ariana [Madix] joining the show — massive right? Her personal story matches very well with some of these other stories. People feel for her. She feels like the big sister that they want. That’s a great coming together of different people who fit and (she) brings an audience with her.”
Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix became a household name after “Scandoval,” appearing in a range of commercials and Dancing with the Stars, and portraying Roxie Hart on Broadway. This marks Madix’s first season as host of Love Island USA (replacing Sara Hyland), and while the show’s success can’t be wholly accredited to her, Madix’s addition certainly helped the series.
Thomas adds:
“But I think the other thing that we’ve tried to do from day one, and we’ve really believed in, is a set time and space to watch ‘Love Island.’ Like, we drop that show at 9 o’clock, even though it’s a streaming service, even though it’s not live… It became an appointment, and people talk about it on social. So we’ve got a really big social team, really amazing, credible team that does all that social content. They put out amazing clips…and it drives that conversation. So then, you want to be a part of something.”
The Magic of Love Island USA’s Season Six
Thomas calls the season’s casting “magic,” and it’s hard to disagree. This group of contestants really did deliver some of the most memorable moments in Love Island history, including Beckham’s Cheez-It aspirations, Kaylor Martin’s emotional outbursts, Kateb’s hilarious Heart Rate Challenge performance, and, yes, even Robert Rausch’s overalls. But there’s another element that truly sets this season apart: in a competition built on romantic connections, season 6 saw friendships blossom and take center stage. From Page, Craig, and Kateb’s unshakable sisterhood to Liv Walker’s unwavering support for her fellow female islanders, and the undeniable bromance between Aaron Evans and Rausch, platonic love became a defining theme.
Love Island began in the UK in 2015, later expanding to several countries, including the US, Australia, Italy, and Spain. The reality competition series follows a group of single contestants, called Islanders, living together in a luxurious villa cut off from the outside world. To stay in the game, they must be coupled up with another Islander. This can be for genuine love, friendship, or simply survival. Couples are initially formed based on first impressions, but things can get messy as the show holds re-coupling ceremonies throughout the season. The public plays a big role too, voting for their favorite couples to stay on the island. Less popular couples get dumped from the villa. To keep things interesting, producers throw in challenges and surprises, like new Islanders (nicknamed bombshells) entering the mix to tempt those already coupled up.
Good news for
Love Island USA
fans: the cast will return for a reunion to be aired on Peacock on August 19. While viewers wait for that, they can catch up with
Love Island UK
‘s ongoing 11th season, which is available to stream on Hulu and will conclude on July 29.