Dear Gossips,
CBSannounced yesterdaythat the North American version ofLove Island已经更新了se吗cond season even though ratings haven’t been great. But that measurement is based on what they call “linear” ratings which are typically reflective of the viewing preferences of an older audience – basically the CBS audience. CBS is grandpa’s network. What they were aiming to do with the show is attract a younger, female audience and the “averageLove Islandaudience is about eight years younger than CBS’s audience as a whole”. The network also says that the show has solid streaming numbers, which makes sense considering the demographic, and that it has a strong presence on social media, the sign of a dedicated, passionate fanbase. And, again, a fanbase that typically doesn’t tune into CBS.
Love Island, of course, is a UK product and the first series wasn’t a smash hit over there either. Subsequent seasons, however, built on the initial intense following and now it’s a certified pop culture hit in the UK – even politicians tweet about what happens during recouplings and dumpings. (I know, the show’s terminology KILLS me.)
Full disclosure: I am one of the hosts ofLove Island: Aftersun, the North AmericanLove Islandaftershow so, yes, I have a personal interest in the series. It’s a big deal for us because we are a 100% Canadian production servicing international viewership. At the same time, it’s still an interesting industry observation particularly because CBS, asThe Hollywood Reporter notes, “likes to tout its strength in traditional metrics”. In other words… old school.
Does an old school lens tell the whole story anymore though? There is no more monoculture. This is one of the reasons whyGame of Thronesfelt like the closing of a chapter, nostalgic even before it ended. Because it represented probably the last time that many people would be watching one thing all together at the same time. Even grandpa’s network then has to look at other ways to measure success.
Jacek, my husband, wasn’t intoGame of Thrones.I know, he’s one of those. He is, however, very, very intoLove Island.This surprised me too. I thought I’d be watching it on my own but he’s adjusted his golf range sessions aroundLove Islandand if he is busy when it starts and can’t get to it from the beginning of the episode, he insists that I wait until he can come downstairs so that we can watch together on a short delay. He watches it like sports, picking up on certain plays before they fully develop into scoring or turnover opportunities, groaning when someone does something stupid (which happens multiple times an episode), and often the first to engage in post-game analysis when the episode ends. On several occasions he’s come up to bed, an hour or more after it’s done, to interrupt my reading (I hate being interrupted when I’m reading) to tell me how he can’t believe Weston’s turned into a f-ckboy. F-cking Weston. How are you going to shame Zac for spending too much time with Elizabeth one week and then have a suck attack that everyone’s being mean to you for discarding your current match every time a new woman struts into the villa? Jacek can’t believe I’m a fan of Kyra – he says she’s a two-faced drama queen. Uh…yeah. That’s why I love her. He thinks she’s superficial. I’m like, you’re not the one dating her, she’s good TV! It could be better TV though.Love Islandin North America has improvedsince Prem wrote about itafter the premiere (the narrating is solid now), but it could use some more time to let relationships breathe and…well…I need them to be having more sex, or showing us more night vision action. Also they’re cutting out of conversations too quickly and when that happens, the producing behind the scenes becomes more obvious in ways they’re probably not intending.
Anyway, prediction for tonight: they’re going to want to keep Weston around, even though America is MAD at how dirty he did Kelsey. I think Yamen and Aissata are done. You?
Yours in gossip,
1zplay
