this is a long time coming! i’ve shared my favorite seasons of love island uk many times on instagram, but finally you have a blog post you can easily access whenever you need. i will update this post as new seasons air, so this is as of right now and what seasons have aired in entirety!

what is this love island show you speak of so often?

we’ve been watching love island UK for years now, and every summer (and only one winter so far) have been better because of it. in case you’re not privy, love island is a dating competition show that’s on every summer.

they put singles together in a house in mallorca and they have to be in a couple to survive, the public votes throughout the summer and kicks off their least favorites, it all sounds a little predictable, on paper, but it isn’t. first off, it’s on every day so it’s like 50 episodes and i know that sounds like an impossible amount of tv to watch, but it isn’t. once you get into it you breeze through ’em.

the other things that are special about it is the narrator, iain, who is hilarious and makes the show what it is. and how much time you end up spending watching their banter. on american reality shows, a lot of the dialogue and editing is just based on the competition or the drama, whereas with love island you get to see them actually blossom their friendships and get to know these people a lot better. 

where do i watch love island uk?

if you’re in USA, i like to watch on hulu because we pay for premium so we don’t have commercials. sadly it’s a few weeks behind, but they drop a new episode every night at midnight so you can watch nightly or bank up a few to binge.

not sure about other countries, and if you can’t stream somewhere like that — i know a lot of people use a VPN to watch. we’ve tried, but found it confusing and just preferred the ease of hulu on our apple tv.

what are your thoughts on love island usa? australia?

i think they’re both trying very hard to be like UK, but they’re all worth watching.

for usa, i skipped season 1 because it felt like it was trying too hard, but got desperate enough to watch the second and now currently watching the third. they’re fine. they are definitely not a substitute, but are entertaining enough to enjoy. the laughs are waaaay harder to find.

for australia, the terrible editing and production quality had me struggling to get into it, but once the drama started i got hooked just fine. there are two seasons (that stream on hulu) that i recommend when you run out of UK. the narrator is trying to be like iain but he’s actually pretty funny.

but so, is it life changing?

i have been thanked by many people for introducing them to love island, some have even said thank you for changing my life from this. i know that sounds dramatic, but keep those messages coming lol.

when you watch, you end up changed if by nothing else– the vocabulary. you’ll know so many more UK slang words and expressions than you ever thought possible. 

now, not every season is perfect. and to me, they’re almost all worth watching even when they’re not as great as others, but here is my list of the seasons ranked, and the other i think they’re worth watching them in. (imo it’s better to peak early so you get sufficiently hooked)

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season 3

this was the series we started with– so i have a lot of love for it!! (they call it series instead of season in uk so i’ll say series too) it’s absolutely the funniest one, and with a beautiful bromance as the forefront lol. this is also when they introduced casa amor which also makes the show what it is (IYKYK)

season 5

this was another great one. some unreal drama and some amazing islanders. ovie and maura both came in later in the series, and are some of my favorites of all time. by now, they’re no longer showing sex or smoking– but this is a SOLID season and i used to say that series 2 was my second favorite but i swapped them for this post!! 

season 2

this was when the show figured out what it was after a rocky first season i mean series. lots of lovable cast members (i love adam who comes in late the most), but also SO MUCH SEX. they decided to start censoring sex after this season but it’s got so much banter, drama and sex — how could it be bad?! also, alex is one of the FITTEST BOYS in the history of love island.

season 6

GOOD DRAMA and good laughs too, this was the first (and so far only) winter season that i really loved a lot. another bromance that blossomed from this season, two latecomers both named luke who are just so cute together. i guess it’s really the friendships that do it for me! it’s like we’re all at summer camp together haha.

season 4

i gotta say, i initially struggled to get into this season. i bailed on it!! then i thought to myself, it’s love island, how can i not watch it? the season starts slow and the initial cast isn’t the most entertaining– but the thing you have to remember is that new islanders are always coming in so things change quickly. you also get attached to people you may not necessarily like at first. 

when it improved for me was when megan shows up, everyone is obsessed with her and it makes for really entertaining tv. a good amount of drama overall in this season, but i still rank it lower than the others. 

season 1

the first seasons of lots of shows are bad, and this is no exception. some people have argued this with me because they find the two loudest contestants likable, but just because they’re memorable doesn’t mean they’re likable IMO. 

the production value is shite and the tone is just pretty off, for sure some growing pains. granted, i finished the whole series but it wasn’t the most pleasurable experience. in the end, i liked some of the cast members and there were some laughs, but it’s arguably the least good series by far.

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i hope this list helped inspire you or helped you figure out where to begin. would love to hear from you!

and season 7 is currently airing so once it’s over i’ll be sure to add it here!