Andy DehnartLast summer, CBS’s version of Love Island was renewed, somewhat surprisingly, at the end of its three-week summer run, despite not having spectacular ratings. But it was a welcome renewal, because season one was a lot of fun.
Even more surprising, however, was a teaser trailer that just aired during CBS’s broadcast of the Grammy awards. In a voice-over with footage from season one, the show’s narrator, Matthew Hoffman, said “coming this spring on CBS.” What?!
In 2019, Love Island aired 22 episodes between July 9 and Aug. 7, and it was a solidly summer show, from the swimwear to the thunderstorms in Fiji.
In November, CBS announced the return of Undercover Boss (in January) and Survivor (in February), but said nothing else about its other reality shows.
What was clear from that announcement is that CBS is not airing Celebrity Big Brother this winter, and that The Amazing Race 32 still doesn’t have an airdate, even though it’s been filmed. (I just got an update on The Amazing Race’s future—both season 32 and Amazing Race 33.)
Love Island wasn’t mentioned. In fact, I can find no mention of the show and “spring” anywhere.
Last winter spring, CBS aired the AGT knock-off The World’s Best, followed by Million Dollar Mile, which was so terrible that it was quickly pulled off the scheduled, and moved to Saturdays, with month-long gaps airing between chunks of episodes.
So will CBS try again with another reality show in a post-Survivor timeslot?
Love Island’s return, and Zac and Elizabeth’s break-up
CBS aired an extended Survivor: Winners at War trailer during the Grammys, but the ad that aired during the Grammys was just 10 seconds long.
Here is everything Matthew Hoffman said over footage from season 1 (at least, I think most of it was footage from season one; I have forgotten most of the cast):
“Beaches, swimsuits, hookups, and—oh my!—Love Island. Coming this spring on CBS.”
Hoffman said “oh my” when we saw season-one couple Zac Mirabelli and Elizabeth Weber kissing under a waterfall.
Perhaps that exclamation was because it looked hot and sexy, or perhaps it was because Zac and Elizabeth broke up in December, announcing it on Instagram.
There was no premiere date, no timeslot, nothing. There’s not even a definition of spring, which is technically March 19 through June 20, well past when I think of summer TV starting.
So perhaps Love Island will just follow Survivor 40’s finale in May and bridge the gap between that and Big Brother, being broadcast technically in spring but as part of what we’ve come to think of as summer TV.
Or maybe it’ll return earlier, drafting off of what should be Survivor’s biggest season in years. If it returns during the regular TV season, my educated guess is that it’d air fewer episodes every week, because CBS has a relatively full schedule that wouldn’t accommodate an hour every weekday.