- British people are obsessed with "Love Island."
- The hype around the reality TV show has baffled social media users in the US and around the world.
- Business Insider broke down the reasons for its cult following — and why you can't afford to miss it.
For the past few years, two words have become synonymous with summer on British social media: "Love Island."
"Love Island" is a reality TV show that has come to obsess those who tune in six days a week to watch it and bewilder those who resolutely declare it the scourge of society.
The premise of the show is simple: 10 chiselled 20-somethings are dumped in a luxury villa on the Spanish island of Mallorca and tasked with one goal — find love.
For the duration of their time in the villa, they are not allowed any contact with the outside world. All the islanders have phones, which they should have on them at all times, but can only use them to message other islanders and receive texts from the show's producers.
At the beginning of the show, which is now in its fourth season on British TV channel ITV2, the girls of the island line up in the garden and the boys are introduced one by one.
The girls can then choose to step forward for the guys they're attracted to and the guy chooses the girl he wants to couple up with. Following so far?
This leads to some skin-crawlingly cringy moments when no one steps forward for one of the bachelors.
At the end, whoever isn't in a couple is paired up.
Oh, I forgot to mention that all the girls arrive standing up in the back of a Jeep:
The show is hosted by Caroline Flack or "The Flack" as she's affectionately named. Every week, The Flack drops into the Love Island villa to announce who will be leaving the group.
Love Island is a rollercoaster of lust, heartbreak, drama and, sometimes, love.
Over eight weeks, islanders are routinely forced to couple up and recouple — those who find themselves flying solo are at risk of being dumped from the island.
Of course, it's not quite that simple. New "bombshells" are frequently introduced to the island to change the dynamic, and various challenges are designed to plant seeds of doubt in couples' minds — while also offering a dose of slapstick humor.
Some couples seem to start off strong, whispering sweet nothings to each other on the villa's sun loungers, only to be torn apart by a new bombshell entering the scene.
That's what happened with Adam and Kendall when Rosie walked in.
Then Adam and Rosie when Zara walked in.
Then Adam and Zara when Zara got booted off and Darylle walked in. Adam has not come off well.
Not everyone has been such a lothario, though.
Some members of the villa have struggled to get up and running — resident doctor Alex got friend zoned almost immediately with his first partner Samira, then got dumped by Ellie after she said they had "no sexual chemistry."
The couples also compete to win the hearts of the general public, who have the final say on the winning couple that takes home £50,000 ($66,000). The twist? Couples can either split the winnings or opt for some last-minute drama and choose to steal it for themselves (this hasn't happened on "Love Island" yet — but here's hoping).
Lucrative as it is, though, the cash prize is not the main draw for the young heartthrobs who join the show. Appearing on "Love Island" is like a cheat code for your Instagram profile, with some contestants gaining almost 100,000 followers overnight.
From there, many ex-contestants become influencers who litter Instagram feeds with sponsored posts about teeth whiteners and hangover cures. Others have gone on to host TV shows, open their own clothing brands and even top the UK iTunes chart.
"Love Island" is a teaming hotbed of drama that is, at times, impossible to tear your eyes away from.
It's the schadenfreude of watching intolerable contestants crash out that is as much of a draw as the elation of watching your favourite couple saying the L-word for the first time.
For those who don't watch "Love Island," the furore around a show that is essentially about sex-deprived Instagram models can be baffling. But it is because everyone watches it that everyone watches it.
It's the conversation catalyst with your receptionist, your boss, your dentist.
In the immortal words of Pusha T, "if you know, you know."
SEE ALSO: The most iconic reality TV stars of all time — and where they are now
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