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FunTranscript
00:00Hello, everyone. I am Armie Tinoco, one of the editors at Deadline. Thank you so much
00:04for joining us for Deadline TV Contenders documentary and Unscripted. I am joined today
00:10by Love Island USA host Ariana Maddox, EVP of Casting and Talent Danielle Gervais, showrunner
00:16and executive producer Ben Thursby Palmer, and executive producer James Barker. What
00:23do you get when you put in a hot group of islanders in a luscious villa in Fiji and you
00:28tempt them with hot new bombshells? You get the hit peacock dating series Love Island
00:34USA. But before we get started, here's a clip from Love Island USA.
00:39How's everyone feeling in their couples? Life is a bowl of mystery. We do not know what
00:43tomorrow shall bring. Oh my God, that was so inspirational. This is something that I wanted
00:46to do. Is this still a friendship couple? What? I'm feeling really weird. What? Go ahead, go
00:54the bitch. The bitch likes drama. She don't like safe and secure. My goal is to really find
01:01a girl that I do want to get to the outside of here. You're going to step on some toes.
01:05I'm going to dance! It's festival time in today's challenge, Burning
01:13Locks. Forward, forward, forward. Left, left, left. Conor! Get down and lick that bad boy.
01:18Some problems, die rich. Which couple is the most toxic? Most toxic. Which couple would you like to
01:27see get dumped next? That's the worst one. That's the worst. Nobody wants to see anybody leave here,
01:33but at the end of the day, we're here to build strong connections. I don't feel like that one's
01:36necessarily going anywhere. What the have we done? The whole Rob situation, is that how you feel?
01:43I think my chat with Conor made me realize that I'm a really bad person. Damn, I feel like a piece of
01:51. Oh, tingles, tingles, tingles, big tingles. How are you feeling?
01:57It's okay. This can be bushman awesome. What's going on? Who are you? I don't think you're
02:03understanding what I'm saying. And as many times as I explained to you, you're not going to get it.
02:07You don't have the boss to express yourself when I need you to. You know that.
02:10Oh, no. Hello, Islanders. Oh, my God. What the ?
02:18I have some very big news for you. America has been voting for their favorite couple. Tonight,
02:25one girl and one boy will be leaving the villa.
02:34Wow, that was iconic television this last summer. Ariana, you were the hot new bombshell entering
02:43the villa season six of Love Island USA. You fit in so naturally as the host of the show. Do you think
02:49that being a superfan beforehand was helpful to transition into this role? Oh, absolutely. And,
02:56you know, I think something that I always loved as a superfan, as someone who has followed so many
03:03of these Islanders on and off the show in previous seasons, getting to be a part of their, honestly,
03:10their genuine love story and genuine friendship stories is a true honor. And I think it's so fun because,
03:19Love Island is that fun, sexy, splashy, you know, kind of campy at times dating show, but it is so
03:27much more. And you see these people building these lifelong friendships and the top three couples from
03:33last season are all still together and they are all bona fide stars in their own right. So as a superfan
03:40to be able to be a part of that and kind of put on this character of host, it's truly an honor. And I'm
03:46I'm very, very proud to be a part of it. Yeah. Being that you were one of the best qualities
03:52that you had as a host was how compassionate you were to the Islanders, especially to the girls,
03:58you were a real girls girl. Was that, was it hard for you to be like, wait, I'm the host. I can't,
04:04you know, relate to the Islanders. Yeah, it's really hard. And Ben knows firsthand, you know,
04:10being in Fiji with me and we're talking, you know, how hard it is for me sometimes to kind of
04:16rein in how I really feel because as much as I, I feel so strongly about everything that's going on
04:21in front of me, but I have to be as unbiased or present as unbiased as possible. But there are so
04:28many times where, you know, I'm only able to give just that little piece of what I really feel.
04:34And I can't imagine, you know, all the things that they're going through in the villa in terms of,
04:41you know, building these strong relationships, these strong connections and having these bombshells
04:45come in and all this crazy stuff, you know, it is such a beast to take on as someone who's living
04:52that and, and being, they are so good at being authentically them throughout the entire season.
04:58And so I do have a lot of empathy for them and all of the things that they're constantly being
05:05bombarded with, but they slayed it. They do such a good job. And I think, as you said earlier, you
05:11know, like this became last season became a cultural phenomenon, a juggernaut. I mean,
05:17people are still quoting some of these things that are being said in these clips. It became part of just
05:23like the, the culture and it took over last summer. So yeah, it's very hard for me not to be
05:28very biased sometimes, but I'd like to think that I'm good at playing it cool.
05:34Yeah. And that, like you mentioned, one of the things that, that really clicked with viewers
05:39last season was all the, the personalities in the show. Danielle, in terms of casting,
05:44did anything change between season or specifically for this season that you guys were looking for
05:49in the Islanders that you cast? Not specifically. I think we're always looking for unfiltered
05:58Islanders. Gorgeous, of course, but gorgeous is a big word. I mean, I think we're always looking
06:03for people who are unique and who are just stunning and you'd want to, you know, have a beer with them
06:09and have fun with them. But I think, and Ben is a huge part of the casting process. We have an incredible
06:14team of casting people. We have a casting director, Jody Thomas, who's phenomenal.
06:19And we work together and we meet them all. And if we don't at the end of an interview feel like we
06:24have like a great chat with a friend and whether they're talking to us or they're talking to their
06:29friend or their sister, they're the same, then that's where we go, I don't know if they're right.
06:33So we really just look for people who are just, are just comfortable and are themselves. And really,
06:39and I think this season six was just, we, we just feel like we hit the jackpot with that cast and
06:44they really just had the summer of their lives. Yeah, it was an incredible summer with more eyes
06:52on their show than ever before. What kind of changes can we expect for the new season?
06:59We always try and push ourselves from, you know, this is our seventh season now,
07:02so we always try and push ourselves. I think we learned so many valuable lessons
07:07in season six. And actually, to be honest, we did, we did Love Island games. And I think we learned a lot
07:12of things that we, we were inspired by that took us into season six. So I think season seven, we've,
07:19the bar is very high, you know, season six was great. So we're always pushing ourselves. So
07:24all we can do is our best. So hopefully a few more twists and turns, a few more surprises.
07:31Um, but yeah, we're just, all we can do is our best and hope that the audience fall in love,
07:36fall in love with the show as much as they did a season six.
07:40One thing that I've noticed just by, you know, like, um, talking to, to people, you know, in,
07:45in the public that the Gen Z crowd was very into this season. They were, you know,
07:52finding clips on social media, which then, you know, made them want to subscribe to, to Peacock to
07:57watch the show. Um, was this by design that you guys wanted to, you know, like get that audience?
08:04I mean, I think what's great with this, with our audience is it really does. It crosses the
08:10generations. We want people at home to see themselves in one of the Islanders. But also,
08:16I think what's great is you do either sit down with your girlfriends or your guy friends and watch it,
08:20but also maybe you sit down with your mom or your dad, and it's actually a place where you can start
08:24having conversations about relationships. So there wasn't, we never really go into a season
08:30and any of the seasons go right this year. Our plan is to tackle this. I mean, I think having
08:34Ariana as the host who did an incredible job, obviously that brought a load of new eyes that
08:40maybe had heard about the show, but didn't come to the show. They came for Ariana, but then it's our job.
08:46It was everyone's job to actually keep them there, keep them at the table. So, um, no,
08:51it wasn't like a specific design that we had, but it was, it became very, I think because a lot
08:57of people saw themselves in the Islanders, I think that really helped.
09:01Yeah. Ariana, um, one of the, the best things about, you know,
09:06Love Island USA is your entrances into the villa and your fashion choices, which were very talked about.
09:13Um, can you tell us how to do those looks come about?
09:16So my dear friend and stylist, Emily men, um, we've been working together for a couple of years now.
09:25And when this opportunity came up, I was talking with her about how I envisioned it and we were
09:33sending each other inspiration photos and things. And I think the mentality that we both had going into
09:39choosing looks was if it's a gold look, it's going to be the goldest gold look you've ever seen. And
09:47just to push the envelope truly, and also to kind of encapsulate this, you know, we are in Fiji,
09:54we are on the beach, we are on the water and to encapsulate, you know, this, um, almost mermaid
10:00like quality. And, you know, I definitely took a lot of inspiration from a previous host as well,
10:06or the hosts across the pond, Maya Jama, and just was able to kind of say, take this inspiration
10:14and take it as far as you can. And that was truly kind of how we came up with everything.
10:20And then we just had one big fitting where we tried on tons and tons of stuff. And the best winners
10:26came to Fiji with me. Yeah, that's exciting. And we love the sisterhood that you bring onto the
10:32show with the other co-hosts from the after show. Um, and just like the, the, the community that,
10:38that you create over there in Fiji. Tell us more about that. How does, like, when you're not filming
10:43the show, what does that look like for you? Well, we have, as everyone here can attest to,
10:49the most incredible and very large group of people working on this show 24 hours a day.
10:56And when I'm there and I'm not filming, I have my own team, the host team, and that includes my
11:04producers and my glam team and my co-host on the after show, uh, Maura Higgins. And, you know,
11:13sometimes when we all have the same day off, we will go snorkeling or things like that. We definitely
11:19try every restaurant that we can at every place nearby. Um, my driver, Manu is the best. And
11:27sometimes if he has the day off as well, we'll see if maybe he wants to pop out for dinner with us.
11:33And we really just, I think we take the opportunity, having that downtime together
11:39in order to just bond. And of course, talk about all the things that we're seeing on the show that's
11:46airing. And, you know, we're getting the episodes. You might see us in the gym together, watching them
11:52on the treadmills and talking about our favorites and what do we think is going to happen. So we bond
11:58a lot when we're not filming. James, um, did you want to add anything about what you enjoy most about
12:05the Love Island USA experience from working on the post end of things? Like the tight turnaround
12:11on this show is something that like is hard to believe for people. Like when we tell them we make
12:17a show in 24 hours and we do it six times a week, the re the reaction I normally get is disbelief or
12:24shock and awe. And I think, you know, what it does for us as creatives is it really keeps us a on our toes,
12:30but B we are constantly like going with our gut and doing the things that we just like love and feel
12:37in the moment. And I think you can really feel it when you watch the show, you feel like you're
12:42living with these people on their summer vacation. And I think we get to feel that way because of how
12:48quickly we make the show and how we just have to respond to what they're going through and what
12:53they're feeling in the moment. So yeah, it's a blast, an adrenaline rush. What a blast.
12:57Yeah, I'm sure, especially after the audience votes. How chaotic are those days over there?
13:05Uh, depends on the day.
13:07Like that double, that double dumping when the girls had to dump Andrea and the boys dump Hakeem.
13:14Um, I'm sure that was a crazy night. Yeah, Ariana, you were there firsthand.
13:18Yeah, it was crazy. It was crazy to witness, to be honest, and watching them deliberate,
13:27you know, it was, wow, it was truly, I think, in my opinion, there is no show of 2024 scripted or
13:37unscripted that had the year that Love Island USA season six had. I think that moment right there
13:46that you're talking about is one of the moments that made that a fact of life.
13:54Yeah, it's one of those moments of reality that are going down in reality TV show history of
13:59everything that happened. I'm sure you could have done a whole episode just of what the
14:03implications of that night.
14:04Oh, yeah. Ben, probably. You guys see more than I do, so.
14:09It felt like we were there a long time. And obviously, we filmed 24 hours for an hour,
14:14or an hour and a half or two hour show. So there's obviously a lot of stuff that we're
14:17trying to squeeze in. But I think what is exciting about the format is we are really
14:25playing along real time. The train leaves the station on day one, and we are literally throwing
14:30the tracks in front of the train. So when they made that decision, it could have been any of those
14:36girls. And then what would have happened? You know, we don't know what's going to happen until
14:41it happens. So we're literally in the control room. Ariana is literally standing there waiting
14:46for the result. And we're like, oh, gosh, that okay, right. Now we're going this way.
14:51Or now we're going that way. It changes everything. So we've got all these bombshells waiting to go in,
14:56all these challenges, all these ideas sort of ready to go. But depending on who's in the villa
15:02at any one point will really change. It will also change when Ariana is coming in. Sometimes we're like,
15:08we don't think we need you tomorrow. But it might change. So could you like, just be around?
15:12She's like, okay. Or like, you know, it'd be like, it's going to be late. It could be late. Well,
15:16okay, it we really are like, I don't think people realize until you're actually in in that world,
15:22how much we just play along real time. And that is what makes it, I think, so exciting for the viewer
15:28and also for us making it.
15:29Danielle, what can you tease about the the new season of Live Island? Can we expect maybe some of the
15:37the Islanders from the past to come back as bombshells or or as just, you know, mentors to
15:43the new generation? I can't I can I cannot give you too much. I cannot we're actually still meeting
15:49people. We're in the throes of casting now. We cast for about eight months. I did the math this
15:55morning. So we are still we're still in it. But trust me when I say there will be there will be
16:01surprises as there are always every season. And I think we just we like to play with it. And we
16:08like to put this together like a puzzle and it'll come together when I tell you like the 11th hour,
16:13this thing comes together. Ben knows.
16:17We're excited about that.
16:18I want to know the surprises. Tell me.
16:21I'll call you after.
16:23Okay, great. Because I'm dying to know now.
16:25I'm sure we're in for another crazy summer and in the villa. Thank you all so much for joining us
16:33today. This is Live Island USA. Thank you. Thank you.