Critic Reviews

[Narrator Matthew Hoffman's] blithe commentary on everything happening before our eyes makes the show. ... Frothy, goofy, blunt and cynical, “Love Island” is the summertime reality bimbo of series America deserves — hot, temporary, and yet cognizant that it embodies every assumption about the genre's dumbness.

CBS’ Love Island doesn’t live up to the charm and smarm of its U.K. counterpart (especially missing are the accents, the jargon, and the gleefully groan-worthy narration from Iain Stirling) but it’s still hard to look away. ... It can be gleefully cruel but it’s so much fun to watch because you don’t have to think about anything except for the stupidity of the contestants.

The trouble with the U.S. Love Island, at least so far, is that, in spite of all the pressure from unknowable producers who insert dramatic twists whenever they can, in spite of the inherent drama of being trapped together in a villa, and in spite of the most effective Love Island premise — which is that couples have to sleep in a bed together even though they barely know each other — nothing interesting happens. The betrayals are low-key.

"Being this good-looking is a gift and a curse," one of the contestants, a model, said by way of introducing himself on Tuesday...As for being tedious, well, it isn't a gift.