Love Island has struggled because it's boring with a bad batch of contestants

Indiewire

"Reality TV has to make choices so viewers don’t have to — and I’m not talking about the somewhat surprising decision to renew Love Island for Season 2, which CBS announced Thursday morning," says Ben Travers. "Decisions have to be made within the series itself: Producers have to stir the pot, contestants have to be pushed to reveal intimate emotions, and the series itself has to choose which moments add up to the most enticing narrative. It’s not that this version is bad; plenty of reality TV is supposed to be bad. But Love Island is boring." Travers adds: "With all of these opportunities for romantic frisson, it’s remarkable how unexciting Love Island has turned out to be… until you look beyond the set-up and examine the structure. Sure, reality TV can thrive with a simple premise — Big Brother and The Real World prove this pretty well — but only if it’s got the right contestants being given enough motivation."