Love Island has been the surprise hit of the summer, and it is about to come to a climax. “It’s a fantastic piece of escapism,” says Gladeana McMahon, a psychotherapist who helped create the UK’s ethical guidelines for reality TV. It isn’t a radical format (it isn’t even the first Love Island – there was a 2005 “celebrity” version). When you look at things like Faking It or Wife Swap, some of those early reality shows really explored a dimension of human character.” Then reality shows became sensationalist and often demeaning. Natalka Znak, the producer behind I’m A Celebrity and Hell’s Kitchen (and Celebrity Love Island) says she was talking to a TV commissioner recently and all the current pitches are for Love Island rip-offs.

Source: The Guardian July 22, 2017 23:03 UTC