“Let it go!” one person screamed at a massive TV screen.
“Get him out of my villa!” shouted another.
“Oh, we’re voting tonight!” declared another as they whipped their index finger in a circular motion as if to say, “We need to round up the troops and get ready for war.”
It’s 8 p.m. at the Palm & the Pine and every single seat is taken, so some people have resorted to huddling outside to watch the action through a window. A small crew of bartenders are working double time to serve up wings, french fries and tropical-themed cocktails.
On most nights at the family-owned Hollywood spot, dubbed “your girlfriend’s favorite sports bar,” patrons might come to watch tennis or basketball or soccer. But on this Tuesday evening, the guests were there to watch a different type of game. They came to the crowded bar to watch “Love Island USA” with 200 other fans who are just as invested in the reality dating show as they are.
“The decibel levels crush any Super Bowl, World Series or anything we’ve shown there,” said Colin Magalong, co-owner of the Palm & the Pine.
“This is our Super Bowl,” added Madeline Biebel, founder of the pop-up event series that screens reality TV shows called Reality Bar, which has been hosting free “Love Island USA” watch parties at the Palm & the Pine and other bars across L.A.
While people have been gathering to watch high-profile television episodes in public spaces for years, the communal watch party has been having a resurgence, fueled in part by social media and the highly dissectible nature of shows like “The White Lotus,” “Severance” and “Traitors.” This summer, “Love Island USA,” a spinoff of the U.K. reality dating show that airs six days a week, has sparked a pop culture craze and Angelenos are flocking to coffee shops, bars, restaurants, social clubs like Soho House and arcades like Dave & Buster’s just to watch the show and kiki about it with others in person.
Now in its seventh season, the premise of “Love Island USA” is fairly simple: Ten singles are plopped into a lavish villa in Fiji, where they must couple up with a member of the opposite sex or risk getting dumped from the island. Over the course of several weeks, contestants (who are referred to as “islanders”) participate in extravagant challenges — many of which require them to wear revealing outfits and make out with one another — that are designed to stir up drama. At random, “bombshells” are brought into the mix to encourage the islanders to test their romantic connections. All the while, viewers at home can vote for their favorite islanders, sort of like “American Idol,” with hopes that they will make it to the end and win the $100,000 prize.
“It is so outlandish,” said Lauren Sowa, who lectures on television and pop culture at Pepperdine. “Shows like ‘The Bachelor’ try to maintain a level of decorum and something like ‘Love Island’ throws that into their ocean and their pool and their foam parties with both hands.”
Between the spicy games, the contestants’ disconnection from the world, their dorm room-style living conditions and the ultimate challenge of finding love, Sowa says, “The stakes couldn’t be higher. The drama couldn’t be more and therefore we could not be more entertained.”
The idea of bringing people together to watch “Love Island” and other reality TV shows came to Biebel in 2021 when L.A. was starting to reopen after the COVID pandemic. She wondered, “Why isn’t there a bar or restaurant that shows ‘The Bachelor’?” Biebel, 28, recalled.
At first the bartenders at her local sports bar laughed at her request to turn on the show, but when a crowd of people joined her to watch it on the patio, she knew that she was onto something.
She hosted the first Reality Bar event in 2023 at a restaurant on the rooftop of the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire and 40 people showed up to watch “Love Island USA” Season 5. She continued hosting watch parties for reality shows including “The Real Housewives” and “The Bachelor,” one in which Joey Graziadei, the Bachelor himself, made a surprise appearance.
But none of the events have been as popular as the parties for the current season of “Love Island USA.” Thanks to a TikTok that got nearly 3 million views, the watch party at the Palm & the Pine went from having about 100 RSVPs to 1,500. On Sunday, fans cheered when Austin Shepard and Charlie Georgiou, who were booted from the island, made an appearance at the event. To keep up with the growing demand, Biebel added 10 other venues to watch the show at including the Nickel Mine in Sawtelle, Roosterfish in West Hollywood and the Happy Rabbit in Sherman Oaks.
“People are just so hungry for connection and community especially post-COVID,” said Biebel, adding that it brings people together who share a common interest. “Those moments where everyone is freaking out together are just magical.”
At the Tuesday night party, people started arriving as early as 5 p.m. to secure a seat inside the two-story bar. As pop and hip-hop music played loudly over a sound system, attendees sipped on “Love Island”-themed cocktails with clever names like the “I’ve Got a Text-ini” (a vodka martini with cranberry juice), “Bare Minimum” (an espresso martini), “Hot New Bombshell” (tequila, grapefruit and lime), “Aftersun Spritz” (Prosecco, mint, soda and lemon) and “I’m Open” (cucumber, vodka, lemon and soda).
When the show promptly appeared on the bar’s multiple TV screens at 8 p.m., a thunderous roar of cheers exploded. Throughout the dramatic episode — which involved the islanders reading anonymous letters about how their fellow cast mates truly felt about them — many patrons talked among themselves and shouted at the TV, but no one seemed bothered. The energy was high and the subtitles were on.
Branson Bond, 27, of Hollywood and six of his friends went to the watch party for the first time after learning about it on social media.
“It’s one thing to see people’s perception online, but it means so much more — whether it’s music or film — to be around people who have a common interest,” said Bond, who managed to find a booth in the upstairs area of the bar with his friends. “Especially with everything going on in the world, it’s cool to kind of decompress with something silly every now and then.”
“We love to kiki, to party [and] we need a debrief like immediately after the show, so I needed to experience this,” said Giselle Gonzalez, 27, of Hollywood.
Reanna Davidson, 26, and her sister Maya Suarez usually rotate watching “Love Island USA” together at one of their homes, but they thought a watch party would be more fun.
“I feel like we’re obsessed with “Love Island” and we go crazy at home so we wanted to see what the environment was like here,” Davidson said in between sips of a martini.
“I like the drama, but also I like the love,” she said. “Like last year, watching them all fall in love and really have relationships outside of it was so sweet.”
After attending one of Reality Bar’s watch parties at a different venue, DeVante Waugh, 32, wanted to come back with a group of his work friends who all started watching the show recently.
“I love the camaraderie here and everybody yelling,” said Waugh, adding that he’s still mad that Jeremiah was sent home during one of the show’s most shocking moments. “It’s fun. It’s like watching a game. And then there’s a lot of pretty women, not a lot of guys,” he adds jokingly.
While some attendees left the bar immediately after the episode was over, some stayed to do karaoke, strike a pose in the photo booth or to recap what happened on the show with their new friends. It’s this community aspect that JP Stanley, 29, of Hollywood appreciates most about watch parties.
“I think it’s the sense of being a part of something,” said Stanley as he sipped on a glass of Prosecco. He attended the event with a friend and said he hopes to see more watch parties even after the current season of “Love Island” wraps. “L.A. is really yearning for that community and I think this is something that really gives people of any age a place to connect, and it’s such an easy common denominator.”
He added, “There’s no prerequisite required. You don’t have to know anything about me and I don’t have to know anything about you. I can just be like, “So, Love Island” and you’ll be like, “Right, Amaya!”
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