SNL's "Love Island" Parody Introduces a Spot-On Cast of Islanders
The dating show that spawned Love Island USA has a distinctly British flavor, and Saturday Night Live nailed it.
The sixth season of Love Island USA kicks off this summer with a new Host, Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix, shepherding a new cast of hot single people ("Islanders," as they're called on the series) through the show's built-in romantic drama. While the American version of the dating competition show is a success in its own right, most fans are familiar with the o.g. UK version that started it all back in 2015. And, as Saturday Night Live's parody so accurately portrays, the original brings its own uniquely-British flavor of mess.
"Love Island" stars October 5, 2019 Host Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Season 45 cast members Chloe Fineman, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennett, Chris Redd, and Alex Moffat. Slathered in enough spray-tan to make the Jersey Shore cast suggest dialing it back a little, this new crop of Islanders are ready to find love in the most logical way possible: Get paired up with a stranger and charm them into staying by your side as your fragile new bond is put to the test in every waking moment. The parody's voiceover also makes plain a revelation that a lot of Americans had upon discovering Love Island after its 2015 debut: "It turns out they also have 100% pure grade trash, just like us!"
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SNL's Love Island parody stars Phoebe Waller-Bride and Cecily Strong
"I'm Grace and I'm 22 in Liverpool years, but if I were in the States, I'd be 41," Strong's hot-pink-clad character tells the camera (that accent work!).
Next up is Waller-Bridge's Bellarosa, who announces that "my dad is a boxer and my mom is a pub."
"Just got my lips done! I asked the doctor for an allergic reaction," Waller-Bridge adds, flaunting her prosthetics-enhanced pout.
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As for the Islander men, Beck Bennett's Finlay shares that "I'm from Scotland but I'm also Italian — so my father is basically the scariest guy you've seen in your life," and Redd's personal trainer Aman is "just looking for a lady I can cheat on for the rest of my life."
"Tune in as they face challenges like getting up from a beanbag," the voiceover continues over footage of Aidy Bryant hilariously demonstrating how hard it is. "You'll watch 50 hours of this. You think you won't, but you will."
"You'll invest in vulnerable moments, like when the girls take their makeup off," the voiceover adds, as Fineman's character worries that the amount of bronzer she puts on might be problematic.
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"I look really different without me makeup on 'cause of the contour," Bryant's Love Island contestant admits, and it's soon revealed she looks like an actual thumb with eyes when it's all wiped off.
Heartbreak comes when Waller-Bridge's Bellarosa is ultimately booted from the house after a rejection, but she quickly perks up when she sees how many Instagram followers she's gained. Ah, the ups and downs of modern love!
Watch SNL's "Love Island" sketch above, and watch Love Island USA Season 6 starting Tuesday, June 11.
