Turning up the heat at the Love Island villa

Malta’s biggest television show is back, and with it the gossip, speculation and controversy that only Love Island can drum up.

Despite the concern on whether the raunchy reality show would be a success given Malta’s more conservative audience, Love Island raked in audience record on audience record.

Love Island Malta's premiere set a record with 160,000 viewers. The viewership numbers skyrocketed in subsequent weeks, with an average of 170,000 tuning in to watch the full reality TV series. The show’s producers said 93% of 16-25-year-olds in Malta watched Love Island.

Nearly a quarter of a million people watched the show’s finale, breaking Malta’s TV viewership record – a record which still stands.

But fans of the franchise have complained the first season was a bit too vanilla compared to the other countries’, having been accustomed to more drama, fighting and hostility between contestants.

The contestants failed to take over the top risks, and couples stayed relatively the same as they had been coupled up during the first episodes of the series.

But the show’s producers look like they have upped the ante already. The participants’ age bracket is similar, avoiding last year’s mismatch with Sabrina and Nate.

The first coupling of the season was also left in the audience’s hands during a three-hour voting session on the show’s app which happened on Wednesday between 6pm and 9pm, giving it that extra hit of uncertainty.

In a Q&A, producers also said islanders will be treated to a Casa Amor “with a twist”. Casa Amor typically takes place at the halfway point during the season, with the aim being to test the islanders’ loyalty to their partners. It involves separating the couples and sending either the girls or boys to Casa Amor whilst their partners remain in the main villa.

Last but not least, the audience are expecting the islanders to be riskier, kinkier and a bit more naught.

Love Island Season 2 will air for the first time tonight on TVM at 9pm.