14-07-2025
Hot 'bombshells' crowd bars nationwide for 'Love Island USA' finale
'We have women screaming at the TV screen like it's a Knicks playoff game,' said Peter Massaro, the owner of Cobblestones, adding that hosting watch parties around the show 'took off like I never could have imagined.'
Across the country, similar scenes played out at dozens of other venues, where the sentiment among fans was clear: 'Love Island USA' isn't just a show, it's an event.
The reality series, which streams on Peacock, follows a group of singles over the course of six weeks as they race to couple up and form romantic connections, or risk getting dumped from the island. (Peacock and NBC News are both units of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.)
In San Marcos, Texas, attendees at the nightclub The Marc gathered for a party that featured a meet and greet with contestant Jeremiah Brown; at The Palm and The Pine in Hollywood, California, fans lined up for a photo booth and entered a raffle in collaboration with NYX Cosmetics; Bigs Fullerton in California served drinks like the 'Hurricane Huda' and 'Mamacita' — catchphrases that went viral among fans; and in Las Vegas, fans watched in the typical Sin City way — at a pool party at Stadium Swim.
Watch parties are far from a new concept. Popular shows, like HBO's 'Game of Thrones' as well as other reality franchises like 'Vanderpump Rules,' have drawn in massive crowds for similar events. But pop culture experts like Steve Granelli, an associate teaching professor of communications at Northeastern University, say the surplus of gatherings around 'Love Island USA' has underscored a need for 'pure escapism.'
'You watch it every day. It gives you something to retreat into,' Granelli said. 'It's the thing that people are gathering to talk about, gathering to watch.'
