Missing The Drama Of ‘Love Island’? Here’s What To Watch Next

Still buzzing from the Love Island USA Season 7 finale? For one wild month in Fiji, Amaya and Bryan emerged victorious, won $100,000, and stole our hearts as the show’s first Latino winners.

In a season packed with surprise eliminations, steamy reunions, and sun-soaked chaos, this was truly a case of Love Island doing what it does best: peak drama and romance. But now that the villa is dark, what’s a hopeless romantic (or drama addict) to do? No worries, we’ve got you covered with five equally addictive shows that’ll plug the Love Island-shaped hole in your watchlist.

‘Too Hot To Handle’ (Netflix)

To the untrained eye, Too Hot To Handle may appear to be another tropical swinger’s paradise, with attractive singles in a swanky villa, flirting at every opportunity and steamy chemistry already on the air. The difference in this case is that the players are completely forbidden from physical contact, with each kiss, grope or hook-up directly costing money from a collective prize pool and the hostesses are all-seeing AI called Lana. The real drama on the show is sparked by not only temptation, but also contestants being forced to form deep emotional bonds in order to gain rewards. Season 6 expanded upon the format with a bad girl AI that would tempt the players into breaking the rules and a punishment bunker for serial sinners. It’s ideal for Love Island fans who love watching attraction build in high stakes situations…only this time it’s emotional connection that’s hot, not just skin.

‘Ex On The Beach’ (MTV/Paramount +)

Mixing speed-dating drama with real-life heartbreak, Ex on the Beach brings another wild twist to the holidays by packing singles into a beachfront villa before tormenting them with surprise appearances by former flames. Ready to compete for a shot at closure or a long-overdue dose of revenge, Ex on the Beach is guaranteed to fuel toxic reunions and reawaken unresolved feelings as new hookups ignite drama that can explode at any moment. Cringe-worthy and confrontation-heavy, this show will have you on the edge of your seat with love triangles, shocking entrances, and unpredictable plot twists that leave every relationship with a time bomb. For Love Island superfans, this is the same chaotic summer-fling energy, but with way more exes.

‘The Circle’ (Netflix)

The Circle trades bikinis for Wi-Fi, but there’s drama and social gameplay for days. Contestants live in separate apartments and only communicate on a closed social media platform, where they can be themselves…or totally catfish. Popularity, strategy, and trust decide who stays in and who gets blocked. It’s a surprisingly deep exploration of modern identity, emotional manipulation and despite the digital setup, real friendships (and romances) often form. If you loved Love Island, you’ll find similar emotional peaks, alliances that form, hearts that break, and personalities who clash – in a cutthroat popularity contest where the most charming (or cunning) wins $100,000.

‘Love Is Blind’ (Netflix)

In Love Is Blind, physical attraction is taken out of the equation—participants “date” and pop the question through a wall in custom-built pods. Willing to commit to marriage on just the basis of conversation, these daters soon find out whether they’ve fallen in love. The show then whisks the newly-engaged couples off to get to know one another face-to-face for the first time before they’re rushed on a whirlwind luxury retreat, move in together, and find themselves on the altar. Emotional roller coasters, promises broken and kept, culture clashes, agonizing confessions, and walk-offs at the altar ensue. If you got hooked on the confessional nitty-gritty, the fever-pitched intensity of new relationships, and the soaring drama of Love Island’s homestretch, Love Is Blind gives you all of that… cranked way, way up.