Latest news with #RealityBar
CNBC
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
This 28-year-old's 'Love Island' watch parties have helped hundreds of fans gather across LA
In July 2023, about 40 people gathered to watch the season 5 premiere of "Love Island USA" at a rooftop bar in central LA. The event was the brainchild of Maddy Biebel, a digital marketer working to revamp the restaurant's weeknight programming. She wanted to test out her new concept, Reality Bar: Think, a sports bar, but for reality TV watch parties. Fast forward to this summer, and on a recent evening, Reality Bar hosted another watch party for the current season of "Love Island" to a packed house of some 200 people at Hollywood's The Palm & The Pine. Across LA, hundreds more viewers gathered at bars around the city, steered by Reality Bar's Instagram page, eager to catch up on their favorite islanders in Fiji with other fans. LA business owners who've joined forces with Biebel and Reality Bar say they've been "blown away" by the results in recent weeks: increased sales and more potential regulars after "Love Island's" season finale airs Sunday on Peacock. For Biebel, Reality Bar's recent success has been a whirlwind, but not a surprise. "I've always been very confident that this is something that people want, and something that people would like to do, and I just don't know why people aren't doing it yet," she tells CNBC Make It. It's taken a few years for other businesses to see the potential in channeling strong online communities around reality TV into in-person opportunities. "The amount of nos that I've gotten from Reality Bar has absolutely outweighed the yeses," Biebel says. But June was a record month for Reality Bar: It hosted 21 events across five venues, the majority of which were for "Love Island." Nine bars are partnering with Biebel to stream the "Love Island" finale on Sunday. And one recent event included a surprise appearance from two contestants who were recently dumped from the island. "I've seen a lot of people call me the original Los Angeles 'Love Island' watch party, which I love," Biebel says. Reality Bar has also hosted watch parties for shows like "The Bachelor," "Survivor," and "The Traitors." These days, Biebel spends upwards of 20 hours per week on Reality Bar (and likely more during recent weeks) doing marketing, graphic design, scheduling events and talking with venue owners. She pours into the side hustle on top of her day job working as a digital marketer for several brands in hospitality, including Ggiata Delicatessen, which is owned by her brother and his two friends. Biebel says she personally funds the majority of Reality Bar's operations, and any earnings go back into the project like by hiring photographers or building out the events, which are free to attend. The project feels bigger than a job, Biebel says: "With Reality Bar, it wasn't until I saw community start to form that it really felt like my calling, in a way, to just provide a space for people to gather and to build community." The pandemic gave rise to more conversations around America's loneliness epidemic, and some experts point to gatherings at third spaces (places that aren't the home, school or work) as a means of helping people feel more connected. "The main reason I love the concept of a watch party is: You're showing up to a room of a bunch of other people who care about the same things that you care about. And that's immediately a way you can talk to someone or make a new friend," Biebel says. "People have showed up to the watch parties by themselves, and they leave with seven new friends. That is worth more to me than any amount of money that I could ever make from this concept." Along the way, Biebel says she's been in talks with other people who work in unscripted TV and with networks to grow her project "in a way where I'm not stepping on anyone's toes, and I'm truly just out here doing grassroots marketing for people." She also tries to partner with other pop-up event organizers around town. At one recent watch party, guests were invited to partake in a speed dating event hosted by Friend or Flame; other watch parties are followed by karaoke or performances from live bands. Biebel eventually hopes to turn Reality Bar into her full-time business. "Ideally in the future, [I] would love to have a more formal partnership with the networks and act as a marketing arm and a way for them to build their communities in real life," she says. She estimates that thousands of TV-obsessed Angelenos have attended a Reality Bar event by now. Biebel won't have much time to rest after "Love Island" fever simmers down — Reality Bar is already gearing up to host weekly watch parties for the new season of "Big Brother," and she hopes to one day tap into Bravo's "Real Housewives" fandom. "If enough people DM me about a show or a finale or reunion, I'll find a place to do it," Biebel says. "At the end of the day, that's what this is. I will find a place for you to gather."
Miami Herald
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘This is our Super Bowl': Watch parties abound for ‘Love Island USA' as season finale nears
LOS ANGELES - "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!" --- 'LOVE ISLAND USA' Where to watch the season finale in L.A. on Sunday The "Love Island USA" Season 7 finale airs Sunday, July 13, at 6 p.m. PT on Peacock. These bars around L.A. will be hosting watch parties, most of them organized by Reality Bar. The Palm & the Pine (1624 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood) at 8 p.m. Nico's (3111 Glendale Blvd #2, Los Angeles at 8 p.m.) Roosterfish (8948 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood) at 8 p.m. The Nickel Mine (11363 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles) at 8 p.m. On the Thirty (14622 Ventura Blvd. #112, Sherman Oaks) at 8 p.m. Happy Rabbit (5248 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks) at 8 p.m. Untamed Spirits (3715 Evans St. W., Los Angeles) at 8 p.m. Britannia Pub (318 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica) at 8 p.m. Eastwood (611 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles) at 8 p.m. 33 Taps (at all 5 locations) at 8 p.m. --- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Can ‘Love Island USA' watch parties offer a guide for saving linear television?
When it became clear that the couple beneath the bedclothes were indeed having sexual intercourse, the West Hollywood crowd that had come to watch cheered loudly and with the exultant delight that one imagines might erupt from courtiers overseeing a royal post-nuptial bedding. Or, in a more contemporary context, from soccer fans after a final-minute, high-left-corner soccer goal. But no. This was a 'Love Island USA' watch party presented by Reality Bar at Roosterfish Tuesday night, one of hundreds of similar gatherings at bars all over the country. After living in the shadow of its wildly popular U.K. progenitor, 'Love Island USA' became a hit last year with a genuinely love-filled Season 6. This year, the series has seen more scandal than romance — two contestants have been removed following outcry over their past use of racial slurs in social media posts. But if the proliferation of watch parties is any indication, those scandals have only increased audience interest. 'I never really understood sports bars before,' my 25-year-old daughter told me. 'Now I do.' For a watch-party neophyte, it was more than a little strange to see tables full of people set aside their watermelon margaritas and mozzarella sticks to applaud the sexual consummation of strangers. But under those sheets cavorted current fan-favorite Amaya 'Papaya' Espinal with her current partner Bryan Arenales, which explains the crowd's voyeuristic joy. On 'Love Island,' the couple perceived as the strongest wins the $100,000 prize (and, presumably, romantic bliss). So the approving roar was, in part, driven by relief and hope for a team Amaya Papaya win. It was also the sound of the latest attempt to revive the smoldering embers of the electronic hearth and save linear television. You don't have to love 'Love Island,' with its appalling candy-colored villa in Fiji, unapologetic emphasis on 'hotness' and endless dramatic pauses to appreciate the fact that in the increasingly fractured and isolated viewership experience of modern television, it is drawing people together, physically, and in real time. The platform may be NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, but 'Love Island' is returning TV to its roots. Frankly, that's much more startling than the sight and sound of people devouring the messy drama of competitive intercourse along with their happy-hour priced drinks and bites. Twenty years ago, reality television was viewed by many as a threat to traditional TV. Yes, there had always been daytime game shows, but after 'American Idol' and 'Survivor' became prime-time hits and the Kardashians began their empire building, the reality craze spread like kudzu through broadcast and cable. Cheap to make, reality series didn't need huge audiences to be successful. Network executives couldn't green-light them fast enough, and for a few years, it seemed that scripted programming would become the exception, found mostly on subscription-based platforms like HBO and Showtime. That isn't what happened, of course. Beginning with AMC, a wide variety of cable networks began producing original scripted series, followed closely by Netflix, Prime Video and other streamers. Reality TV remained popular, but there was a new cultural phenomenon in town — the prestige dramas and comedies of what some called the new Golden Age of television. For a few glorious years, highly produced scripted series were watched, and then discussed, together and in real time. A thousand recap blogs bloomed, and whether it was 'Breaking Bad' or 'Downton Abbey,' all anyone talked about was television. Alas, as is so often the case, bust followed boom. The proliferation of platforms and shows splintered the audience and ad revenues. Streaming, with its binge model and personal-device availability, made viewing increasingly less about a family or group of friends gathering around a flat-screen and more about everyone balancing their laptop on their stomachs or hunching over their phones. Since no one knew who was watching what and when, watercooler chat and even many recap blogs spluttered out. But reality TV, quietly chugging along as the number of scripted series swelled to unsustainable proportions, has always been a spectator's sport. Sure you can binge past seasons of 'The Great British Baking Show,' but when it comes to 'The Bachelor,' 'Love Is Blind' or 'The Traitors,' it's much more rewarding to watch and to comment in real time. While the rise in interest in 'Love Island USA' has been attributed to the Season 6 casting that led to several genuine couples, the show has also upped its social media presence and emphasized the fact that episodes air little more than a day after they are shot, making it as close to a live viewing experience as an edited series can get. So it's not surprising that the crowd watching at Roosterfish would act as if they were part of a live audience — groaning when one of the men suggests that his partner is 'worthy,' or shouting out opinions to Huda Mustafa when she asks if she or her partner is to blame for that day's miscommunication (according to the women at the next table, it is definitely her). Here is where I confess that, after watching several seasons, including 6 and 7, for the purposes of this column, I am not a fan of 'Love Island USA,' and considering my aged demographic, I cannot imagine the good folks at ITV America or Peacock care at all. I find all the blindfolded kissing troubling, the close-ups of those waiting to be voted safe or dumped gratuitously painful and the endless shots of contestant-grooming tedious. (Except when the guys are ironing — that's my favorite part.) As a mother, I worry that between the 'islanders'' sleep deprivation, complete lack of privacy and requisite emotional manipulation, whatever partnerships emerge are likely to be trauma-bonds, which is just not healthy. Mostly though, I think it's boring — for every three minutes of 'action,' the audience is expected to endure 30 minutes of analysis, mostly by people who overuse the words 'queen' and 'bro.' Also, I think the villa is hideous and the most fake moments are when everyone has to pretend it's not. But… I did have a lot of fun at the watch party. The audience reaction, whether it was cheering or a collective cringe, amplified the drama while also making it right-sized — the show is ridiculous; that's precisely why so many people love it. As any theatergoer or stage actor will tell you — often ad nauseam — the audience is always part of the performance; the story is not just occurring in front of you, it's all around you. The laughter and groans, the suspenseful silence of those watching play as big a part as whatever is happening on stage. The same is true for television, and we are in grave danger of forgetting this. More than any other art form, television was created to be communal — to allow a large group of people to share something simultaneously. Very few of us would give up our modern ability to watch what we want whenever we feel like it, but wholly surrendering the joys of old-fashioned, vying-for-the-best-seat, 'what-did-he-say?' television is too high a price to pay for the ability to binge. The power of an audience is not limited to voting people out of the villa or determining a series' success — it's an energy source in itself. Gathering with friends and family, or a group of strangers, to regularly enjoy a certain show together doesn't just lift the spirit, it makes the show more than just something to watch. If 'Love Island USA' manages to remind us of that in a meaningful way, well, I may never like it much, but I will be a fan for life.
CNBC
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
'Love Island' watch parties are taking over and put sporting events to shame, bars say: It's 'a whole different animal'
A hot new bombshell has entered the villa: "Love Island USA" watch parties are shaking up bar scenes across the country. For those unfamiliar: The reality dating series, now in its seventh season for U.S. contestants, follows a group of 20-something singles in a villa in Fiji and is filmed in nearly real-time over six weeks. The show drops six new episodes on Peacock each week, including a recap episode on Saturdays. It's a time-consuming show to keep up with, but savvy businesses are making the most of the phenomenon by hosting watch parties for eager fans. The crowds at The Palm & The Pine in Los Angeles are so big that staff refer to each Tuesday showing as "Super Bowl Tuesday," says Colin Magalong, 30, part-owner of the bar. Revenue on Tuesdays, typically the bar's slowest night, has grown five-fold in recent weeks, Magalong says. The Palm & The Pine began hosting events in February for shows like "The Traitors," "Survivor" and "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" in partnership with Maddy Biebel of Reality Bar, which organizes reality TV watch parties around LA. But "Love Island" has taken on a life of its own. June was a record-breaking month for The Palm & The Pine thanks to "Love Island": The bar hired four new staffers, tips are up and foot traffic to the whole block has seen a boost, Magalong says. It's a meaningful lift for the barely 1-year-old bar, and given businesses in the area have struggled to recover from the pandemic, Hollywood strikes and devastating wildfires. For his Hollywood bar in particular, the events "really revitalized the happy hour that has been taken away with working from home and office buildings going vacant," Magalong says. The strategy recently brought in a group of colleagues from a nearby office to the bar for the first time; the four women spent the last month watching "Love Island" on their own and gathering at the office each morning to discuss. The event, which they found from Reality Bar's Instagram page, was their first time watching the show together. "When I'm reacting, I'm at home reacting by myself," one woman told CNBC Make It. "The morning debrief is cool, but in the moment is so much better." Elsewhere in LA, country bar Eastwood hosted their first "Love Island" watch party on Friday, June 27, with the help of Reality Bar and sponsorship from the clothing brand Cider. Nearly 350 people packed the 400-person capacity bar, says Kayla Jennings-Rivera, 28, Eastwood's director of marketing and events. "We were blown away," she says. The surge in traffic has been a relief for the bar, Jennings-Rivera says, especially this summer as ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have caused safety concerns for Latino residents, who account for roughly 1.8 million people in the city, according to Census data. At Eastwood, "a lot of our regulars are Hispanic, and ICE has impacted the comfortability of people being able to leave their homes and go out and enjoy themselves," Jennings-Rivera says. "So we've seen our regulars slow down and ultimately hope that they feel safe to come back as soon as possible." She hopes that by reaching new customers through recent watch parties, the bar can bring in additional sales during a financially precarious time. Further, she says more customers today are looking for community spaces rather than just places to imbibe, given that Gen Zers and millennials are drinking less alcohol than prior decades. "Community is now more talked about than ever before," Jennings-Rivera says. As for the watch parties, "there's definitely something different about being in a group [and] just screaming at the television together," she says. PKL Social, a sports bar with pickleball courts in Houston, has hosted watch parties for sporting events and TV shows alike, "but Love Island has been a whole different animal," says co-owner Jason Mok, 40. Viewership was slow to pick up at the bar until two weeks ago, Mok says, "then next thing you know, the 30 to 50 [regulars] became 200, 250." Thursday and Friday events are standing-room only, and some visitors arrive at 5:30 p.m. to get good seats for the 8 p.m. start time. Mok says he's had to pull staff from his other nearby restaurants to manage the influx of crowds. The phenomenon is unlike anything he's seen in his eight years in the restaurant and bar industry. "I've dealt with the Astros making the World Series and big Super Bowls, but this is bigger," Mok says. Abigail Dooley and Remi Miyake knew they'd have a hit on their hands hosting "Love Island" watch parties where they work at The Malt House in New York City's Greenwich Village. They pitched the idea to their boss Kevin O'Hanlon, 34, who gave the greenlight to promote an event on TikTok. From there, O'Hanlon says, "it just went through the roof." Viewers came ready to cheer on their favorite couples, jeer at the ones they love to hate, and react to twists in the show's dramatic re-couplings. "They're loud," O'Hanlon says of the high-energy crowds. "They put a lot of the sporting events that we've done to shame." They hosted their first watch party on June 24, more than halfway through the season, and turned their 75-seat dining area into a communal viewing space that can fit up to 120. Spots to watch the finale, which airs Sunday on Peacock at 9 p.m. EST, were fully booked more than two weeks in advance, he adds. "You typically find, especially in this city, that whenever everybody can get behind something, they go really big," O'Hanlon says. O'Hanlon hopes that many of the first-time customers who've learned about The Malt House from "Love Island" will make their way back after the show wraps. "In a city like New York, where there are so many bars and restaurants that people can go to, and we're constantly competing with everybody around us, you've got to do something that helps you stand out," he says. "And this has definitely done that for us."
Los Angeles Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘This is our Super Bowl': Where to watch the ‘Love Island USA' season finale in L.A.
'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!'
