“We came here for love!” This song was trending on TikTok over the summer and spiked interest in the viral sixth season of Love Island USA. “This was definitely the biggest season yet,” Kayla Moore ‘26, Love Island enthusiast, said. Many cast members received attention or flashback upon their return from the villa.
Leah Kateb, a fan favorite and the season’s runner-up, signed with United Talent Agency, one of the largest agencies in the world. Kateb has continued her success outside of Fiji with over three million Instagram followers and many podcast appearances.
On the other hand, Andrea Carmona, another contestant, received online hate and criticism since her departure from the show. Carmona has developed a poor reputation since leaving the villa due to oversharing online and talking down on other cast members.
As a result of the newest season’s popularity, a few weeks after the finale there was a reunion in New York City. Many fans were looking forward to watching the drama unfold once the reunion aired; however, many fans were underwhelmed. There have been complaints about the producers cutting out key moments to protect the reputation of the show and the cast members. Nevertheless, Love Island USA season six was a massive hit.
Another fun activity this summer was going to the movie theater to see the highly anticipated summer films. Movies like Deadpool and Wolverine, It Ends with Us, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4 and Twisters all garnered attention on social media. Like the “Barbenheimer” promo of last year, the stars of It Ends With Us and Deadpool, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, respectively, are married and promoted their movies together.
The combination of press for these movies was controversial because It Ends With Us is a serious movie about domestic abuse and Deadpool is a superhero comedy. Fans found it insensitive that It Ends With Us was being promoted as a funny, light movie because it felt inappropriate to domestic abuse survivors. Despite this complication, the new Deadpool movie received a 4.3 rating and high praise.
“Watching Deadpool reminded me of the superhero movies I loved so much growing up,” Charley Gopin LFA ‘26 said. Childhood movies like Inside Out and Despicable Me coming out with a sequel also were nostalgic for many teens. Another new movie, Twisters, stars Glen Powell, an up-and-coming Hollywood actor who has been in several films like Anyone But You and Top Gun.
