The biggest film or TV production on the Big Island in over a decade began airing last week.
The third season of the American iteration of the dating reality show “Love Island” aired its first episode Wednesday, July 7, and will continue to do so every day of the week except Saturdays and Mondays until the end of August.
“Love Island” pits a group of 12 contestants — or “islanders” — against each other, requiring them to live together at a villa and couple up or be kicked off the show. The couple that receives the most votes from the public by the end of the season wins $100,000.
According to State Film Commissioner Donne Dawson, the budget for the production is nearly double that of the last major Big Island production, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which spent nearly $20 million filming some scenes on the Big Island in 2008.
The show’s production company ITV has booked the entirety of the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, where the production crew will be sequestered until the end of August.
Ed Bushor, CEO of Grand Naniloa managing partner Tower Development, said in May that the hotel had signed a $6 million contract with an unspecified corporate entity to book the entire hotel from June through August, but later told the Tribune-Herald that he was not necessarily referring to ITV.
While the “Love Island” crew will stay at the Grand Naniloa, the filming at the “villa” will take place at a private estate on the Hamakua Coast.
The show airs Tuesdays through Fridays and Sundays at 3 p.m. on CBS or Paramount+. Check local listings for more information.