Temptation Island (TV series)

Temptation Island is an American reality television series originally broadcast by Fox. The series premiered on January 10, 2001, and it concluded with its third season on September 29, 2003. Temptation Island depicted four unmarried couples who traveled to a tropical island to have their fidelity tested. The couples were separated from one another for two weeks, in which they were required to commingle with a group of single members of the opposite sex whose purpose was to persuade the couples to have an affair. The series drew intense backlash due to its controversial premise; however, it averaged high ratings over the course of its first season. The series is hosted by American television presenter Mark L. Walberg.

In 2018, USA Network announced that it planned to revive Temptation Island. The first season of this revival premiered on January 15, 2019. In 2024, the series moved from USA to Netflix.

Production
The first season of the show was filmed on Ambergris Caye in Belize. Season 1 premiered on January 10, 2001, and aired its finale on February 28, 2001. The debut episode drew 16 million viewers. The show attracted controversy from the outset, which Fox hoped would drive ratings. Four male contestants lived in one section with a dozen female models, and the four female contestants lived in another section with a dozen attractive men. The initial couples were Kaya Wittenburg and Valerie Penso, Mandy Lauderdale and Billy Cleary, Ytossie Patterson and Taheed Watson, and Andy Lukei and Shannon Roghair. Patterson and Watson were removed from the show when the producers learned that the pair had children together. The remaining three couples continued.

Season 2 premiered on October 31, 2001, and delivered poor ratings. After a nearly two-year layoff, a third edition of the series premiered on August 28, 2003. Like Season 2, Season 3 also delivered poor ratings.

Mark L. Walberg hosted all three editions. Reruns once aired on Hulu, but are no longer available there.

A revamped version of the show, once again hosted by Walberg, premiered on the USA Network on January 15, 2019. USA Network announced the show was renewed for a fifth season on February 26, 2019. On August 22, 2019, it was announced that the fifth season would premiere on October 10, 2019.

On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the sixth season would premiere on February 16, 2021.

On January 26, 2024, it was reported that the series would be moving from USA Network to Netflix.

Reception
Temptation Island received mixed reviews from critics. Michael Speier of Variety negatively compared the series to Survivor, referring to it as "merely a lightweight libido experiment." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly believed the series to be "creepy-cheesy", in which he assigned it a grade of C-.