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A ‘Love Island USA’ Season 8 Star on ‘Dancing With the Stars’? Don’t Bet on It
Love Island USA contestants face a contractual bar on appearing on other television shows for a year after leaving the villa, meaning Season 8 stars are unlikely to feature on Dancing With the Stars season 35 despite online fan enthusiasm. The Hollywood Reporter learned that Peacock's exclusivity clause restricts the brand deals and TV appearances Islanders can take on after the show, giving the network leverage over their commercial and creative choices, and explaining why so many former contestants end up on Peacock's own spin-off, Beyond the Villa, rather than rival networks' programmes.
A TV industry source told THR that such non-compete clauses have become standard in reality television casting, allowing networks to veto sponsorship conflicts and retain the option to cast contestants in future shows. Past Islanders' post-villa moves support the pattern: Jana Craig and Rob Rausch both appeared on other shows within a year of finishing Love Island USA, but both landed on NBC-affiliated programmes (Destination X and The Traitors respectively), suggesting exceptions apply within the NBCUniversal family. Dancing With the Stars, however, airs on ABC, outside that ecosystem, making a Season 8 Islander's appearance unlikely. Peacock declined to comment on the terms.
In short
- Love Island USA contestants face a one-year TV exclusivity contract clause.
- This likely rules out Season 8 stars joining Dancing With the Stars.
- Exceptions appear to apply for NBCUniversal-owned shows like The Traitors.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Reality television networks invest substantial resources in production and marketing to build contestant visibility, and exclusivity clauses protect that investment by preventing contestants from immediately appearing on competitor platforms. These restrictions are standard across the industry because they serve a legitimate business purpose: maintaining competitive advantage and ensuring the network can leverage its investment in developing talent. Contestants knowingly agree to such terms when signing their contracts.
The case against
Exclusivity clauses impose significant restrictions on workers' earning potential, particularly affecting younger contestants who may not fully appreciate how a year's visibility freeze during their peak market relevance affects their income opportunities. The restrictions primarily serve to protect the network's competitive position rather than safeguard legitimate proprietary interests, and they also limit consumer choice by preventing audiences from seeing contestants in programming they wish to watch.
Explained simply
Love Island USA is a reality television programme that airs on Peacock, a streaming service, where young people live together in a villa and form romantic relationships. Fans often want to see their favourite contestants appear on other television programmes after the series concludes.
When contestants leave Love Island USA, they sign a contract preventing them from appearing on other television programmes for one year. This restriction gives Peacock control over the contestants' subsequent work and is now standard practice in reality television, allowing networks to maintain control over their stars.
Dancing With the Stars, which airs on ABC, is not part of Peacock's corporate family, making it unlikely Love Island USA Season 8 contestants will appear on it despite fan enthusiasm. However, any exceptions to this rule have only occurred on networks owned by Peacock's parent company.