‘Love Island USA’ Executive Producer James Barker Dies In Fiji Amid Season 8 Filming

James Barker, the executive producer of “Love Island USA,” has died, according to ITV America and Peacock.

The networks released a statement saying his death happened in Fiji without specifying a cause of death.

“ITV America and Peacock will honor in Tuesday’s episode of Love Island USA series Executive Producer James Barker, who passed away last week in Fiji after suffering an unexpected medical emergency,” the networks said.

“James’ unimaginable loss has been deeply felt across not just the entire ‘Love Island USA’ production, but throughout all of ITV and Peacock,” the statement continued.

“He was a beloved and greatly valued member of our collective family whose kindness, talent and dedication left an indelible mark on all of us and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him. We extend our heartfelt condolences to James’ partner, family, friends and colleagues.”

Season 8 of “Love Island USA” is currently airing on Peacock. Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, TODAY’s parent company.

Barker’s partner, Adam Roth, called Barker “the absolute light and love of my life” in a statement about his death to NBC News.

“He brought joy and brilliance to everything he touched. James was such a champion of the community of young music artists he was able to introduce to audiences on Love Island,” Roth said.

He added that the two met while attending a Billie Eilish concert and that their shared love of live music remained “a constant” in their relationship.

“I am so proud of the work he did and that he was surrounded by such an amazing team. His loss is unimaginable. While it was not enough, I am so thankful for the time we had and the memories we made together,” Roth said.

Barker first started working on “Love Island USA” in 2020 as a story producer, according to a press release. He had been an executive producer for the past three seasons.

He worked behind the scenes with the production and post-production crews, and he oversaw the reality dating show’s soundtrack.

Before the Peacock series, Barker previously worked at Leftfield Pictures as a producer on shows such as “Counting Cars,” “Forged in Fire” and “Pawn Stars.” He then started working at ITV America and produced “Queer Eye.” In addition to “Love Island USA,” he worked on “Love Island Games,” too.

Barker celebrated the start of “Love Island USA” Season 8 by sharing a photo alongside other members of the show’s team.

“We come to Fiji for magic. We come to @loveislandusa to laugh, to cry, to care. Our islanders feel like the best part of us, and stories feel perfect and powerful… because here… they are,” he captioned a June 3 post. “Hope you’re all enjoying the new season brought to you by a huge squad of brilliant people, including the three models standing beside me.

Aside from being a producer, Barker was also a DJ for 20 years and built a fanbase across the country.

He frequently shared posts about his music pop-ups and the concerts he attended with Roth.

His role as an executive producer on “Love Island USA” allowed him to combine his passions.

He spoke about the importance of music on the show in an interview with Rolling Stone published in June 2025, revealing that the popular franchise first caught his attention when he watched the flagship U.K. series.

“It really was seeing ‘Love Island UK’ for the first time where I was like, ‘Oh, it just is a leveling up of reality and how we can tell stories when you have this personal connection to a pop song and you see it used in context of a story that you’re watching on TV,’” he said at the time. “I think that is where my brain immediately said, ‘One, this is amazing, and more shows should be like this. And two, how do I work on Love Island?’”

He explained that before each season he would gather “literally an arsenal of music pre-cleared for the show.” He said one of his favorite things about crafting the soundtrack was highlighting independent artists.

“When we have put independent artists on who get their first sync or their first time on a big show like this — I’ve seen Instagram videos in the past of them seeing their song on television for the first time, flipping out,” he said. “As a music head and a music lover, that’s the coolest thing in the world.”