The peacock network has announced that they’re bringing back Love in the Wild for a second season.

The adventure-dating series ran for eight episodes over the summer and attracted an average of a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.08 million viewers (per the final nationals). It was the second most-watched TV series on NBC, beaten only by America’s Got Talent. While a 1.6 rating isn’t very impressive, that’s better than Prime Suspect and Harry’s Law have been doing this fall.

No word on when Love in the Wild will be returning or for how many episodes. Here’s the press release from NBC:

NBC Announces Adventure-Dating Series ‘Love in the Wild’ Will Return for Second Season

Season Two Will Return with Wilder Adventures, Challenges and Twists

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 20, 2011 – NBC today announced that its adventure-dating series “Love in the Wild” will return to the program schedule next year. The series, produced by Endemol USA, heads to a brand new tropical paradise in its second season where contestants will navigate rigorous adventure challenges as well as the choppy waters of relationships in their quest to find love.

The announcement was made by Paul Telegdy President, Alternative and Late Night Programming, NBC Entertainment.

“The success of the relationships formed on the first season of this series is a testament to the unique format of this show,” said Telegdy. “We look forward to an even more compelling season as the series will return with new format twists and a new set of contestants who will conquer the wild — or not — to find love.”

“EUSA is thrilled that NBC is continuing its commitment to ‘Love in the Wild,'” said David Goldberg, Chairman of Endemol North America. “Season two will present a great new cast and a number of surprises that will only further the advance the distinctive format of the show.”

Last season’s winners Samantha Woods and Mike Spiro, as well as runners-up Heather Pond and Miles Haefner, are still currently in romantic relationships. Woods and Spiro recently returned from their trip around the world where they explored the romantic locations within France, Italy, Croatia and Australia.

The summer 2011 run of “Love in the Wild” averaged a 1.8 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers overall. In adults 18-49, “Love in the Wild” finished #1 or tied for #1 in its time period among ABC, CBS and NBC with seven of eight telecasts.

“Love in the Wild” puts relationships to the ultimate test with exhilarating quests that push participants to the limit, both physically and emotionally. Single men and single women, all looking for love, will experience a romantic adventure unlike anything they could have ever imagined. These singles have tried it all — speed-dating, blind-dating, Internet dating — and now, they will journey to a tropical paradise to see if they can find that special someone they’ve been looking for.

During elimination all of the couples will come together to reveal whether a connection has been formed with their current partner — or if they would like to switch and get to know someone else. At the end of every episode, two heartbroken singles are sent home. The series culminates with just one couple left standing. That couple will have completed the adventure of a lifetime and found the one thing they’ve been searching for — “Love in the Wild.”

“Love in the Wild” is produced by Endemol USA. Tom Shelly serves as executive producer.

For “Love in the Wild” embeddable clips and information on casting for season two, please visit NBC.com’s official show site: http://www.nbc.com/love-in-the-wild/.

Please follow us on http://www.facebook.com/loveinthewild and on Twitter @LoveInTheWild

About NBC Entertainment:
NBC Entertainment develops and schedules programming for the network’s primetime, late-night, and daytime schedules. NBC’s quality programs and balanced lineup have earned the network critical acclaim, numerous awards, and ratings success. The network has earned more Emmy Awards than any network in television history.

NBC’s roster of popular scripted series includes such critically acclaimed comedies Emmy winners as “The Office” and “30 Rock,” starring Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Veteran, award-winning dramas on NBC include the “Law & Order” brand, and “Chuck.” Unscripted series for NBC include the hits “The Voice,” “The Biggest Loser,” “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and “America’s Got Talent.”

NBC’s late-night story is highlighted by “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Last Call with Carson Daly” and “Saturday Night Live.” NBC Daytime’s “Days of our Lives” consistently finishes among daytime’s top programs in the valuable women 18-34 category.

On Saturday mornings, the network broadcasts Qubo on NBC, a three-hour block that features fun, entertaining, and educational programming for kids, including the award-winning, 3-D animated series Veggie Tales.

For more information visit www.nbc.com.

About Endemol USA:
Endemol USA is a leading producer of television and multi-platform programming for network and cable television. The company produces the mega hits “Big Brother,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Wipeout,” “Jerseylicious” and “Fear Factor.” Endemol USA is a division of the Endemol Group, a prominent international content developer,producer and distributor of television and online programming. The company, headquartered in the Netherlands, has subsidiaries and joint ventures in 26countries, including the major European markets, the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. Endemol is owned by a consortium consisting of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Mediaset Group and Cyrte Group.

What do you think? Did you watch season one of Love in the Wild? Are you glad it’s been renewed for season two? Should they air it over the summer again or find a slot in mid-season?

Image courtesy NBC.