Two brunettes and a blonde walk on a tropical beach amid a sea of hunky guys. No, it’s not the beginning of a bad joke, it’s a scene from one of my guiltiest pleasures: HBOMax’s reality dating/game show FBoy Island. When my husband walked in on me glued to the TV, watching a bunch of scantily clad millennials, he asked me what the f*** I was watching.
Half an hour later, he was also hooked.
The term FBoy (pronounced “eff-boy”) is current slang for a guy considered a romantic “player.” It’s not part of my Gen-X vocabulary, but I can certainly relate, having had my share of experiences with cads. I’ve had two incarnations as a single woman, the first in my twenties before my first marriage, the second in my forties after my divorce. It wasn’t until I publicly declared on social media that I was giving up on romance four years ago, that I sat next to my now husband (and very nice guy) on a crowed commuter train.
Hilariously hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, FBoy Island presents three beautiful single women looking for love and trying to figure out which of the two dozen eligible bachelors are “Nice Guys” and not “FBoys.” If a contestant chooses a Nice Guy, she also wins $100,000.
What keeps me watching — and distinguishes FBoy Island from other reality dating shows — is that in addition to the typical cocktail of unlucky-in-love bachelorettes and testosterone-fueled suitors, there’s also a lot of deception. My husband and I love trying to figure out who’s naughty or nice, and discovering if we predicted correctly. Some of the reveals are shocking, while others are obvious. It’s even more interesting to watch as some of these women, who claim to be looking for a committed relationship, choose to stand by their now exposed beasts.
What’s not to love about a show with a lot of PDA, a “douche tank,” challenges like “Truth or Burn” (using ghost peppers), and “shut the F up and listen” Broga (yoga) pose? Ultimately, the F in FBoy Island stands for fun. So pop some popcorn and a bottle of bubbly, and lean back and enjoy your island escape!