FBOY Island: Bop or Flop?

Is the latest reality dating show a hit?

*What to Watch

Reality, 10 episodes, TV MA

Starring: Nikki Glaser, C.J. Franco, Nakia Renee, Sarah Emig

What’s it about? A group of self-proclaimed "nice guys" and "Fboys" go to a tropical island where three women are waiting to find love.

f·boy

/ef/boi/

noun DEROGATORY

1. a guy who lies, cheats and plays with a girls' feelings to get what he wants (i.e. sex). Has little to no respect for women.

Similar: womanizer, player, thot, manwhore

If you're into Love Island, Too Hot To Handle, or any show in the dating universe, you should find this entertaining.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 38% | IMDb Score: 3.9/10

Bop or Flop? *SPOILERS AHEAD*

For me, it's a bop. It's definitely better than Love Island and is up there with Too Hot to Handle. Being on HBO Max, host Nikki Glaser is free to make unfiltered jokes, which is just one reason why I found FBOY Island more entertaining than other dating shows.

More so, I found the cast to be the most attractive group of men I've seen on reality TV thus far, with diversity among the types of men to choose from: there were guys who were shy, laid back, outgoing, Black, White, long hair, braided hair, tatted up, athletic, artistic, business-minded, etc.

There are still corny moments, but that's hard to escape on a dating show, especially on one where the women have to distinguish the nice guys from the Fboys.

I was glad to see that the girl code was present, and that there was no drama between the girls. They seemed to have each other's backs and be on each other's team. "Pterodactyl" might be my new code word.

I grew to like all three women. They each had qualities I admire: Sarah was astute and levelheaded, C.J. was lively and blunt, and Nakia was artsy and compassionate.

Though I was for the girls, I had to admit a couple of them looked like clowns for choosing to keep around certain Fboys, especially after learning major dirt on them.

*The Cinemaholic

To recap the finale - If one of the women chose a nice guy at the end, the cash prize of $100,000 would be split between the two of them 50/50. However, if one of the women chose an Fboy, the $100,000 would all go to him, which was an interesting twist.

Thankfully, we got to see one of each scenario. C.J. picked a nice guy (New Jared), so their prize was split evenly. Sarah picked an Fboy (Garrett), and he chose to break up with her on the spot, keeping the money all for himself. Since he did not reform his Fboy ways, Garrett would not keep his money. Instead, it would be donated to a charity of Sarah's choosing.

Nakia also chose an Fboy (OG Jared), but he chose to split the money with her, proving that he did actually like her (or just didn't want to look like an asshole on TV).

In particular, Garrett needed to go home long before the finale. I could be convinced that other Fboys (such as Casey and maybe even OG Jared) were reformed, but Garrett was straight up lying the entire time, and it was obvious.

Whether OG Jared was lying or just had issues, I'm still not sure. Either way, he put Nakia through too much pain for him to be her top pick. I'm very curious to see if he and Nakia are still together.

Another aspect of the show that was refreshing was what happened to the guys after they were eliminated. Men that were eliminated from week to week would either go to the Nice Guy Grotto or Limbro. At the Nice Guy Grotto, nice guys who didn't find love spent the rest of their time on the island in a beachfront mansion. Meanwhile, in Limbro, Fboys had a lot of time to wrestle with their wrongdoings in isolation on a makeshift camp.

Occasionally, Nikki would encourage the guys to reflect on their Fboy habits and school them on how to treat women better. Next season, I would like to see the Fboy rehabilitation go more in depth.

It's important to note that some guys think they're nice but are actually Fboys, and can still learn a thing or two about how to treat women.

If nothing else, this show highlights the classic dilemma many women face when in relationships with men: passion vs stability. In other words, Fboys vs nice guys. Yes, it is possible to find the one that gives you butterflies, and won't leave you on read. Of course, you can be with someone who gives you that spark, and gives you security. Unfortunately, it seems like many women are left to choose one over the other.

Maybe that is why Fboys can be so appealing: even when we know they're bad, they feel so good. There's just something about them that lights you up (they got the sauce). Needless to say, trust and stability can be a turn on, too. On the flip side, just because a guy is nice, that doesn't make him the one.

Overall this show felt very different, fresh and entertaining! I loved that it was so women-focused. The whole show catered to what the women wanted out of the experience, and I was here for it.

All 10 episodes are now streaming on HBO Max. FBOY Island has been renewed for a second season.

Emelah’s Score: 🎥 🎥 🎥 🎥