Surprisingly, there is a seriousness in the madness of FBoy Island

The New York Times

HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey ordered FBoy Island because she wanted to see a sendup of the ridiculousness of the dating reality show genre. “So many people roll their eyes at reality TV, so why not admit on the air that it is dumb and ridiculous?” adds host Nikki Glaser. But as Sarah Lyall points out, "the program (and it is hard to admit this, as an adult viewer) raises legitimate issues about whether lying, cheating, commitment-phobic men can ever change. (They always claim they can; are they telling the truth?)" Glaser adds: “These shows are so ripe for making fun of, but making fun of something doesn’t have to take away from how high the stakes are and how invested emotionally you get, as a viewer and a contestant.”