The CW’s Male-Led ‘FBoy Island’ Spinoff Proves Dudes Are Clueless

The CW has officially blown its magic conch shell and ushered in a new beachside dating show. Lovers and Liars, an FBoy Island spinoff that for some reason is not called FGirl Island, premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. This series has everything FBoy Island fans have come to expect. Nikki Glaser is back as our sarcastic, self-deprecating host, and the show’s voice is as cheeky as ever. (Translation: Prepare for a lot of jokes at our leading men’s expense.)

All of that said, the premiere episode did leave me with one question. Are these guys even trying to sniff out the women who’ve come to take their money, or are they basing their decision-making on vibes alone?

Each season on FBoy Island, we’ve watched three women date their way through dozens of guys to determine who has come as a Nice Guy and who is an unrepentant FBoy. Nice Guys have agreed to split the $100,000 cash prize, should they get chosen in the end, while FBoys reserve the right to take the money and run. Lovers and Liars flips the script, challenging three buff bros to figure out which women have come to the island For the Right Reasons.

(Warning: Some light spoilers ahead.)

Longtime viewers will likely recognize all three of the guys in the hot seat. First up, we’ve got I.T. recruiter Casey Johnson—one of the original FBoys from FBoy Island Season 1, who returned as a Nice Guy in Season 2. Then, there’s Benedict Polizzi—the loud, chiseled-jawed TikTok comedian who played the Nice Guy in Season 2 but came back with an FBoy vengeance in Season 3. And finally, we have CJ Weathers, a basketball player and reformed FBoy from Season 3.

One would think, based on their experience on one side of this dating equation, that these guys would’ve come prepared to sniff out some sus women. Sadly, this assumption would be incorrect. Based on the premiere episode, I’d be shocked if they picked out even one FGirl through any force other than luck.

Casey actually has a history of dating FGirls. During FBoy Island Season 2, he fell for the franchise’s original FGirl, Tamaris Sepulveda, who decided to take home the full cash prize in lieu of choosing a man. During Thursday’s premiere, he expressed his understandable hope of avoiding the same fate again. Based on the episode’s seriously unproductive game of “green flag, red flag,” however, I think his chances are limited.

Normally, the idea is that our leads hand out green and red flags to discern who seems the most and least trustworthy based on their greetings. This season, however, multiple self-proclaimed FGirls are able to fly under the radar despite glaringly obvious warning signs. (How did the girl who introduced herself as “sexy—I mean, Lexie” not spark even one FGirl flag?!)

As someone who often thinks every guy on FBoy Island is an FBoy, perhaps I shouldn’t throw stones. Then again, CJ himself admits at one point during the game that he’s forgotten that he was supposed to be on the hunt for FGirls; apparently, he’s mostly watching for the ones he thinks are hot.

FGirl detective skills aside, it’s also worth asking whether this spinoff will subvert the usual dating show tropes in the way FBoy Island traditionally has. Much of the humor on FBoy Island comes from poking fun at the male contestants’ inflated egos, but it feels more fraught to make fun of multiple women as they compete for men’s attention. Whereas the former goes against the usual power dynamics of the dating world, the latter, if done incorrectly, might just affirm them. Do we really need another dating show about a bunch of women duking it out for a limited supply of male attention?

From the first episode, at least, it seems that Lovers and Liars still prefers to punch upward. The guys are mostly content to make fun of their own blatant inability to suss out various women’s motivations, and a few proud FGirls happily gloat over the same thing. On that note, the first elimination doesn’t feel serious like a Bachelor rose ceremony; in fact, most of the outgoing women embrace the opportunity to roast the guys as they exit stage left. So, at least we can probably shelve our worries that this show might feel a little regressive.

Still, some of the usual dating-show pitfalls remain. As always, it seems that the most extroverted of the group will be the most successful, while those who fail to muscle their way through the crowd risk coming off apathetic. And just like on FBoy Island, some players are more shameless than others.

In fairness, one of those audacious queens does give us the premiere’s best moment when she deliberately trips and falls in front of her chosen man—her way of playing the classic damsel in distress. Even I, a grumpy wallflower, must admit that it’s hard not to grin along with her when it totally works. Then again, tricks like this would be more satisfying if our guys actually seemed invested in saving themselves from humiliation. If this show really wants to hold our attention, all three of them will need to step up their game.