‘FBoy Island’: Why Do They Censor ‘F—boy’ on the HBO Max Show?
FBoy Island is the latest reality TV dating series from HBO Max. Three women look for love while trying to avoid the proverbial “f—boy.” Twenty-four men are competing for their hearts — 12 “F-boys” and the other 12 are “nice guys.”
But for a show on HBO Max, the cast doesn’t use the full term “f—boy.” They use other expletives in conversation, but the term “F-boy” is used instead of “f—boy.” As former Bachelor producer Elan Gale explains, there’s a good reason why.
‘FBoy Island’ producer says the term ‘F-boy’ is more universal
If you’ve ever met a “f—boy” or had friends who have, you’re familiar with what the term means. But for those audiences who aren’t in the dating world right now, “f—boys” might be an unknown.
“For me anyway, ‘f—boy’ is a term that a lot of people know and a lot of people don’t,” Gale explains to Refinery 29. “I think that ‘F-boy’ is a smoother transition into watching a show that people have watched before.” Using the abbreviation “F-boy” makes FBoy Island more appealing overall.
‘FBoy Island’ cast censor the term ‘f—boy’ because it would become overbearing
“F—boys” are referenced a lot on the show, so Gale’s reasons for changing the terminology makes sense. “When you talk about ‘f—boys’ ad nauseam, at some point, it gets to be too much [on your ears],” the former Bachelor Nation producer Refinery 29. “It feels like a mobster movie.”
To avoid making audiences feel like they’re watching Scarface, the cast of FBoy Island uses the abbreviated, censored version instead. Ironically, Gale says this is the nicest term they can use to describe the type of men on the show.
‘FBoy Island’ didn’t want to be too harsh on the ‘F-Boys’
During that same interview with Refinery 29, Gale talks about how the term “f—boy” is quite harsh. Like calling someone any name, hearing the word “f—boy” repeatedly might start to hurt after hearing it so many times.
Yet another reason the censored term is used on the show is to combat desensitizing the “F-boys” on the show. “All the F-boys on the show are F-boys, but ‘f—boy’ is almost the next level,” he explains. “If someone’s a f—boy, they’ve really gotten beyond ‘F-boy’. Maybe ‘F-boy’ is like ‘junior f—boy.'”
‘FBoy Island’ reflects modern dating, according to Elan Gale
After working on shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise, Gale searched for the next dating show. “What is the next iteration?” he recalls thinking. “How do you make a dating show that is more reflective of the life of dating that people are currently talking about?”
Gale thought about the many friends he had in the dating world. “One thing I kept noticing in my day-to-day life is people kept referring to people they went on dates with as f—boys,” Gale told Salon.
Hearing that term so much, Gale took it and ran with it. “One of the things that really kicked off the thought process behind the show was when you go out with people for the first time, everyone usually puts their best foot forward,” he elaborates to Refinery 29. Gale took that idea paired with “F-boys” and created FBoy Island.
To keep things interesting, the cast of FBoy Island features “nice guys” and self-proclaimed “F-boys.” Part of the fun is watching the three lead women decipher which men fall into which category.
There are only three episodes of FBoy Island left! HBO Max will release episodes 7 through 10 of FBoy Island on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, at 12:01 AM EST.
