I can't tell if you're already very familiar with the show or not. I found it a little hard to get into at first because the production value of the show seemed dumbed down to the naked eye and I was looking for the smart strategy stuff and not all the silly comps the show features. Not even trying to sound snobby but as I wasn't familiar with the show at all I had no idea what I was watching for a while. I decided to try to get into the show after mccrae from season 15 was on comedian Chelsea peretti's podcast a few years ago, he did a pretty good job explaining it for people who are unfamiliar. He basically said that there is a lot of cool smart strategy stuff but it's ultimately a silly (sometimes dumb) show and to manage your expectations that way. After that I listened to some Rhap podcasts or found videos or pages that highlight the all time great players, moves, and moments. Familiarize yourself with Dr Will, Dan Gheesling, Derrick, people who set the bar of how smart or interesting the game play can actually be. Finally, getting into the feeds can be another new thing to get used to since there's a lot of downtime of people just sitting around but it shows you the crazy strategy talks unfiltered without all of the cheesy production and comps. No editing and you can see from the feeds how minimal production influence is compared to any other reality shows. Don't think it's as fake as you think it is. Once feeds are really good and you can watch that live it can be incredibly interesting and entertaining at times compared to the show. Also, some seasons are better than others and some of the older seasons are better than the brand new ones.

Tldr; don't think it's as fake as you're saying , but I understand being put off by episodes with too much corny production and comps and not enough strategy. Try to get into the "greatest hits" like dans funeral etc. to see what good strategy can be like in the show and rewatch old good seasons. Check feeds and feed threads to know when something good is actually happening on them.