Unreal (TV series)

Unreal
Genre Drama
Created by Marti Noxon
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro
Based on Sequin Raze
by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro[1]
Starring
Composer(s) Fil Eisler
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Marti Noxon
Robert M. Sertner
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro
Bill Davenport
Sally DeSipio
Stacy Rukeyser
Location(s) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Running time 42 minutes
Production company(s) A+E Studios
Wieden-Kennedy Entertainment
Tiny Pyro
Frank and Bob Films II
Release
Original network Lifetime
Original release June 1, 2015 (2015-06-01) – present
External links
Official website www.mylifetime.com/shows/unreal

Unreal (stylized as UnREAL) is an American drama television series that premiered on Lifetime on June 1, 2015.[2] It stars Shiri Appleby as a young reality television producer pushed by her unscrupulous boss (Constance Zimmer) to swallow her integrity and do anything it takes to drum up salacious show content. The show was created by Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, and was inspired by Shapiro's award-winning independent short film Sequin Raze.[1]

Unreal has received critical acclaim from critics,[3] and was picked up for a second season in July 2015.[4] The second season premiered on June 6, 2016.[5] On June 2, 2016, the series was renewed for a third season ahead of the season 2 premiere.[6] In May 2017, Lifetime announced that the premiere of Season 3 would be delayed and will likely air in early 2018.[7] On July 28, 2017, it was announced that Unreal has been renewed for a 4th season. [8]

Plot

Producer Rachel Goldberg returns to Everlasting, a popular dating show, after a breakdown. With a reputation to rebuild and executive producer Quinn King breathing down her neck, Rachel must pull out all the stops in what she does best: manipulating the contestants to create the outrageous drama that viewers expect.

Cast

Season 1 cast photo (from l. to r.: Kelly, Braddy, Zimmer, Appleby, Stroma, Scott, Kelley)

Main

Crew

Suitor

Contestants

Other regulars

Recurring

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
110June 1, 2015 (2015-06-01)August 3, 2015 (2015-08-03)
210June 6, 2016 (2016-06-06)August 8, 2016 (2016-08-08)

Development and production

On July 30, 2013, Lifetime placed a pilot order on Unreal, inspired by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro's award-winning independent short film Sequin Raze.[20] Shapiro had previously worked at the American reality dating series The Bachelor.[21] The pilot was written by Marti Noxon and Shapiro, and directed by Peter O'Fallon.[20] On February 6, 2014, Lifetime officially green-lit Un-Real with a 10-episode series order.[22][23] In March 2015, the premiere date was announced as June 1, 2015.[2] On July 6, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season of 10 episodes, to premiere in 2016.[4] The second season will continue to feature the fictional show, Everlasting, with Quinn and Rachel returning as main characters.[24]

Casting

Casting announcements began in September 2013, with Shiri Appleby first cast in the lead role of Rachel Goldberg, the young staffer working on the reality dating competition.[25] Freddie Stroma was the next actor cast in the series, in the role of Adam Cromwell, the smart and wealthy bachelor on the dating series.[26] Shortly after, Josh Kelly signed onto the series regular role of Jeremy, Rachel's ex-boyfriend who also works as a cameraman on the reality dating series.[27] Breeda Wool was then added to the cast for the role of Faith, one of the contestants on the series.[28] In early-November, Megyn Price, Nathalie Kelley and Johanna Braddy joined the show's cast. Price signed onto the role of Quinn King, the controlling executive producer on the reality series; Kelley joined in the role of Grace, an eco-swimwear designer/model and contestant on the series; and Braddy set as Anna, a type-A control freak and attorney who is also a contestant on the series. Ashley Scott was later cast in the role of Mary, the single mother of a 4-year-old daughter who joins the series hoping to find love.[29] In June 2014, Price was replaced by Constance Zimmer as Quinn.[30] On July 22, 2014, it was announced that Craig Bierko has been cast as a character named Chet, who is the reality dating show's creator.[31] On August 8, 2014, it was announced that J. R. Bourne and Siobhan Williams were both cast on the show in recurring roles, Bourne as Quinn's recovering drug addict ex-boyfriend and former writing partner, and Williams as Everlasting's new make-up artist who is also Jeremy's fiancée.[32]

Concept and characterization

Unreal is set behind the scenes of Everlasting, a fictional reality dating series operating similarly to The Bachelor.[2][21] Dalene Rovenstine of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "UnREAL has comic moments, but is also twisty and dark in a way you hope isn’t reflected by real-life reality shows."[33] According to Noxon, the series is based on what really happens in the world of reality show production.[34] Shapiro says, "Viewers want to believe in fairy tales, and those reality shows tap into that want. Our show dismantles that want."[34] Adds Noxon, "We thought uncovering the behind-the-scenes machinations would make great stories, and we wanted to comment on the kind of bully culture of a lot of reality television."[34] Shapiro says of the genre:

Contestants come in and think they can beat the game, but it's truly an unbeatable game ... You're ritually manipulated and charmed and edited beyond your control. Viewers think the contestants knew what they had signed up for. But they couldn't have. There's no way.[34]

Writing for the Associated Press, Frazier Moore described the show's dynamic:

UnREAL dwells in the off-camera netherworld of a dating competition show ... where a handsome bachelor must choose among a bevy of hot, hopeful women each bucking for a fairytale wedding ... The week-to-week production process is anything but romantic. On the contrary, it's a callous game of bullying and illusion whose sole objective is outrageous narratives. That process of seduction is led by executive producer Quinn King ... a single-minded puppetmaster whose chief henchman is Rachel Goldberg ... a young producer whose task is to cajole, badger and play on the weaknesses of the show's participants to get the footage Quinn demands.[34]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called Quinn and Rachel "architects of destruction—ostensibly of the people on camera, but really of themselves."[35] Moore noted that, despite the contestants' expectations, "the game is fixed and the matchmaking premise is only a pretext ... [the contestants] are pawns in the Everlasting chess game, with Quinn, in her video-paneled master control, pronouncing which contestant is the designated villainess, which is the hot one, which ones are boring and should be bounced."[34] Appreciating Rachel's "killer instincts" and manipulative skills, Quinn also "plays on Rachel's many weaknesses to keep her in line".[34] Caramanica commented:

UnREAL doesn’t exist just to send up reality television, or to pick at its scabs. Nor is it primarily a tell-all about the behind-the-scenes hands that shape reality-TV narrative ... Rather, UnREAL uses that access as a tool to ask questions about these sorts of programs: not just about how they operate—savagely, if its stories are to be believed—but also why participants on both sides of the camera subject themselves to them."[35]

Distribution

United States

Unreal premiered in the United States on Lifetime on June 1, 2015.[2] The network made the first four episodes available on their website on June 6, 2015, before the latter three had aired.[36]

International

The series is available to stream on Stan in Australia[37] and on Lightbox in New Zealand.[38]

In the United Kingdom, season 1 aired on Lifetime. From season 2, the show airs on Amazon Video a day after broadcast in the United States, with season 1 also available for streaming.[39]

In Israel the show airs on yes Drama channel and on Cellcom TV. In India, the show airs on Star World.

Web series

On January 21, 2016, it was announced that Lifetime was developing a Faith-centred spin-off web series, with Breeda Wool reprising her role from the TV series. The 10-webisode series The Faith Diaries premiered on April 13, 2016.[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]

Reception

Season 1

Season one of Unreal has received critical acclaim.[24] Merrill Barr of Forbes called it "one of the best new shows of the summer because it embraces the insanity it presents on screen".[62] Dalene Rovenstine of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "If you love The Bachelor, you’re going to like UnREAL. If you hate The Bachelor, you’re going to like UnREAL."[63] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called Unreal "acerbic and unrelentingly sad" and "a close and sometimes frustrating study of women tearing other women down".[35] In December 2015, Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly named Unreal as one of his "10 Best New Shows of 2015".[64]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes lists a 98% approval rating, based on 41 reviews, with a rating average of 8.4/10. The site's consensus states: "The revealing and thought-provoking UnREAL uses reality TV as a suitably soapy springboard for absorbing drama."[65] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 78 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[3]

In May 2015, Unreal was one of five honorees in the Most Exciting New Series category at the 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards.[66]

Season 2

Season two received acclaim from critics. On the review aggregator Metacritic, the season holds a score of 87 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".[67] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes lists a 87% approval rating, based on 38 reviews, with a rating average of 8.6/10. The site's consensus states: "UnREAL is smarter, more shameless, and more confident in its thrilling and riveting second season."[68]

Awards

Year Award Category Recipients Outcome
2015 American Film Institute Awards Top 10 TV Shows Unreal Won
Critics' Choice Television Awards Most Exciting New Series Won
2016 Critics' Choice Television Awards[69] Best Drama Series Nominated
Best Actress in a Drama Series Shiri Appleby Nominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Constance Zimmer Won
Peabody Awards[70] Unreal Won
Television Critics Association Awards[71] Program of the Year Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Drama Nominated
Outstanding New Program Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards[72] Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Constance Zimmer Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Marti Noxon & Sarah Gertrude Shapiro
("Return")
Nominated
2017 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Constance Zimmer Nominated

References

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