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TV Show Reviews
"UnReal" review by Suzanne
5/24/15
Premieres June 1st on Lifetime
This is a very enjoyable show. I love the characters
because they're just so complex and thiree-dimensional,
which is something you rarely find. A lot of the people in
the show are awful people, or they do horrible things, yet
some of them are very messed-up, or vulnerable, or they have
a conscience, or they're being manipulated. They just work
in TV, so it's not like they're killing people or anything,
but still they do some really terrible things to each other.
It's really intriguing to watch how it all works out.
The show is about a reality show, similar to "The
Bachelor". It takes up behind the scenes of the show to the
people running it and how they make it. I really have no
idea if it's realistic or not, but from what I've heard, it
sure seems to be. The main protagonist is Rachel Goldberg (Shiri
Appleby), who's just come back to work on the show after
being away for a while. She had a bit of a breakdown and was
arrested, but now she's back and trying to get her life back
together. However, she hates her job and it's clear that
it's very toxic to her and to her mental health. She's one
of the people whose job it is to manipulate the contestants
so that they can great reaction shots out of them.
Her tough-as-nails boss, Quinn (Constance Zimmer) seems
to just be a total bitch, but we learn that she has her own
issues, since she's sleeping with the boss, Chet (Craig
Bierko, who's outstanding). Rachel's ex-boyfriend, Jeremy
(Josh Kelly, who was great as Cutter on "One Life to Live")
is the show's cameraman. "Harry Potter" alum Freddie Stroma
is fun as the Bachlor in question who has his own agenda as
well as chemistry with Rachel.
The show is a bit of a soap opera, but it's also a dark
comedy. It's really worth watching because the plot is just
so good. It weaves around and around as you watch in shock
at how far the people will go to get a TV show filmed. I'm
not a fan of reality shows, but I'm already hooked on this
show. I assume anyone who's a fan of them will love this.
It's got all of the great drama of those shows, but with
much better acting and writing. The show was created by
Marti Noxon, who's quite experienced with writing great
TV shows; and by
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, a relative newbie.
You shouldn't miss this because it's just fun and
delicious!
MORE INFORMATION:
From Co-Creators Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude
Shapiro, and starring Shiri Appleby and Constance
Zimmer, the provocative drama gives a fictitious
behind-the-scenes glimpse into the chaos surrounding
the production of a dating competition program.
Set against the backdrop of the hit dating
competition show Everlasting, UnREAL
is led by flawed heroine Rachel Goldberg, a young
producer whose sole job is to manipulate her
relationships with and among the contestants to get
the vital dramatic and outrageous footage that the
program’s dispassionate executive producer, Quinn
King, demands. What ensues is an eye-opening look at
what happens in the outrageous world of unscripted
television, where being a contestant can be vicious
and producing it is a whole other reality.
UnREAL also stars Craig Bierko as
Everlasting’s eccentric creator, Chet, and
Freddie Stroma as the dating show’s handsome and
intelligent suitor, Adam Cromwell. Josh Kelly plays
Jeremy, a cameraman who is Rachel’s ex-boyfriend,
while Siobhan Williams is Lizzie, Jeremy’s current
fiancée and on-set makeup artist. Everlasting’s
contestants include Grace, portrayed by Nathalie
Kelley, who immediately wins Adam’s heart; Anna,
played by Johanna Braddy, who is classy and shrewd,
with her eye on the prize; Faith, a sensitive and
vulnerable tomboy from the South portrayed by Breeda
Wool; and Mary, played by Ashley Scott, a gorgeous
single mom who has been unlucky in love. Arielle
Kebbel will guest star as Courtney, a contestant who
has no filter and isn’t on Everlasting to
make any friends.
Premiering
Monday, June 1, at 10pm ET/PT
Preview
Our
exclusive interview with Josh Kelly (Jeremy)
5/29/15
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