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UnREAL in the Media: News, Ratings, and Previews


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3 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

 

I was expecting to see how having a black suiter was going to affect the show Everlasting, would it be more popular than ever, slip in the ratings, would the women picked be against the idea? Would production try to tip toe around racial issues for fear of perpetuating any stereotypes? Would they fear a mixed race result because it might alienate the bigoted portion of their audience?

Instead, this entire season could have been done exactly the same as it was with a white suiter. So good job on doing absolutely nothing groundbreaking show.

Every one of those ideas would have been a thousand times better than what we got. Really need an Adam-is-in-the-shower and it's all a dream opening for season 3. This was such a lame season.

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13 hours ago, BingeyKohan said:

NYMag has a similar one where SGS and SR are just as defensive (the two interviews are basically redundant, since the women repeat themselves, down to the same phrasing). What strikes me is the distances SGS goes to share 'credit' in the writers' room, rejecting the notion that UnReal is an 'auteur' show. I don't actually think she's that modest; I think she just wants to spread the blame. Although in both the NYMag and the Hollywood Reporter interviews I think SR comes off more distastefully - but again SGS could have been hanging back and holding her tongue to offer up another shooting target besides herself. It bothers me that they both imply The New Yorker misreported the Lifetime mandate to make something work with Jeremy. I personally know how New Yorker articles are fact checked, and SGS and the showrunner (Carol B I believe was her name) would have confirmed their quotes when they are clearly resigning themselves to behaving like adult professionals and making a story for Jeremy at Lifetime's insistence when they clearly don't want to. 

I feel badly for the show's performers - the trainwreck of this season will put them on their back feet at the start of season 3, when they have to do press and all they will get asked is how they feel about the drubbing this season received from critics and fans. 

The only way to "fix" Season 3 is to start with Jeremy getting arrested that night while Rachel and the others debate what to do next. Otherwise, they're all accomplices to murder and this becomes the Breaking Bad version of a data show within a show. SGS does not have the chops to write a Breaking Bad show.

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5 hours ago, CalamityBoPeep said:

Every one of those ideas would have been a thousand times better than what we got. Really need an Adam-is-in-the-shower and it's all a dream opening for season 3. This was such a lame season.

I had a dream a few weeks ago that Adam came back for a second but then like magic he was gone. Weird.

 

SGS already believes UnREAL is Breaking Bad. 

Edited by earlbny
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Here's a video with Shiri, SGS and Marti talking about UnREAL at the Peabody awards. Shiri and Marti look beautiful SGS on the other hand not so much. She dresses like season 2. Did she even look in the mirror or consult someone before she put that outfit on? LOL I am a guy who's as far from a a fashion expert as you can get so what do I know. 

http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/peabody-conversations-lifetime-unreal

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Thanks for posting that link. Good stuff.

Here's an interview with Josh Kelly. He still thinks Rachel hit him 1st and he was defending himself. Please!

http://starrymag.com/josh-kelly-unreal-3/

Here's an interview with Gentry White.

http://dujour.com/culture/unreal-gentry-white/?utm_content=bufferbb690&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

Quote

This season of UnREAL really dove into the mire of racial dynamics. As a black man, what is it like stepping into someone else’s vision of those conflicts, and did you feel that the show captured the essence of those conflicts realistically? 

I commend UnREAL for deciding to come directly at the world with its topical matters this season. They don’t hold back at all. If anything they continually push for more dynamic situations and subject matter. I respect UnREAL for showcasing a black man being shot by the police wrongfully—however, I do wish that we’d had more time to really dig deep into the after effects of that issue. 

Edited by earlbny
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So we have confirmation from Noxon herself that she is out for season 3 - and my hopes are out with her. I don't trust Sarah and her team to run the show, they obviously don't know what the hell they are doing with this season as evidence. 

What a damn shame - such a good show destroyed in record time and as it looks now no hopes of recovery. 

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I was secretly happy that UnREAL lost at the Emmy Awards. Part of me was bitter that Shiri got snubbed. The other part of me was hoping this will bring Sarah back down to reality.

 

That's a dam shame about Noxon indeed. However I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to work with Sarah.

 

I saw something recently about them hiring a new writer who has worked in Comedy but I cant seem to find it.

 

ETA I found the new writer.

 

David M Israel

 Marginal Writer: UnReal, About a Boy, 3rd Rock from the Sun, How to Rock. Bar Mitzvah speech.

 

Spent 11 creative years on the Radford lot. Grateful to be back. God bless cable. #UnReal #3rdrockfromthesun #cbsradford #unrealtv #studiocity #grateful #lifetime #television #onthelot #imgorgeous #godblesstelevision #shabbatshalom

 

Edited by earlbny
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I think the reason season one was so much better than season two is because I think SGS didn't understand that the reason the show was such a hit was because of the amazing, fairy tale "is it real/is it not real" love story between the ordinary "not hot" (as established by Chet saying to her in the first episode: "You're not hot enough to be crazy") reality TV producer and the fantasy guy, smoking hot British heir who was out of her league, Rachel and Adam. Did he really like her for who she was? Was he being genuine? Or was he full of it and just wanted to sleep with her?

It wasn't a hit because of all the background drama and "behind the scenes" stuff. 

Meanwhile, for everyone who wants to see more of the same--Adam and Rachel--check out this book that I found on Amazon while searching "unreal TV show." It's called "Lipo Queen." If you liked season one of Unreal, you will love this book. It's got the same love story between an "ordinary" girl and a totally hot guy (who is a TV actor who screws up and is in the tabloids and tries to be "taken seriously again" by going on a reality TV show) and  pokes fun at behind-the-scenes reality TV (though not nearly as dark as unREAL) and even has the mentally ill character off their meds whose suicide shuts down the show and the network has to spin it. It also has a twist because the reality TV show in the book is about plastic surgery. The main character's name is even "Rachel." I don't think it's fan fiction, since it says it was finished in 2011 and just never published, but who cares? It's a fun read and can keep us all satisfied until season three, when hopefully they will see the light and bring Adam back.

Here's the amazon link:

http://goo.gl/MpkZOW

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Quote

 

I think the reason season one was so much better than season two is because I think SGS didn't understand that the reason the show was such a hit was because of the amazing, fairy tale "is it real/is it not real" love story between the ordinary "not hot" (as established by Chet saying to her in the first episode: "You're not hot enough to be crazy") reality TV producer and the fantasy guy, smoking hot British heir who was out of her league, Rachel and Adam. Did he really like her for who she was? Was he being genuine? Or was he full of it and just wanted to sleep with her?

It wasn't a hit because of all the background drama and "behind the scenes" stuff. 

 

Huh...then I must be in the minority then because I actually never really cared that about Adam and Rachel's relationship and to be honest, sort of hated that the show did something so predicable and cliche. I was one of those who was interested in the behind the scenes view of this type of reality show and the level of manipulation that went into it. Yes, I'm sure it was exaggerated in parts but it was fascinating watching the lengths these people would go to, to manipulate the contestants.

I was also fascinated by the love/hate relationship between Quinn and Rachel, would have liked more about Rachel and her clearly fucked up relationship with her mother, etc. The Adam and Rachel relationship was a complete "did not care" for me. Yeah the actors had chemistry but I didn't buy the so called romance or love story anymore than I bought Rachel and Jeremy. 

I think what hurt the show in Season 2 is that they took the darkness of Season 1, to much darker places and the viewers weren't really here for it. Watching Rachel and company manipulate the contestants was one thing, but the show grew increasingly darker and menacing and that was not what people really signed up for, in my opinion. And the writers should have known that, based on the reaction to Mary's death in Season 1. Many people felt that the show went a little too far with that plot line. So why they thought it would make sense to go more in that direction for the second season, is beyond me. 

Edited by truthaboutluv
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The reason I loved season 1 and hated season 2 is because season 1 focused on a more realistic(ish) look at the behind the scene's machinations of a reality show and the totally co-dependent, dysfunctional relationship between two strong women. The only thing I didn't like about season 1 was the "romance" between Rachel and Adam. It was predictable and forced IMO. I hated season 2 because the behind the scene's stuff took a sharp turn into OTT clusterfuck of all the behind the scene's folks trying to destroy each other. It got really boring really fast. And it destroyed the delicate relationship between Rachel and Quinn.

For me the heart of the show, the relationship I'm interested in is Rachel and Quinn. I don't care who they fuck, who they screw over, so long as these two women are working on the same team.

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I loved Season 1 because of the brutal presentation of just how easy it is for a person to completely sell themselves out for any number of things.  Acceptance, love, fame, success, money, whatever.  And seeing so clearly how the cycle of abuse repeated itself - Chet used Quinn, Quinn uses Rachel.  Seeing them weaponize people to achieve their own selfish ends.  And the underlying damage and weakness that allows people to be so manipulated.

I was fascinated by such a frank presentation of power and abuse dynamics, and the fact that it was dressed up with some pretty people and pretty scenery made it more enjoyable.  I didn't really give a crap about the sexual relationships, I was more interested in the various needs that characters seemed to be meeting in unhealthy and self destructive ways.

The strongest of all the abuser/victim bonds was Quinn and Rachel.  It was the most complex because the rocks in Quinn's head so perfectly fit the holes in Rachel's head.  Rachel needed a mother figure who she thought really cared about her, and Quinn needed a daughter figure/ protegee to validate her choice of career over family.  

They threw a giant wrench into that relationship in Season 2 and that's where the wheels fell off for me.  

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After reading that article, it's clear there's a lot of blame to spread around: Gertrude Sarah Shapiro was probably given more leeway than was good for the show; UnREAL wasn't Marti Noxon's first priority, let alone the only project she was working on; Lifetime didn't step in soon enough or take a strong enough stand to stem the BTS problems.

Here's hoping the third season gets back on track.

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Shiri and Constance were on FB Live today to announce some S3 news. It's about time we get some UnREAL S3 news. Personally I did not find this announcement to be shocking, surprising and OMG. I found it to be expected. I figured they would go in this direction. After last seasons mess they  desperately needed to go in a different direction.  I wish the new show runner would pretend season 2 never happened and start over. I bet that won't happen.  What they should have done in season 2 was make Anna the suitress. Before they made the announcement they gave you 3 choices as to what the announcement about season 3 is going to be.  One of them involved Quinn running 2 simultaneous shows that once.  we did that in season 2 and it didn't work.  The other one involved Rachel and Quinn leaving everlasting and starting their own show which was like Bachelor in Paradise.  I was able to pick the winner very easily.  I am more interested in what Sarah's role will be in season three now that she's not a show runner. 

 

Edited by earlbny
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Ooh, into the new contestants so far. I like that they're going very trope-y and that I can already see where the critique is going to come in. Hopefully they do more with them than the "types" from season 2. I'm not so sure about the random description of the female suitor. Right now it sounds like vague network doubletalk so I will reserve judgment. Silicon Valley venture capitalist could mean anything. Sheryl Sandberg? Someone from Shark Tank? 30-something? Who knows where they're going with this? Have any of the Bachelorettes been over 30?

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Having never seen MOS, I'm not familiar with the actress, but after reading the last three articles, I realized I have no interest in this show, at all. Hopefully, an episode or two will suck me back in. The first season was a lot of fun to watch, and I've never been interested in The Bachelor. Second season was frustrating and not even fun to hate watch.

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Just now, Chris Burgess said:

"She’ll play Charlie, a talented new camera assistant on Everlasting who’s a breath of fresh air, still green and innocent enough to love her job."

Ugh.  So Madison version 2.0.  How original!

 

Just now, nosleepforme said:

What hurt season two was horrendous writing. It started out promising with Rachel trying to transition into Quinn's position and Quinn not able to give up control, but then they brought in these new male cast members that were not needed at all and by the season's end the storyline had taken such a drastic turn with Yael and what's his name conspiring against the show and Jeremy killing them that it felt like a silly daytime soap. Not to mention that they completely mishandled the whole race storyline of the season, with Darius merely being window dressing to look topical and the new contestant characters being shoved aside for a poorly conceived power battle behind the camera of "Everlasting". And then of course the police shooting episode that took a real life issue and told it through the lens of a white woman instead of the affected POC characters. 

But other than that, it was great!!!  LOL

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I am probably bias but I knew Shiri had this in her. It was just a matter of time. Someone finally giving her a chance. Giving her something other then a WB/CW type of role. Years ago Shiri was in the movie Charlie Wilsons War which featured an all star cast. One of the cast members who was not yet an A list actress was Amy Adams. She basically had the same amount of screen time as Shiri. After Amy made it big I got so jealous because I thought she was not better then Shiri. At the very least they were equal. Every time I see Shiri work with someone who becomes a superstar I get really jealous. Shiri has everything they have. 

I think will see a lot of of Jeffrey Jay character this season. I met him in person at the press tour last year and he's super nice. The whole cast was super nice.

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Just now, nosleepforme said:

If by "great" you mean like a train wreck that you can't look away from, then yes, it was. 

That's exactly what I mean. 
 “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that's all.”

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I don't have strong feelings about Caitlin. I've never seen her in anything else. From the photo they chose for the article she could be the same type as Anna but they could style her in any way for the show. They've gone for pretty attractive actor-y types for the guys. The real Bachelorette should be so lucky... at least lookswise. Chelsea Hobbs does sound like she's playing Madison 2.0 but hopefully she won't have pigtail braids. I don't want too much of the offscreen stuff but I'm interested in them casting love interests for Chet and Jay. At least it means we won't be rehashing the same plots as much. I haven't seen Brandon Jay McLaren since Being Erica and I don't really remember his character. But a semi-competent psychologist on set? I'm sure he'll be compromised but I'm into it. Of course since he's even mildly attractive I'm sure he'll end up making out with someone. 

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On March 9, 2017 at 9:55 AM, aradia22 said:

I don't have strong feelings about Caitlin. I've never seen her in anything else. From the photo they chose for the article she could be the same type as Anna but they could style her in any way for the show. They've gone for pretty attractive actor-y types for the guys. The real Bachelorette should be so lucky... at least lookswise. Chelsea Hobbs does sound like she's playing Madison 2.0 but hopefully she won't have pigtail braids. I don't want too much of the offscreen stuff but I'm interested in them casting love interests for Chet and Jay. At least it means we won't be rehashing the same plots as much. I haven't seen Brandon Jay McLaren since Being Erica and I don't really remember his character. But a semi-competent psychologist on set? I'm sure he'll be compromised but I'm into it. Of course since he's even mildly attractive I'm sure he'll end up making out with someone. 

For the most part I feel the same way. The only thing I want them to rehash is S1. I want them to completely forget about S2. Make it like it never happened. I am a guy so all the shirtless men do nothing for me. Much like all the girls in Bikinis it can get stale and played out really fast. I want less soap and more BTS making of a reality dating show. I haven't seen any of the new cast members in any thing. The new suitress looks kind of old. I wouldn't mind seeing Jay get some action. Even the gays need some love. Rachel is the reason I started watching this show. However if she hooks up with another guy I am going to loose it. I hope they have her focus on her job this season and not finding true love. Either make her the suitress or move on. That was one of the most boring plots from last season. I aso hope they don't try and rip plots from the headlines. Leave that to Law and Order. I dug Madison's pig tales. It gave her this innocent girl next door look. I had no idea she was hiding that under her pigtails. She's hotter then all he contestents. I plan on trying to forget about S2 and hope they can turn things around in S3. Fingers crossed. If it wasn't for Shiri I probably would not be back.

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UnREAL Season 3 Delayed Until 2018

UnREAL fans will have to wait a while longer to meet Everlasting‘s first female suitor.
Lifetime is now confirming what Constance Zimmer first revealed on Twitter late Sunday: the drama — which wrapped its second season in August 2016 — will not return with Season 3 until 2018. Zimmer posted a selfie with co-star Shiri Appleby and urged fans to “hang in there” until the series resumes in “the first part of 2018.”

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That's not too unbearable. I'm guessing they probably mean the winter midseason and not spring. Hopefully it means they're putting in the work and season 3 will be worth the wait instead of the garbled mush (with a few bright spots) that was season 2. 

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I'm not sure TV seasons matter much for the kind of people who watch UnReal. I think it makes a bigger difference for the big networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.) who can still count on a solid TV viewership. But with shows being watched on Netflix, Amazon, hulu, DVR, online players, etc. and also with Netflix, Amazon, etc. in particular just dropping shows whenever they want, things are much more unpredictable. Given the way the movies are predicting terrible box office numbers, I'm not sure summer is the best time for UnReal if it's not up to par. There are other things for people to do. Even if it's soapy, it's not really light. Maybe it would be more effective to make another play for prestige or at least critical acclaim in the middle of the regular TV season. 

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How can you watch a guilty pleasure show in the winter? Now what am I going to do. I wonder what happened? Maybe they're hoping that by the time season three premieres everyone will have forgotten about the Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Season 2.

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