UnREAL–Lifetime’s fictionalized behind-the-scenes reality show dating competition–is back for a third season and has a new (NSFW) trailer. It looks … fine.
The first season of UnREAL was a stellar satirical skewering of a Bachelor-style show, co-created by an actual former Bachelor producer. The second season was a mess that tried to take on everything from mental illness to partner assault to police violence and tripped over itself at every step.
The new trailer follows the same path we’ve seen before: Everlasting, the show within the show, is on the brink of cancellation and only Rachel can save it, so she has to choose between returning to work and investing in her mental health. She chooses work, obviously, Quinn is extra Quinn at all times, sex and drug stuff, drama and scandal, that’s the show.
The twist last season—which was a great idea with pretty terrible execution—was that the “suitor” would be a black man, when the actual Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise hadn’t even done that. This season, the hook is that the star is … what? Smart? Maybe that she’s a tad older than the usual women on the show? (Master of Sex’s Caitlin FitzGerald, who plays this season’s suitor, is in her 30s, making her a withered crone in Bachelor years.) She’ll play a Silicon Valley tech mogul, so I’d love to be wrong in assuming there will be some territorial antagonizing between her and Quinn, both women making it in male-dominated professions. Also, it looks like Jeremy is still there? By the end of last season they’d infuriatingly all but forgotten about him assaulting Quinn. Does anyone actually want more Jeremy?
I don’t know if the show can ever get its season one magic back. That season was so good, I’m still coasting on residual love for it and will most likely keep watching no matter what. I just hope it’s more guilty pleasure than hate-watch.
Season 3 of UnREAL begins February 26th on Lifetime.
(image: YouTube)
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Published: Jan 10, 2018 01:01 pm