Shiri Appleby as Rachel and Freddie Stroma as Adam in Lifetime’s ‘UnREAL’ (Lifetime)
Lifetime is putting a twist on the reality TV dating genre by taking it into drama territory with “UnREAL,” a new series premiering on Monday night.
Shiri Appleby stars as Rachel, a producer on reality dating show “Everlasting,” who returns to her job months after she had a breakdown that spilled on to the screen during a critical scene.
Her boss, Quinn (Constance Zimmer), is elated Rachel is back, because no one else on the team knows quite how to get the women to sign on the dotted line to commit to the show, or how bring “Everlasting’s” hunky blond suitor, Brit Adam Cromwell (Freddie Stroma), back into the game like Rachel.
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Rachel though, thinks she is just returning to help get the new season of “Everlasting” off the ground, and to make amends for what happened during her on-camera breakdown, before leaving for good.
“I think she’s coming back with the assumption that it’s like one or two episodes that she’s going to be there to help them get through, and that it’s a very short-lived stint,” Shiri told Access Hollywood of how her character approaches her return. “She does not imagine that she’s going to be there for the long haul. And as the first episode progresses, and as she realizes that this might be — in Quinn’s mind, this might be more of a permanent thing, you start to see her become definitely edgier and a little bit more paranoid or afraid of becoming re-immersed in this world, because she’s well aware of how unhealthy it is for her.”
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From Creators Marti Noxon (“Girlfriends Guide To Divorce”) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, the show’s drama comes from the manipulation going on on both sides of the camera, as the contestants try to scheme their way into staying, the suitor Adam does his best to get what he wants behind the scenes, while rehabbing his public image on camera, and the “Everlasting” staff (most notably, Rachel) works to and get everyone to play a TV ratings-friendly role.
“I think she’s really conflicted about it because she’s really good at it,” Shiri said of Rachel playing a key part in the manipulation game. “She’s really good at producing these people and getting them to do things that maybe they wouldn’t want to do or they don’t even realize they’re being manipulated into doing and when she’s doing it, I think she’s one of those people that’s like driven to succeed, driven to win, and will stop at nothing. And then I think afterwards, or even while she’s doing it, she’s angry at herself for doing it, but it’s like, that’s her constant conflict and a big story that we follow throughout the season is watching her battle her morals herself.”
A fictional show set behind the scenes of a reality dating program couldn’t exist without a few leading men, and in Rachel’s life there are two – her ex, Jeremy (Josh Kelly), and the suitor (cough, cough, charming playboy) looking for love, Adam, played by Freddie.
“When I read with him, I’m like, he’s so charming and he’s obviously incredibly attractive, but when you get to know him, he’s just such a well behaved, well educated, really well groomed guy that he was – he had a tough job. He was making out with basically like every woman on set at some point and everyone loved him,” Shiri said. “Everyone loved Freddie. He’s a real class act. I think he’s the real deal.”
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As she tries to sort out her life during the show’s run, there will be romance for Rachel.
“We see her get into different romantic relationships for sure throughout the season,” Shiri said.
There will also be plenty of classic reality dating show scenarios.
“We do the breakdowns, we do the quintessential… horseback riding, hot air balloon. You name it and we’re doing it,” she said.
The darker elements of the show, though, are what first brought Shiri on board.
“I read the script. I thought it was off the charts. The character was so well written, so complex. I could totally see myself in the role and the more there was interest on both sides, I started to hear how Lifetime was really committed to making something dark and subversive and totally premium and willing to push the boundaries and that was really exciting to me,” she said.
Another bonus was not spending hours getting made up for the show. Rachel lives in grungy jeans and T-shirts.
“I was out of hair and makeup in like 15 minutes flat. Hair and makeup together. Constance would just be like, ‘You b****.’ And I was like, ‘I’m out of here. I’m going to go put on the exact same outfit I’ve been wearing all season.’ It was so freeing to not care about my appearance.”
“UnREAL” premieres June 1 at 10 PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
— Jolie Lash
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