Lifetimes reality-tv dramaUnREALreturns this week after a long hiatus and a troubled second season.
EW TV Critic Darren Franich felt the third season premiere recaptured the tricky, provocative mojo.
EW Senior Writer Natalie Abrams respectfully disagreed.
Credit: James Dittiger/Lifetime
Then they talked about it.SPOILERS AHEADfor the season 3 premiere ofUnREAL.
NAT:Here we are again, Darren, disagreeing aboutanother TV show.
I see inyour reviewthat you gave the third season ofUnREALa B+ and Im quite surprised.
I just cringed writing that last sentence.
A tabloid-y aristocrat, a fading athlete: Sure, theyd star on a romance competition show.
)All this is to say: I tend to assume thateveryoneonUnREALis awful, in an awfully human way.
Im sorry if this is a maddening response Itssupposedto be disturbing!
and Id love to hear more about why these first two episodes felt so totally wrong to you.
Are you totally unconvinced by Serena as a focal character for this new season?
I would buy Serena as the focal point if I didnt totally distrust her methods.
(Mild spoilers, sorry!)
To be fair,UnREALis tackling all of this with a wink and a nod from the get-go.
But it doesnt mean theyshouldbe doing it.
Youd believe immediately that such a person would be a little incoherent with her messaging.
One of the things I like aboutUnREAL even the worst parts, even last seasons double murder!
is also a battleground of provocative ideas.
I think thats why I findUnREALunquittable, a pleasure that is in no way guilty.
This canonlyend poorly, and I have an appetite forUnReals destruction.
Is it just weirder to watch a funny-scary satire of reality television than it was in 2015?
NAT:I think you hit the nail on the head there, Darren.
and intrigues me oh, honey, youre just too young to really understand what youre doing.
That, to me, will always be more fascinating than the machinations and manipulations ofEverlasting.
Any hopes for the future, Darren?
I love your idea of rebooting the show away from the familiarEverlastinghouse.
It makes me wonder: What kind of reality show would Quinn and Rachel create together?
With that in mind, what Im looking for from the rest of season 3 is closure.
Not an ending, necessarily, but a winding down of some subplots and a willingness to change.
Chet and Jeremy feel a little bit like ghosts of boyfriends past at this point.
(Go, young millennials, go!
Show us the better future we failed to make for you!)
Either that, orEverlasting: Road Trip, which sounds like theJersey Shore Family Vacationof theUnREALverse.
Or maybe they could do a season focused on the production ofCelebrity Everlasting?
They could cast Shannon Elizabeth as herself she was great onCelebrity Big Brother!
No question, were all struggling to maintain our sanity in the reality show America has become.
UnREALairs Mondays at 10 p.m.
