We all went a little crazy in 2016, andUnREALwas no different.
Lifetimes reality TV satire-soap blasted into its second season with Solve Everything ambitions.
Showrunners shifted on the series fictionalBachelorknockoffEverlasting, reflectingUnREALs real-life showrunner-swapping drama.
Credit: James Dittiger/Lifetime
But at the onset of season 3 (premiering tonight at 10 p.m.
ET on Lifetime),UnREALwants you to know that its changed.
How about we start with something simple, like nobody dies?
says Christopher Cousins connection president, taking the words right out of my mouth.
This year the Suitor is a Suitress, a lawsuit-proof euphemism for Bachelorette.
Its a leap to imagine a perfectionist venture capitalist on a dating show.
(In our world, Silicon Valley titans prefer the media they control.)
But FitzGerald is an exciting new presence, all blazing confidence collapsing into quiet desperation.
You are smart, pretty, and successful, Rachel tells Serena.
Half of America already hates you!
Its a funny line, bleak but accurate.
Even at its worst,UnREALhas its finger on the jangly pulse of modern mediated life.
Like it or not, Rachel says, reality TV shapes our world.
Thats never been more true, and theres an intoxicating downward spiral in this seasons design.
Rachels dedicated herself to a culty spiritualist healing practice that forbids lying and sex.
Quinns the ideal partner/nemesis for Rachel.
She dismisses all this pink-hat female-empowerment crap, and just needs this damn thing to be entertaining.
Those two instincts areUnREALs twin mission statements: Rachel and Quinn, sincere Big Idea-striving and brute-force sexy fun.
And I really worry about poor Jeremy (Josh Kelly), Rachels double-ex double murderer.
Its gonna be a great season!
Quinn tells her staff, filming the premiere-within-the-premiere.
Then she whispers to herself: Oh God, c’mon let us have a great season.
UnREALs still in the oh God like phase of its own reboot, but these new episodes are encouraging.
