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UNREAL
June 1, 2015  | By David Bianculli  | 2 comments

Lifetime, 10:00 p.m. ET

 

SERIES PREMIERE: This is a warning, not a recommendation. What could be more cynical, and even less entertaining, than a dating reality show? How about a scripted series that pretends to be a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a dating reality show, and is every bit as manipulative and abrasive as the genre it lampoons and deconstructs? UnReal wants to be knowingly superior to the Bachelor-type program it “examines,” but somehow creates a universe, and a program, that is even worse. Kim Zimmer stars as the screaming banshee of a producer, and Shiri Apppleby plays an assistant returning, after a meltdown, to manipulate the on-camera action without losing what’s left of her soul. Good luck with that. People who are really into The Bachelor may find this amusing, even novel – but sensible viewers will do neither.

 
 
 
 
 
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2 Comments
 
 
east coast writer
I love this website for its smart reviews and opinions - but I have to say I disagree with David on this one. First of all, this show is terrifically written. Check out the great interview with Sarah Gertrude Shapiro on KCRWs' "The Business" podcast:

http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/the-business/a-producers-past-in-reality-tv-led-to-lifetimes-unreal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kcrw%2Ftb+%28The+Business%29

I read this show as a clever critique of reality TV. I find Shiri Appleby mesmerizing and convincing as a rich girl among a mostly working class staff, trying to find her way. The show isn't preachy, explores some basic elements of feminism, capitalism and racism - more boldly, in my view, than a show like "orange is the new black", which I tired of after the first half of the first season (though I did slog through til the end of S1).

The show has women in the two leading rolls and is written by women (including Marti Noxon of Buffy fame).
Jul 8, 2015   |  Reply
 
 
StevieG
It is Constance Zimmer, not Kim Zimmer.
Jun 1, 2015   |  Reply
 
 
 
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