Unreal, Lifetime’s new scripted look at the inner workings of a reality television show, strongly presents the case that reality shows are, in fact, very much not reality.

The first ten-episode season of Unreal aired this summer, and the show has already been picked up for a second season. 

Unreal takes place almost exclusively on the set of Everlasting, a fictional, Bachelor-esque reality show.

Female contestants compete through various romantic challenges, dates and parties for the affections of a British millionaire bachelor Adam Cromwell (Freddie Stroma). 

Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) is a producer on the show who is considered to be a “closer”—someone who sets the stage for the necessary drama to happen. 

Essentially, Rachel’s job is to slyly make people do and say things that will move the show in an exciting direction, often without them realizing that she’s guiding them along. 

Much of the drama in the show within the show—Everlasting—comes  from this “producing” technique—creating drama that isn’t really there, a technique that Unreal strongly suggests that actual reality shows heavily utilize. 

The show emphasizes that editing is a major feature of reality production, and production is centered on making sure every detail is captured on camera so that everything can be ripped apart and meticulously pieced back together in exciting ways. 

A fair amount of screen time is spent in the control room of Everlasting where producers vigorously plot and plan how to create drama and where the contestants are thought of as not as people but as means to an end. 

Unreal succeeds in proving just how unreal reality shows can be. For example, on one of Adam’s romantic dates with a contestant they goes horse-back riding, but the shots of them galloping away are completely fake. 

While real horses are present on the set so that cameras can capture shots of the couple sitting on actual horses, the riding sequences are created with an electronic rig that uses a fake body of a horse and simply goes up and down as it is dragged along. 

However, Unreal also suggests that many of the main plotlines are derived from seedlings of truth. 

The bachelor may be coerced by producers into choosing people who will make for an exciting story to stay on the show until the next week, but some are chosen to stay because genuine friendly relationships have formed. 

In addition to drama arising from the producers’ creation of spectacle for Everlasting, it also comes through in the producers’ personal lives. 

Rachel quickly finds herself in a sort-of love triangle with cameraman and ex-boyfriend Jeremy Carver (Josh Kelly) and with Adam, the bachelor himself. Rachel’s boss Quinn King (Constance Zimmer), the executive producer of Everlasting, and Chet Wilton (Craig Bierko) have a whirlwind romance involving affairs, drugs, engagement, break-ups, lawsuits and pregnancy. 

Unreal packs in the amount of drama in one season that other shows might spend several seasons covering. 

Since Unreal at times seems like a true exposé of the intricacies of the reality show business, the speed at which the plot surrounding the producers unfolds serves as a reminder that Unreal is, in fact, fictional. 

The production behind Everlasting is vulgar, sexist and politically incorrect. 

Unreal even picks up right after Rachel has returned to working on Everlasting after having a breakdown due to her frustration with the compassionless manipulation that “producing” the contestants involves. 

However, the Everlasting producers completely acknowledge that they do horrible, and sometimes illegal, things to the contestants. 

The producers put them into unhealthy situations without consideration for what’s best for the contestants, such as switching out needed medications, bringing an abusive ex-husband onto the show to get a reaction from a contestant and using the emotions from the death of a parent to capture someone acting crazy. The producers know what they what they do is horrific, but as they say, you have to do what you have to do to make good television. 

Although Shiri and King play seemingly heartless and ruthless characters, they still evoke a sense of empathy and reliability. 

You are forced to ask yourself the ethical question: if you were in their positions, would you act the same? Rachel does struggle with her conscience throughout the show. 

As a viewer you struggle with a similar guilt of wanting the producers to be terrible in order to see what their terribleness will produce. 

Unreal utilizes an innovative format to be a fun and fascinating look at the intricacies of producing reality television. 

Overall, Unreal is just as addicting as reality shows can be.