If you’re looking for a show to binge-watch on Hulu, I have the perfect recommendation: Unreal.
Unreal is a fictional drama about a production team who runs a show called Everlasting, which is basically the fictional version of The Bachelor. The “show runner,” Quinn (played by the tremendously talented Constance Zimmer) is a ruthless shark who will stop at nothing to get sky-high TV ratings. She commands her crew to get dramatic, outrageous footage, even if that means interfering and stirring the pot. She has a right-hand woman named Rachel (played by Shiri Appleby) who does most of the manipulating and producing for the show. Rachel has a lot of demons in her closest that are later exposed in the show, and so being in such a dark, dramatic environment brings out the worst version of her, which ironically is the best thing for the show, for it gives them ratings like they’ve never seen before.
When I say there’s drama, there’s drama. From murder, to suicide, infidelity, scandalous affairs, rape, secretly giving someone drugs, physical fights, emotional manipulation like you’ve never seen before, and So. Much. More.
I’m not going to lie, it’s a dark show. It’s almost as dark as The Handmaid’s Tale (another Hulu show I highly recommend you watch). But who doesn’t love a little dark drama in their lives? I guarantee you will be shouting “SHOOK” at the top of your lungs at least once during each episode.
My favorite aspect of the show is the absolute rock-heavy strength Rachel and Quinn have. Are they psycho crazy bitches who will do whatever it takes to produce the best show ever? Yes, but they are damn good at their jobs and they don’t let anyone (especially men) tell them how to do their job. In a very male-dominated profession, they show men how it is done. There were so many times when I snapped my fingers from an empowering line that Quinn or Rachel said. They remind me to be unapologetically myself. They also remind me not to be an evil producer who will do horrible things to contestants of a show, but ya know, let’s focus on the first thing.
It raises the question, is this what happens behind the scenes at The Bachelor/Bachelorette? To find out that answer, check out this article Cosmopolitan did where they interviewed a former Bachelor contestant to set the record straight on that: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/news/a44157/a-bachelor-contestant-breaks-down-unreal/
HCXOXO,
Kelli Carmack