Preston Barta // Editor
“Golden age of television.”
This has been a phrase that’s been tossed around quite a lot lately with acclaimed series such as GAME OF THRONES around. Good shows entertain and teach us information about the real world, whether they are set on a battlefield filled with dragons or in a mansion full of manipulative producers. Things are happening and the truth is… we’re in the golden age of content.
So if you had any doubt about the standing of UnREAL in its second season, tonight’s episode throws us the bait much like its characters do in the show and we swallow it whole because it’s damn delicious.
Ever since the pilot of UnREAL premiered at South by Southwest last year, there’s been a steady build of attention. It started with festival goers, Lifetime audiences, and soon, it was everyone who’s willing to give their time over to quality TV.
Lifetime hasn’t been really known for cutting edge material or characters that sting with fascination, but all that changed last year, and now, summer entertainment is at its peak.
If you’re caught up with the show, you know that the war between Quinn (Constance Zimmer) and Chet (Craig Bierko) is on. Rachel (Shiri Appleby) wants the two duke it out, so she can sweep in and claim the throne herself.
Tonight, the storm is unleashed. Chet has an interesting element to him, playing the Michael Bay-like producer who wants things to look good constantly. This comes completed with explosions and “pretty ladies.” Quinn and Rachel, on the other hand, want blood. “You actually have to create the drama,” says Rachel.
There’s a line in the show where Coleman (Michael Rady) says “you two together (as in Quinn and Rachel) are terrifying.” It’s completely true, and the reason why many of us come back each week.
This show wastes no time feeding us fluff and useless information in order to get to the next episode. It gets down to brass tacks and provides us with interesting characters with meat on their bones and quotable dialogue to add to our favorite list of insults.
Tune in and take notes.
Tonight’s episode, titled “Guerilla” airs on Lifetime at 10pm/9c.
Feature Photo: (L to R) Constance Zimmer and Amy Hill star in Season 2 of Lifetime’s hit drama UnREAL airing, Monday, June 20th at 10pm ET/PT on Lifetime. Photo by James Dittiger.
