Despite the fact we all know it's not real, the world has become a little obsessed with reality shows like The Bachelor for their depiction of extreme human emotions and behaviour. But just what lengths shows will go to to get that behaviour on screen isn't often discussed - and that's where new satirical drama UnREAL comes in.
Inspired by a short film called Sequin Raze by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, the series follows a young staffer named Rachel, who works for ruthless executive producer Quinn (played by the excellently fierce Constance Zimmer), of a fictional Bachelor-esque reality show called Everlasting. The drama, lies and manipulation needed to get the gold dust is often dumped on Rachel because she's good at getting people to do what she wants. But the doing what's required of her takes it toll, and the ethical line which the production walks provides plenty of fodder for the savagely funny show.
Rachel is played by Shiri Appleby, who made her break in late-90s supernatural drama Roswell, but now has a lengthy CV to her name including strong roles in ER and Girls. She was delighted to find a series that managed to be entertaining and biting, and was sold on the concept from the moment she heard about it.
"When they sent me the script they actually sent Sarah Shapiro's short Sequin Raze too, and so I watched that and I was blown away by this world I'd never seen. It was characters and situations that I'd never experienced or even really thought about.
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Advertise with NZME."And I guess more than 'lifting the curtain' on reality television, I was just fascinated by the people who made these shows. Like what is their internal struggle? How do they deal with their moral conflicts, the relationships they have, the lack of self that they feel because they're trapped in this world?"
To get to grips with the world, Appleby sought out those who had worked in similar positions to Rachel.
"I found one girl who'd been working as an on-set producer like Rachel. I asked her about using her sexuality to manipulate people, I asked her for specific stories about what she would do to get people to do things on camera, and I asked her about her personal life too, tried to find out who she was and why she was involved in this world. And I asked her if she ever felt guilty about what she was helping to do, or doing to these people, and the interesting thing was, that it hadn't really crossed her mind.
"They sort of reason that these contestants have voluntarily put themselves in this environment, so you know, whatever happens to them, it's really their own doing. I found that fascinating."
She encountered another young woman who used to work in the industry at Sequin Raze's SXSW premiere, and she presented the other side of the story.
"She walked up to the mic at the Q&A, and she said 'I just want to say that you guys totally nailed the world - I was a producer, I was Rachel, and I just got out'. And everyone started cheering, and it really made me feel chills, because the way that she said 'I just got out' made it sound like she'd escaped."
There's a lot of acerbic, scathing, and blatantly un-PC dialogue in the show ("It's not my fault America is racist," says Quinn as her team look at her in horror after her particularly bleak prediction about Everlasting's black contestants). But it's a realistic representation, Appleby feels.
"I think the show is really about pushing boundaries, and telling a truthful story, and I think behind the scenes of any kind of production can be a pretty ugly world. It's a challenging environment to work in, and people say a lot of things I'm sure they wouldn't want anyone to repeat or put a microphone up to, but that's what the show does."
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Advertise with NZME.Appleby is certain that audiences will find plenty of fun to be had in watching UnREAL as well.
"Even though we're lifting up this curtain with some serious intentions, at the heart it's a pretty fun show. There's humour, you will laugh out loud, and at the same time it can shock you. So you might hate our characters, but it'll still be fun."
UnREAL is available on Lightbox now, with new episode arriving express from the US each week.
