Entertainment news that shook the world in the last week was that the fourth season of UnReal would be dropping on Australian streaming service Stan, and also on Hulu in other parts of the world. The new season will drop in its entirety on July 17, only a few months after season 3 finale.
UnREAL is a drama centered around a Bachelor-style TV show, exposing the dirty, underhanded manipulation that the show’s various producers employ in order to ‘make good TV’. Certainly, it makes watching the actual Bachelor (or Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise) after seeing UnREAL an interesting experience, because you can often pinpoint behaviours that have likely been engineered by producers in order to ‘create a storyline’.
The show was created by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, a former producer on the Bachelor, and testimonials from people who have themselves worked on the show have suggested that even some of the crazier moments hit closer to home than the audience may think.
However, the show doesn’t just look at the Everlasting sphere, but also at times quite savagely lambasts the ‘boys club’ of network television, denying many of its female characters who are often far more talented than their male counterparts, the opportunity to rise through the ranks. This was teased out even more strongly through season three.
So let’s quickly refresh ourselves on where we left the machivellian sociopaths who comprise the main cast, shall we?
Rachel
In season three, we really delved into the history of Rachel’s sexual abuse, and the way her parents handled this. In her attempts to reconcile what happened to her, there is a side story of her trying to separate her father from her mother, and detox him from the various drugs her mother, probably incorrectly, has prescribed for her father. Of course, it doesn’t go according to Rachel’s plan, and while it isn’t particularly surprising, it certainly offered a far more sympathetic side to her. Moreover, it provides a certain insight into her struggle with what her job required her to do to other people—especially since she is very good at it, which was hinted at being because of the fallout from when she was raped as a teenager.
Certainly, we see her going full ‘dark Rachel’ in the season finale where she gleefully manipulates Serena, the season’s suitress, into choosing neither of her two final options, as well as orchestrating Chet dumping his girlfriend on live TV.
We’ve seen for most of the show that Rachel is perpetually on the verge of ‘getting out’ for fear of this ‘inner darkness’, and season three’s finale suggests that this is exactly what she does, as Quinn buys Rachel the shack she has been desperately wanting from episode one.
There was an odd moment in the finale with the therapist who had been assigned to her claiming—seemingly out of nowhere, even despite his placement of cameras in her trailer—that they were meant to be together. I personally hope this isn’t something which is revisited in season four.
Quinn
Let’s start by admitting that Quinn is not really a sympathetic character, but that did not stop me from cheering her on when she stuck it to network executive and all around douche, Gary, not once, but twice. She masterfully puts her lady-loving buddy Fiona into Gary’s job, as well as theoretically engineering more power for herself within the network, so her career looks as though it’s on the up after being pretty much entrenched in Everlasting for, well, ever.
But let’s forget all about her career, because she ends the season with a man! Which brings us to…
Chet
Again, another character who shouldn’t be that likeable, yet somehow is. For most of the season, he is dating a very sweet, although obviously ill-suited young woman, even though he is clearly pining for Quinn. The season finale has him declare his adoration for Quinn on live TV, and who knows, they may go off happily into the sunset? Can’t wait for this to blow up next season, even though I fervently hope it doesn’t.
Maddison
Ahh, from pigtails in season one to sleeping with Gary to try to advance her career in season three. Maddison’s masochistic relationship with Quinn continues. Her potential to become Quinn or Rachel in terms of ability to manipulate people is explored, but not really developed that much.
What’s particularly notable though is that in one of the finale’s final scenes she is pitching her show to new network exec, Fiona, and she begins to undress. Maddison seems to make the same mistake over and over again; thinking that she can sleep her way to some level of career advancement. It didn’t really work with Chet in season one, her attempts to get Gary to green light her absurdly named pilot #adulting leave her miserable, and one can only wonder if Fiona will actually see her as anything other than the girl who had an okay idea and then tried to seduce her. Also, as an aside, given Gary is ousted on claims of sexual misconduct, one would assume Fiona would encourage Maddison to put her clothes back on, but she doesn’t.
Jeremy
The murders he committed at the end of season two haunt him (rightly so) throughout season three. There is a very brief relationship with another member of the production team, but it doesn’t go anywhere as she feels (again, quite rightly) that he and Rachel still have issues. However, Jeremy rejects Rachel in the season finale and theoretically leaves the show to try to get a fresh start. Will he return? Presumably. I certainly hope so.
Jay
Jay heartbreakingly ruins what seems like a lovely relationship after he falls down a rabbit hole of sexy Alexi (see what I did there), cocaine, and bitterness.
The decisions Jay makes which lead to this misery is clearly due to a sense of ambition and feeling pressured to get ahead in his career. Certainly, it ties into the general state of misery in which most of the other central characters exist, which feeds in to the broader theme of this kind of work eroding a well-rounded, well-balanced life and sense of self. It’s particularly sad because Jay in season one was one of the nicest characters. Hopefully season four will bring him some happiness.
The season four teaser trailer, and a myriad of other articles I apparently have nothing better to do than read, have suggested not only will the ‘Bachelor In Paradise’ format will be put in the spotlight, but also that Rachel will be in front of the camera rather than behind it as a suitress on Everlasting. Of course, that begs the question: what made her do a complete 180 from rejecting the manipulative self that arises whenever she is around Quinn and her work to go and live in a shack with some goats. No running water or electricity? I guess we’ll have to watch and see.
