Are you a card-carrying member of Bachelor Nation? Then you should have already said “I do” to Lifetime’s new scripted series, UnREAL, a dark-comedy that totally skewers The Bachelor. Starring Shiri Appleby as a seriously frazzled but brilliant producers, the show offers a behind-the-scenes look at what life is really like on set of a fantasy dating show, and it’s not exactly pretty. In fact, this entire series appears to be throwing huge amounts of shade at The Bachelor, implying that the show’s production is hinged on drugs, sex, eating disorders, mental illness, and cruel manipulation.
While UnREAL doesn’t explicitly mention ABC’s hit reality franchise, The Bachelor was the clear inspiration for Everlasting, the show-within-a-show that the series revolves around. UnREAL‘s writers obviously did their Bachelor Nation homework, as Everlasting is rife with drama, intrigue, faked fights, and plenty of NSFW moments. Sound all too familiar? It should. Check out the 5 most brilliant ways UnREAL eviscerates The Bachelor below.
1. So Many Candles, So Little Time
As we all know, The Bachelor takes place at Bachelor Mansion, a giant house in Los Angeles festooned with rose shrubs, hot tubs, spare bikinis, and candles. So many candles. UnREAL‘s mansion looks almost identical, down to the freshly watered driveway and abundance of throw pillows. All the show needs is a real-life Chris Harrison to wander on set producing roses out of his lapels, and we’d never be able to tell the difference!
2. Crazy Limo Entrances? Why, Of Course!
The Bachelor is infamous for its limo entrances, with contestants often showing up holding weird props and/or accidentally humiliating themselves with dramatic stunts (shout-out to the girl who face-planted while trying to do a backflip). Everlasting expertly mocks the tradition, encouraging one contestant to make her grand entrance with a stuffed teddy bear, while another emerged from a limo and proceeded to engage in an intense, butt-grabbing makeout session with The Bachelor (sorry, “The Suitor”).
3. The Single Mom, The Villain –– All Our Faves Are Here!
No season of The Bachelor is complete without The Girl Next Door, The Single Mom, The Villain, and The Mentally Unsound Crazy Lady. Of course, UnREAL amps up these stereotypes, and now fans can get a behind-the-scenes look at how these wicked “characters” are found and coaxed out of their shells. In this world, the villain isn’t born –– she’s made. Eat your heart out, Courtney Robertson!
4. “Can I Steal You For A Sec?”
UnREAL‘s writers must be rose-loving fanboys and girls, because even the show’s dialogue is practically identical. Not only does the Chris Harrison-esque host, Graham (Brennan Elliott), offer up all the signature cliches, but contestants also hilariously use the show’s classic line “can I steal you for a sec?” Sound familiar? It’s only because we’ve heard it approximately 10,000 times over on ABC.
5. Yep, They Address the Racial Controversy
In the past few years, The Bachelor has come under some fan-criticism for not featuring enough diversity, and UnREAL highlights this issue, adding fuel to the flame. Not only do we see fictional producers chatting about how long the “token” women of color will last, it’s implied that contestants are asked to ham up racial stereotypes. When a girl named Shamiqua gets out of the limo first, cynical-as-hell show runner Quinn King (Constance Zimmer) is furious, noting that only a real love connection should make the first entrance, thus implying that not contestant with such a name could ever make it far. An interesting take, but it should be noted that there’s no evidence that this actually happens on set of The Bachelor.
Bonus: The Format Is Identical
Group dates, one-on-ones, cocktail parties –– UnREAL has it all! In fact, the only difference between The Bachelor and Everlasting is the Rose Ceremony. On The Bachelor, contestants are given a rose when they’re deemed wife-material –– while on Everlasting, their diamond bracelets are cruelly ripped from their wrists when they’re sent home. That being said, roses definitely get a shout-out –– if you look closely, UnREAL‘s font is made up of tiny petals!
Tell Us: What do you think of UnREAL?
UnREAL airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
