Last night’s episode of Lifetime’s UnREAL foreshadowed an impending war between manipulative producer frenemies Quinn and Rachel, but in real life, stars Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby are BFFs. They sat down with Us Weekly Video correspondent Christina Garibaldi and Us Weekly Video Executive Producer Kim Rittberg for our UnREAL panel to dish about Quinn’s new love interest, Appleby’s directing debut and their Mommy Dearest mother-daughter relationship.
Plus, Zimmer tells Us Weekly Video about why she turned down the role of sharp-tongued executive producer Quinn and who inspired her portrayal!
In the video above, Zimmer spills about the introduction of her newest love interest, played by Ioan Gruffudd, who is the complete opposite of her ex-boyfriend Chet (Craig Bierko). Expect Gruffudd’s powerful network owner character to appear in UnREAL’s sixth episode, which was directed by Appleby.
“I got to direct their first romantic scene,” says Appleby, joking that she couldn’t stop giggling as she showed them how to position themselves. Appleby loved showing off Quinn’s softer side.
Both stars of UnREAL, which is about a reality TV dating show, admit that they have a difficult time differentiating between the cast and the real crew.
Zimmer also shares why she initially turned down the role of Quinn multiple times. The pilot was shot in Atlanta years before its 2015 premiere, and Zimmer was hesitant to move: “I said, ‘I don’t want to move to Atlanta.’ I didn’t even open the script. I didn’t even read it.”
But Zimmer couldn’t say no once she met with UnREAL‘s co-creators, Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro. They pitched Lifetime’s rebrand, and that swayed her.
For more from Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby about what to expect during UnREAL’s second season and how “completely codependent” their characters are, watch the video above!
UnREAL airs on Lifetime Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.
