UnReal

:

Season 2
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 72 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 72
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 72
  3. Negative: 11 out of 72
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Review this tv show

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling

User Reviews

view
per page
  1. Laj
    Nov 6, 2016
    3
    I wanted to love it. I really really did. Season 1 was, at least at the beginning, great. Sadly season 2 became for me very old, very quickly. The show itself soon became bereft of ideas, and so the same old hackneyed story arcs were written in with the predictable romances etc.

    Talk about painting by numbers. 3/10 for a good idea in Season 1, poorly maintained into a second season. I    I wanted to love it. I really really did. Season 1 was, at least at the beginning, great. Sadly season 2 became for me very old, very quickly. The show itself soon became bereft of ideas, and so the same old hackneyed story arcs were written in with the predictable romances etc.

    Talk about painting by numbers. 3/10 for a good idea in Season 1, poorly maintained into a second season. I bet there will be no third season.

    Mild dislike with more boredom.    … Expand
  2. AljosaO
    Sep 11, 2016
    9
    Starting the season, we quickly notice that things have changed. Madison in the new Rachel, Rachel is the new Quinn and Quinn is the new Chet. Could that last? No! And it doesn't. At first presented obstacle everything crumbles and everybody is back in their season 1 position. That obviously means more drama, more quarrels and more frustration for the characters.
    Rachel is still    Starting the season, we quickly notice that things have changed. Madison in the new Rachel, Rachel is the new Quinn and Quinn is the new Chet. Could that last? No! And it doesn't. At first presented obstacle everything crumbles and everybody is back in their season 1 position. That obviously means more drama, more quarrels and more frustration for the characters.
    Rachel is still struggling with her mental illness, which has its roots in her early childhood. She still hasn't processed last season's issues (Adam, Jeremy) so when new problems emerge upon her, she collapses. We see her in her most vulnerable moments, and Appleby gave us an award-winning dazzling performance, which is greatly underrated. In the same moment she can charm us with her over-confidence and seductiveness but deep in her eyes we can see her pain and trauma.

    We also got to know Quinn deeper, which was a welcome change. She transformed from an one ? dimensional »angry cunning boss« character to an actual human person, who loves and can be loved. Her love interest this season was pretty dull and unoriginal, since they had already used a rich, thick accent guy last year on Rachel. He served as a pretty good plot device, but they could deliver that storyline much better.

    The main subject of the second season was obviously an always ongoing war, on and off - set. But who against whom? Characters changed their opinions and sides so fast that we didn't have time to breathe.

    By the end, when the story has crystallized, it was Coleman and Yael vs. Quinn, Rachel and Chet. The only trouble (it is not necessarily trouble) is that we cannot automatically root for Team Everlasting. They are doing horrible things for god's sake! But as the season progressed, the writers intentionally atributed Coleman with all that negativity so they diverted our anger from Quinn towards him. Season 2 also dealt with more delicate themes like police brutality, mental illness and racism, which was more then welcome, so we can view Unreal not just as a primetime soap, but also as a real, important series in peak TV era.

    I wonder: Is this how it is? Are producers vile people who would do anything for an hour of »good« TV? Would they kill and humiliate?. Is it worth it? Is Unreal a show that opens our eyes and stops us from watching reality TV? Or does it address its viewers and convinces us into watching more reality TV? It impacts us in one way or another.

    By the end of the finale it seems that one battle is over. But another one, bigger than ever, is just emerging. Nobody won. They all lost. Well, except our suitor. And the viewers. The first one got true love. And we? A crazy 10-episode gut wrenching, brilliant season.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best TV Season of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Gail Pennington
    Jun 6, 2016
    100
    Often uncomfortable to watch, sometimes hilarious soap opera, UnREAL is also both intelligent and thought-provoking, one of TV's smartest and most cynical shows.
    Read full review
  2. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Megan Garber
    Jun 6, 2016
    80
    UnREAL’s early episodes leave those questions [Will Ruby and Rachel team up to make Everlasting a show that is about more than performative romance? Or will one betray the other? Will Ruby be ruined by reality TV, as so many before her have ... or will she harness the power of “reality” to improve reality?] tantalizingly open, with characters, and its plots, that are elastic and complicated enough to accommodate many possibilities.
    Read full review
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Jun 6, 2016
    90
    UnREAL remains one of TV’s most sharp-minded and -tongued escapes, a heart-shaped box full of chocolate and razor blades.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »