A behind-the-scenes look at the chaos surrounding the production of a dating competition program.

Let me begin by warning my readers–this is not the typical, family friendly programming that I review on my blog. There is some profanity and sexual situations, so please note that from the outset.  In fact, had it not been for my fierce devotion to one of my favorite actors (Brennan Elliott), I probably would not have watched this show.  And I can say with no hesitation–I would have missed out royally!

Thanks to Brennan’s amazing promotional skills, I have known about this show for quite some time. I watched the promo video, and I knew this would be outside of my comfort zone, but something about it was intriguing. I don’t like The Bachelor (in fact reality shows don’t often sit well with me), so the idea of going behind the scenes truly captured my attention.

Prior to watching this show, the only actor with whom I was familiar was Brennan Elliott. All the others were new to me. While I have only seen the first episode at this point, I believe I have enough information to at least give you a fairly good idea of what you can expect from this show.

Shiri Appleby quickly became one of my favorites on the show. She plays Rachel Goldberg, and the girl is ruthless. Oh, you might look at her character and possibly find her trustworthy. In fact, that’s what her character wants you  to do. It is her job to get exactly what the executive producer wants from the contestants. No, not genuine emotion and stories but sordid and manipulated actions and reactions. Shiri played her part so well that even when she was crude and downright dirty, I have to admit I was still fascinated.

As the unscrupulous executive producer Quinn King, Constance Zimmer plays her role with such effortless authenticity.  Interestingly enough, although Quinn would appear to be one who has no heart, I believe that Constance plays her in such a way to give one a brief look at the conscience she is desperately trying to conceal. It is evident that she is attempting to keep her callous guard up, but towards the end of the first episode, I caught that brief glimpse of her character’s heart. I look forward to seeing more from her and her comrade (Rachel).

At first glance, Freddie Stroma may not appear to fit the role of Adam Cromwell, the British bachelor looking for love. Oh, he has the British accent, but he doesn’t seem nearly as put together as what one might expect from a dating reality show. This is supposed to be “Everlasting,” where all of your dreams are supposed to come true. However, as I watched his depiction of this unwitting character, I realized that the way in which Freddie was playing Adam was more credible than I dreamed. His character is not happy about being on the show, but he has no choice for reasons I won’t state here. The fact that he is not absolutely “perfect” adds that touch of genuineness on which the show relies. After all, Adam wants love, but it’s up to the producers to see that he doesn’t find it as easily as he would like (you’ll understand exactly what I mean when you see what they do to the poor guy in the first show).

Interestingly enough, Brennan Elliott’s character, ‘Host Graham,” only appears in this first episode for about five minutes. Well, of course, since I was initially watching the show because of him, I probably paid more attention to him than I would have otherwise. And in those five minutes, the nuances I was able to discern from his character speaks to just how impeccable he is in his craft. Although he played the perfect and debonair host (actually he’s better-looking than poor “Adam” in my humble opinion), I sensed what might be termed as “ennui” or “polished boredom.” While I cannot guarantee that the rest of the series will prove that I am right, it would appear that Graham is just going through the motions of being a host. He doesn’t enjoy his job and would rather do anything but this. However, it’s a job, and he will meet the demands of the producers even if he doesn’t agree or would rather be doing something more fulfilling.

The fact that I was able to pick up on all these little things from Brennan’s character merely demonstrates what a magnificent actor he is. He does play the most charming host, and when he emcees the show, his presence is commanding enough to demand the attention that should be paid to a host of a reality show like this. Indeed he gives a brilliant performance, and I look forward to seeing more of his character in the rest of the series.

As to the other actors, I am still learning who they are. What I can say is that each actor and actress involved in the show brings something stellar and legitimate to the show. Any show that can cause me to be entertained (and occasionally laugh out loud) by things that I would typically find shocking has to be a pretty awesome show. Indeed I shall never look at reality shows the same way again. I know some people found the show a little too brutally realistic, but for me, it was an eye-opening experience.

For more information:

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/unreal

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