The streaming service distributed the series exclusively as a "Hulu Original" in the United States for a set period of time before the episodes aired on Lifetime.

With a reputation to rebuild and executive producer Quinn King breathing down her neck, Rachel must pull out all the stops in what she does best: manipulating the contestants to create the outrageous drama that viewers expect.

On July 30, 2013, Lifetime placed a pilot order on Unreal, inspired by Sarah Gertrude Shapiro's award-winning independent short film Sequin Raze.

[21] The second season continued to feature the fictional show, Everlasting, with Quinn and Rachel returning as main characters.

Ashley Scott was later cast in the role of Mary, the single mother of a 4-year-old daughter who joins the series hoping to find love.

[28] On July 22, 2014, it was announced that Craig Bierko has been cast as a character named Chet, who is the reality dating show's creator.

The streaming service would distribute the series exclusively as a "Hulu Original" in the United States for a set period of time before the episodes are to air on Lifetime.

[37] Unreal is set behind the scenes of Everlasting, a fictional reality dating series operating similarly to The Bachelor.

[2][18] Dalene Rovenstine of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "UnREAL has comic moments, but is also twisty and dark in a way you hope isn't reflected by real-life reality shows.

"[39] Adds Noxon, "We thought uncovering the behind-the-scenes machinations would make great stories, and we wanted to comment on the kind of bully culture of a lot of reality television.

That process of seduction is led by executive producer Quinn King ... a single-minded puppetmaster whose chief henchman is Rachel Goldberg ... a young producer whose task is to cajole, badger and play on the weaknesses of the show's participants to get the footage Quinn demands.

"[39] Caramanica commented: UnREAL doesn't exist just to send up reality television, or to pick at its scabs.

Nor is it primarily a tell-all about the behind-the-scenes hands that shape reality-TV narrative ... Rather, UnREAL uses that access as a tool to ask questions about these sorts of programs: not just about how they operate—savagely, if its stories are to be believed—but also why participants on both sides of the camera subject themselves to them.

The site's consensus states: "The revealing and thought-provoking UnREAL uses reality TV as a suitably soapy springboard for absorbing drama.

The site's consensus states: "Timely and unapologetic, UnReal continues its satirical skewering with newfound fervor.