UnReal
reality television feature article in progress; What's real,
what's not, and what's up to your interpretation
UnReal
reality television feature article in progress; What's
real, what's not, and what's up to your interpretation
Real
big business, ratings and impact of reality television
in society, by Greg Tingle
Draft
article. RAW and unedited
Stan
streaming down under in Australia cashing in via ongoing
fascination with watching others lives unfold via
the box; Behind the scenes of television adds much
needed depth to reality genre
It's
time for Season 3 of Stan (Lifetime in the U.S.) hit
UnReal. Some television consumers cheers, others cringe,
but likely most will be watching.
Just
face it, some television shows, just like news stories,
and too hard to look away.
Since
the invention or begging on reality television (before
it was even referred to as such), there's been a strong
interest from the public.
One
may agree that documentaries are a version of the
reality genre. Some more real than not, some more
staged than not. There's a difference between say
An Alby Mangels, The Leyland Bothers, and the late,
great 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin... R.I.P. Sometimes
the situation is more real when the cameras are not
rolling.
Some
forms of entertainment, be it television, movies or
sport are just made for reality television and for
a behind the scenes expose. Even the pseudo sport
of professional wrestling, often refereed to as "sports
entertainment', has cased in on the reality programming
with shows being produced such as 'Tough Enough' and
'Ride Along', which are both available on the WWE
Network.
The
television consuming public often wonders how real
reality based television shows are, and UnReal certainly
fills a void and shines a blowtorch on the situation.
In
my decade plus in and around the media inc television
sector, I've been on both sides of the camera, and
let me tell you that the strangest things can happen
on set, and backstage. Talent is often unpredictable
and we have all heard stories of some bring prima
donnas. I've even had to diffuse a fight on set. Another
time a couple of street kids ran into the studio while
we were taping (gee I wound like to know what happened
to that tape). That happened on 'Joy's World aka 'Around
The World With Joy';, of which the late Joy Hruby
OAM was the producer.
My
firm did the international publicity campaign for
U.S. Based Entrepreneurs, which was a low budget version
of 'The Apprentice', with more of a 'Branson's Big
Adventure' edge. Just the day to day project management
of things, let alone people, was extremely demands
to say the least. In some ways it's a lot of fun being
part of these shows and in other ways it's enough
to put you off watching television for life!
Some
reality television shows gave me the genre a mixed
reputation in the early days of the genre. Think Jerry
Springer for example. Feuds and dirty laundry are
not only exhibited to a studio audience of hundreds
of people, but are filmed and broadcast out to the
world! That could be very embarrassing.
For
the most part reality shows are entertaining and fortunately
producers had to lift them game in terms of quality,
production and overall finished product, as the battle
for hearts, minds, wallets, advertising, social media
scores et al plays out around the clock.
Part
of the secret is producing a show which is interesting,
gets viewers, doesn't cause any or much social harm
and is sustainable. Fortunately for our friends at
Lifetime / Stan Australia, UnReal seems to tick most
of these boxes. We are about to indulge in a binge
session of UnReal in preparation for a media campaign
and the early indications are that we're going to
both enjoy and respect their brand of reality. Heck,
maybe we could be tempted to appear in some sort of
official basis, and perhaps try out for next season.
Or, maybe the powers that be would like us to continue
on some gonzo journalism scribblings on the subject,
and look to place us in some sort of perfect role.
I'm sure there's views and money in it folks if you
meditate on it.
We're
going to give UnReal the thumbs up. Why? Because the
show doesn't suck, and is actually quite good. 2.
Because we're interested in working with Stan Australia
and UnReal in a closer capacity. At least we make
the disclosure as some media agencies wouldn't.
To
be continued...
More
info:
Stan
is an Australian streaming company which offers selected
movies and TV shows by subscription. It launched on
26 January 2015.
Stan
is owned by StreamCo, which is a joint venture of
Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media. In August
2014, each company invested AU$50 million in StreamCo.
It competes primarily against the American-based streaming
services Netflix and Amazon Video.
Unreal
is an American drama television series that premiered
on Lifetime on June 1, 2015 It stars Shiri Appleby
as a young reality television producer pushed by her
unscrupulous boss (Constance Zimmer) to swallow her
integrity and do anything it takes to drum up salacious
show content. The show was created by Marti Noxon
and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, and was inspired by Shapiro's
award-winning independent short film Sequin Raze.
Unreal
has received critical acclaim, and was picked up for
a second season in July 2015. The second season premiered
on June 6, 2016. On June 2, 2016, the series was renewed
for a third season which will premiere on February
27th, 2018 almost 2 years after the last season finale.
On July 28, 2017, it was announced that Unreal has
been renewed for a fourth season made with 8 episodes
instead of the usual 10 (Wikipedia)
UnREAL
Season 3 (OFFICIAL TRAILER) | Brand new season premieres
February 27, only on Stan.
Stan
Australia
Published on 8 Jan 2018
Set against the backdrop of the hit dating show Everlasting,
UnREAL is led by flawed heroine Rachel Goldberg (Shiri
Appleby), a young producer whose sole job is to manipulate
contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous
footage that the program's executive producer, Quinn
King (Constance Zimmer), demands.
Season
3 Premieres February 27, same day as the U.S. only
on Stan.
