History Series / Unreal2015

* CaliforniaDoubling: The Golden State and all the other US states visited on the show are played by Canada - specifically Vancouver, B.C. [[spoiler: As is England in "Future," for the big wedding finale.]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms: See "Book Ends" above.

* WhatAnIdiot: Madison coming to Quinn and Rachel for help after Beth-Ann has supposedly locked herself in the bathroom. When Rachel shows up, it turns out Madison didn't even bother trying to turn the door-handle first, earning this insult word-for-word from Rachel.

* TokenMinority: When Shamiqua, a black contestant, is the first to emerge from a limo Quinn is outraged, since the first contestant is supposed to be one of the real contenders and the black contestant will be eliminated within a couple of episodes. After Shamiqua survives the first elimination the crew laughs about how she'll be leaving in a couple of episodes anyway. Later Jay, a producer who is also black, takes the two black contestants aside and explains to them that they'll have to play up the [[AngryBlackMan Angry Black Woman]] stereotype in order to stick around on the show. Shamiqua scornfully refuses but Athena is eager to cooperate. [[spoiler: Ironically, [[GoneHorriblyWrong Athena goes home first]]]].

* JustFollowingOrders: An underlying theme of the show. The network and its higher-ups want ratings and don't really care how they're obtained, which contributes to Chet and Quinn's often-reprehensible methods of making "good TV". In addition to her general berating and producers only having a job in the season so long as "their girls" are in the race, she even offers cash bonuses for particularly juicy footage to encourage a dog-eat-dog mentality. This largely contributes to Shia's decision to take things UpToEleven with one of her girls in the first season's climax, and her attempt to justify her actions after things have gone sideways is just short of saying she was "just following orders".

* AbsenteeActor: Several actors are listed for episodes they don't appear in, like Creator/NathalieKelley (Grace), missing from "Fly" and "Wife." Some cast members continue to be credited even after their characters come to an end of their roles on the current season of ''Everlasting'' [[spoiler: (most notably Breeda Wool, who's billed on all ten episodes in spite of her character Faith being eliminated in the penultimate episode of season one). Notably averted with Ashley Scott as Mary - after Mary commits suicide, Scott's name vanishes from the credits]].

* LesYay: The [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship friendship]] between Rachel & Quinn plays this up sometimes -- Rachel is the only person that IceQueen Quinn actively wants to be around, as well as Quinn telling Rachel that she loves her and she's perfect, though she has claimed to be allergic to feeling before.

The first season's edition of ''Everlasting'' involves the standard-issue square-jawed hunk, in the form of Adam (Freddie Stroma), a 29-year-old British hotelier, who is appearing on ''Everlasting'' despite his better instincts in an effort to drum up publicity for his Napa Valley resort. Contestants on this season of ''Everlasting'' include Brittany, the standard-issue hot blonde with deep psychological issues cast for "the bitch"; Grace, the standard-issue sexy swimsuit model; Faith, the standard-issue shy and pious virgin; Anna, the lawyer struggling with an eating disorder; and Mary, the standard-issue older MILF contestant meant to be dismissed early in the show's run.

* AbsenteeActor: Several actors are listed for episodes they don't appear in, like Nathalie Kelley (Grace), missing from "Fly" and "Wife." Some cast members continue to be credited even after their characters come to an end of their roles on the current season of ''Everlasting'' [[spoiler: (most notably Breeda Wool, who's billed on all ten episodes in spite of her character Faith being eliminated in the penultimate episode of season one). Notably averted with Ashley Scott as Mary - after Mary commits suicide, Scott's name vanishes from the credits]].

* JailBait: Implied with Madison, though her exact age is unknown. [[spoiler: Later exploited by Quinn to try and get Madison to press charges against Chet for harassment after she gave him a blowjob.]]

* XanatosSpeedChess: Every episode shows Quinn and Rachel expertly manipulating everyone around them, from contestants to lovers and even network executives, into doing what they want, treating them all as cogs and moving parts. Often on the fly with a great deal of white lies and reverse psychology thrown in. Very rarely do either of them fail, even in the face of massive curveballs and time constraints thrown at them.

Her skill at manipulating emotionally vulnerable contestants and extracting maximum drama is matched only by her self-loathing at having to do such a soul-killing job. In fact, the shame of having to work on a reality show pushed Rachel into a spectacular breakdown that resulted in her exit from a prior season of ''Everlasting'', and everyone is surprised that she comes back to work in the first season. Her boss Quinn (Creator/ConstanceZimmer) understands that [[Film/ThankYouForSmoking everyone has a mortgage to pay]] and has no such self-image problems, committed to [[RuleOfDrama giving the people what they want]] and producing the best sleazy, trashy reality show possible.

** Mary ends "Truth" by dancing in her underwear, saying "Mama's still got it" to herself. Het male/lesbian viewers who remember ''Film/IntoTheBlue'' or ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002'' (Mary is played by Ashley Scott) are likely to agree.

''Everlasting'' - sorry, ''[=UnREAL=]'' - then returned for another season in 2016, in spite of ''The Bachelor'' host Chris Harrison [[http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/chris-harrison-bachelor-unreal-lifetime-1201549641/ not being a fan]] ("[[TakeThat ...the main difference that I’ve seen is that people watch]] ''[[TakeThat The Bachelor]]''"). In what may be a {{Take That|TitForTat}} to ''The Bachelor'', the second season's [[strike:bachelor]] suitor is African-American (something which didn't until ''2020''.). The second season's ''Everlasting'' features NFL quarterback Darius (Creator/BJBritt)[[spoiler:desperately in need of back surgery, and technically unable to play]] with prospective "wifeys" being Tiffany, the entitled daughter of an NFL team owner; Yael, a.k.a. "Hot Rachel", who [[spoiler:strikes up a relationship with both Jeremy ''and'' Rachel's new boyfriend-cum-midseason-showrunner Coleman, as well as being a reporter in disguise]]; Chantal, a half-black contestant with a dead fiancé; Ruby, the "blacktivist" who is intended to be set against fellow contestant Beth-Ann, a confederate-flag-bikini-wearing Alabama ranch sweetheart [[spoiler:who ends up leaving the show pregnant with her ex's child]]. Madison has also become a producer following Shia's departure, Quinn tries to find love, and the past comes back to haunt everyone (but especially Rachel).