“UnREAL” has a new captain steering the ship. The Emmy-nominated Lifetime series has hired a new showrunner for its third season, which begins production in February, 2017. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Stacy Rukeyser, an executive producer who has worked on the show since the beginning, will take over the role. The position was formerly held by Carol Barbee, who is no longer working on the series.
The Peabody Award-winning drama takes place behind the scenes of “Everlasting,” a reality dating show that takes clear inspiration from ABC’s “The Bachelor.” “UnREAL” was created by Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Mad Men”) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro (“Sequin Raze”), the latter of whom worked as a producer on “The Bachelor.” Noxon and Shapiro served as showrunners on Season 1.
“UnREAL” stars Shiri Appleby (“Roswell”) as a long-time producer who excels at her job, but hates herself for doing it — the avowed feminist makes a living exploiting and manipulating other women. Constance Zimmer (“Entourage) plays her ambitious, ratings-driven boss. Zimmer received an Emmy nomination this year for her supporting role on the series, and Noxon and Shapiro got a nod for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.
THR identifies Rukeyser as Noxon’s “very first hire on the show.” Season 2 of “UnREAL” was widely considered weaker than its critically acclaimed first season, due in part to its sophomore season featuring too many storylines. Rukeyser discussed her new gig with THR in an in-depth interview and shared that “she plans to pull back on shocking plots and refocus the third season on the characters’ emotional journeys.”
“I’ve been with ‘UnREAL’ from the very first episode, and working on it has been honestly one of the best creative experiences of my life,” the newly appointed showrunner said. “To get a chance to write truthfully about these complicated, damaged women who are full of contradictions and ambition — as we all are — has really been a dream come true for me.”
Check out the full interview over at THR. “UnREAL” Season 3 will premiere in summer 2017.
