5 Ways to Get UnREAL Back on Track

Lifetime's UnREAL, which follows the behind-the-scenes drama of a reality dating competition, began its second season in June full of promise.

The speed with which UnREAL burns through storylines -- which helped give the first season its addicting edge -- now makes every twist feel cheap and unearned.

The show's desire to subvert tropes has been lost in the din of clichés: a Men's Rights Activist abusing his ex-girlfriend because she doesn't love him anymore, a sexy journalist who will screw over (or just plain screw) anyone to get a story, an agressive career woman realizing she actually does want kids after meeting Mr. Right, to name a few.

[...] while that fictional series never actually came to fruition, UnREAL is in desperate need of a fresh twist -- and we have a few suggestions.

After two years about Everlasting,with one man choosing between a dozen women, UnREAL could give us a female suitor or even do their own version of Bachelor in Paradise or Bachelor Pad.

Either of the latter options would be a lot of fun since it would give UnREAL an excuse to bring back fan-favorite characters from the first two seasons, in addition to introducing previously unseen former contestants.

[...] not only does Darius cope with his cousin's shooting almost entirely off-screen, he makes what is likely the hardest decision of his life when he gets the back surgery that ultimately ends his football career -- also off-screen!

Rather than use this as an opportunity to comment about what it means to be black in America, it feels as though UnREAL isexploiting the topic for surface-level drama that ultimately focuses on how a black man getting shot by police affects a white woman's mental well-being.

Creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro has been very vocal about how nervous she was to make a season about race as a white woman, and it's unfortunate to watch her good intentions go so awry.