UnReal is changing homes here in the UK.
Amazon Prime Video has poached the UK rights to the series, which previously aired on Lifetime UK, in a deal with international distributor A+E Studios International, TVWise has learned.
Under the terms of Amazon’s deal, the entire ten episode first season and the first episode of the show’s second season will be available to stream for Amazon Prime members as of today; while new episodes from season two will be added every Tuesday, less than 24 hours after they air on Lifetime in the United States. Lifetime recently renewed UnReal for a third season, slated for 2017.
UnREAL is set against the backdrop of the hit dating competition show Everlasting and follows Rachel Goldberg, a young producer whose sole job is to manipulate her relationships with and among the contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous footage that the program’s dispassionate executive producer, Quinn King, demands. The series was created by Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro and stars Constance Zimmer (Entourage), Shiri Appleby (Girls), Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (Fairly Legal), Josh Kelly (One Life To Live) and B.J. Britt (Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
This deal is another sign of Amazon increasing appetite for exclusive scripted content for their UK service. The streaming service has been aggressive in pursuing first window rights on a number of U.S. dramas, but this marks the first time that they have wrestled the rights to a drama series from an existing UK broadcaster. UnReal joins a slate of UK exclusives at Amazon that also includes Outlander, Mr Robot and recent acquisition Preacher.
“We’re pleased to be able to bring this celebrated show to Amazon Prime members in the UK and Germany,” said Jay Marine, Vice-President of Amazon Prime Video EU. “Joining Golden Globe winners like Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent; the forthcoming Clarkson, Hammond and May show, The Grand Tour; Mr Robot, Outlander and many others, UnREAL is a great addition to our line-up of TV shows you can’t watch anywhere else.”
