Lifetime has released the first four episodes of its new drama UnREAL on its web site, making them free for anybody to stream. The show, which takes place on the set of a reality program clearly modeled on The Bachelor, stars Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer as TV producers threading the ethical and financial lines between TV trash and treasure.
Okay, we know, we know: Lifetime?! Seriously? We’re trying to pitch you on a Lifetime drama? You don’t even own a reality TV, and you only watched The Bachelorette that one time because Amy Schumer was on. But here’s the thing: Despite using up three TV show’s worth of capital letters with its title, UnREAL is apparently pretty great, with critics— including The A.V. Club’s own Joshua Alston and Alan Sepinwall of HitFix—giving the soap strong reviews. So we’re just going to leave the link to the show’s first four episodes—including three that haven’t aired yet on TV—right here, and walk away. Nobody’s watching to see if you click them, check it out, and get hooked. Nobody’ll know.