BACK TO REALITY
An ‘ UnREAL’ return after 18 months
AFTER her Season 3 stint on “UnREAL,” don’t expect to see Caitlin FitzGerald appear on a show like “The Bachelor” or “The
Bachelorette,” which get a fictional behind-the-scenes skewering on the Lifetime drama, back after an 18-month hiatus.
“No, never. Not ever. No, no, no. I’ve had a peek behind the curtain. Under no circumstances. No,” FitzGerald says. “The idea of that level of your baggage being aired in front of the world is just inconceivable to me — nightmarish, in fact.”
In Monday’s season premiere, FitzGerald portrays Serena, a career-driven entrepreneur dubbed the “Female Elon Musk” who joins faux dating competition “Everlasting” as its first female “suitress,” looking for love among dozens of photogenic guys. In true “UnREAL” form, Serena’s desire to control her own destiny will be thwarted by the “Everlasting” crew.
“Serena is very accustomed to orchestrating the world according to her role and comes onto the show believing that will be possible — poor, naive woman that she is — and has to confront a lot of her own demons,” says FitzGerald, who declines to reveal her current relationship status.
But the actress is no stranger to complicated characters. She’ll play
a waitress named Simone in the Starz series “Sweetbitter,” premiering May 6, and she formerly co-starred as sex researcher Dr. William Masters’ (Michael Sheen) first wife, Libby, in Showtime’s “Masters of Sex.”
“Libby Masters is sort of the feminist grandmother of Serena,” she says. “In the last episode of ‘Masters,’ we find Libby driving off in a VW van to California to study law, leaving behind a romance. She no longer wants to orient her life around a man. Libby Masters paved the way for women like Serena who are really tough, really smart, really successful.”
Yet when Serena does try to make room for love, she must engage in “a real battle of wills” with producer Rachel (Shiri Appleby) and her ballsy boss Quinn (Constance Zimmer). “There’s a whole storyline throughout the season about [whether] a woman as successful as Serena needs to make herself smaller or dumb herself down to not intimidate a potential suitor,” she says. “Quinn and Rachel know a thing or two about that, so I think they’re compatible adversaries.”
As they did in the first two seasons, Rachel, Quinn and the crew will stir up drama. But their actions — and consequences — won’t be as questionable as they were last season, says FitzGerald. “UnREAL” was notably panned for a plot that had Rachel calling police to report that the show’s AfricanAmerican suitor had stolen a car — and rolling the cameras as he’s pulled over and handcuffed and his passenger shot by a responding cop.
“Season 2 had some problems. And I commend the writers for trying to take on a tough topic — race and police brutality, something that was certainly in the zeitgeist at the time,” FitzGerald says. “But Season 3 is a return to form. What was so delicious about the first season was this marriage of ridiculousness and real humor and darkness. We’ve really come back to that.”
The return to humor includes attitude and zingers tossed out by Zimmer, whom FitzGerald calls “lovely and sweet” and the “polar opposite” of Quinn. “The first scene we did together she became this monster all of a sudden. She said my face just kind of went into shock,” FitzGerald says. “Afterwards she said, ‘Oh, yeah, that happens. When I turn on Quinn, people get really surprised.’
“It takes a little getting used to; it’s terrifying.”
“It’s a real feat. As someone who’s half JK’s age — and I was exhausted — I can’t imagine how he did it.” —“Counterpart” creator Justin Marks on series star JK Simmons (left), who plays identical characters on the Starz drama