The ladies of UnREAL are back in business with a trailer and February release date for the show's third season. The Lifetime drama was renewed for a third and fourth season despite its rocky sophomore run. And despite the 2018 release date for season 3, production for the fourth season is currently underway in Vancouver according to star Constance Zimmer.

UnREAL takes place behinds the scenes of a Bachelor-type reality dating show called Everlasting. Ruthless executive producer Quinn (Zimmer) and her protégé Rachel (Shiri Appleby) will do anything to get ratings - including manipulating each other and the contestants, staging fake emergencies, and going behind each other's backs to get power. The show focuses not only on the drama behind the scenes of this fake reality show, but also on the increasingly dangerous and co-dependant relationship between the two women. UnREAL is based partly on one of the show's creators Sarah Gertrude Shapiro's time working on The Bachelor in the 2000's. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer producer Marti Noxon is the show's other creator and producer.)

Related: UnREAL Season 4 Has Already Been Ordered

Lifetime released the season 3 trailer for UnREAL giving the first look at Caitlin Fitzgerald (Masters of Sex) as Everlasting's first "suitress," Serena. It seems that she may be a little more difficult for Quinn and Rachel to control than the past male suitors. The trailer features plenty of shirtlessness, Chet (Craig Bierko) getting into a fight (classic), and drama involving a man bun. The trailer also reveals that the show will return on February 26.

Rachel and Quinn sitting outside together on Unreal

According to Deadline, the third season of UnREAL will feature a number of female directors including the show's own stars. This will be Zimmer's directorial debut (Appleby directed the episode "Casualty" last season). Other directors include Gertrude Shapiro, Hanelle M. Culpepper (Empire), and Sheree Folkson (Doctor Who). It is nice to see a show that focuses on women in Hollywood actually hire women behind the camera to tell these stories. It is a trend started by Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar and repeated by Netflix and Marvel for the second season of Jessica Jones.

UnREAL gained critical acclaim in its first season for its portrayal of reality television and the people who make it. The show takes an unflinching look at mental health, female friendships, and modern romance. The second season had mixed reviews for how it handled more serious conversations around race and police brutality. Hopefully season 3 can see UnREAL return to the quality of season 1, while still managing to be full of fun drama and complex characters.

Next: UnREAL Season 3 Delayed Until 2018

UnREAL season 3 premieres on Monday February 26th at 10pm on Lifetime.

Source: Lifetime