UnREAL: Watch the Short Film That Inspired The Show

Before UnReal was UnReal, it was a little known short film called Sequin Raze directed by show co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, and now the film has been made available online for free for the first time.

Based on Shapiro's experience working on The Bachelor, Sequin Raze starred Ashley Williams (producer Rebecca Goldberg), Anna Camp (show contestant Jessica) and Frances Conroy (psychiatrist Dr. Wagerstein). It follows the events of this film's version of Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) as she manipulates a contestant on the final night of the competition after receiving inside information from the show's therapist.

How UnREAL became the most political show on TV.

After recieving critical acclaim on the festival circuit, the film eventually made its way to Lifetime, where Shapiro was teamed up with writer Marti Noxon to write a pilot based on it. The rest is history.

UnReal premieres tonight at 10/9c on Lifetime.