Shiri Appleby dished to ET about UnREAL's significance and why she doesn't feel bad if the show ruffles the feathers of The Bachelor producers.
Shiri Appleby dished to ET about UnREAL's significance and why she doesn't feel bad if the show ruffles the feathers of The Bachelor producers.
The scripted Lifetime drama offers a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a fictional dating competition program, which is rumored to have upset some of the people behind The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
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"They're doing fine," Appleby told ET. "The show's been on for 20 seasons. They've got like 16 million viewers watching. My heart is not breaking for them."
Appleby plays a producer who goes to the extreme to manipulate contestants and pit them against each other for the sake of TV ratings, but she told ET the show's storylines aren't necessarily specific to The Bachelor franchises.
"I think we pulled the veil back on reality television just in terms of how are these shows produced," Appleby said. "My intention was not to go out there and do some sort of expose and take this huge ABC franchise down. I enjoy The Bachelor."
Appleby revealed that there have been unintended consequences from the role as well. In addition to the pressure of the job, Appleby's character, Rachel, also battles mental health issues, made worse by stress in the workplace.
WATCH: 'UnREAL' Stars Tease Rachel and Quinn's 'Dark and Dangerous' Relationship
"We finished shooting six weeks ago and I feel like I'm just coming out of it," she said. "I mean my character was thrown into a psych ward. There's no way for it not to take its toll."
Despite the hiatus, Appleby hasn't been able to completely unwind, as she has two small children to look after -- 3-year-old daughter Natalie and 7-month-old son Owen. Her youngest was only 2-months-old when she began shooting the latest season, which required Appleby to pull double duty on set.
"The director on set came up with a code for me for breast feeding," Appleby said, explaining that they had secret terms that would signal when she needed to breast pump. "It was like, "Ten 27! I'll be back in 15,' because talking about breastfeeding on set surrounded by all these men ... we don't want to know what's going on."
There's only one episode left until the season finale and with all the outrageous plot twists that have already occurred, we asked Appleby how the show could possibly top itself in a third season.
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"In Hollywood, we like to call it a W.P." Appleby said coyly. "It's a Writer Problem. I really have no idea where this show goes. I'm going to call the writers right after this and see what they've got cooking for season three."
UnREAL airs Mondays on Lifetime.