His job was to take the heat off Eisenberg's Lex Luthor.

Or have the network bring Adam back after Darius is shot when the show is in crisis.

It also poisons the well if they wanted to do a Suitoress next season because Tiffany would've been the obvious choice.

Why weren't Coleman and Yael in on it from the beginning? It's both easier and better, particularly if you're going to have the silly twist that Coleman was a complete fraud.

All of the above. I also think that all the critical praise caused everyone to feel the show must tackle "important" issues. And even if showrunner for one of the Blood & Oil writing rooms isn't the greatest calling card, losing Elizabeth Benjamin probably hurt too.

There were hints on the edges of the intelligently cynical unReal like the audience coming out of last season's finale on Adam side, and that Ruby was ratings death. The show was so desperate to be "more than" a reality TV satire that it became less than one.

It's called "The Flow." I can't wait for the trend to die.

Why does Katana go into the bar with the villains?

There is a fair bit of negative PR, particularly in TV which makes sense because it's somewhat a zero sum game. I wouldn't be surprised if some negative payola happens from time to time, but you're right that it's likely rare and part of a specific strategy.

They did a survey of American expats about what non-family/friend things they missed about the USA and peanut butter was #1.

Like a lot of this season, I like where we got (mostly) just not how we got there. The secondary characters, never a strength of the show, are a complete mess. I dare you to explain Coleman's motivations on a scene by scene basis because his actions toggle between genuinely caring about Rachel to only his career just…

I hope he's revealed to be a distant cousin of Lennie Briscoe and joins the cast permanently.

I think the show is fine in The New Ratings Landscape. The risk is that it'll be limited to one hour episodes, and the After Show is a goner.

I actually liked it quite a bit. It's not groundbreaking, but it's the kind of (mostly) intelligent, original thriller that everyone says they want. The positive messaging at the end grates and there's some plotting issues, but I found the storyline engaging and it's quite possibly the first time I've seen what the…

It says all you need to know about Roadies that he's one of its best parts.

If Blaine Gabbert wanted to be The Bachelor, ABC would have an orgasm.

I agree that the second scenario is a real possibility. I just worry about the show's execution of "discredit" given that Fake Mom has shown up this year. IMO, the better twist would've been if Coleman/Yael were in on this from jump street.

The bigger issue for me is how did Coleman immediately know that Rachel's mother is bad news. Adam's response to letting Rachel's psychiatrist mother run the show would, in most circumstances, be normal. Although the reality is I think we're running into the issue of unReal's budget regarding Freddie Stroma.

His stats are probably comparable to Jesse Palmer's. But no wonder he desperately wants to be an announcer.

Some individual aspects are great, but together it doesn't work. It's a show which would be dramatically better if it got rid of its main characters (Bill and Shelli) which is painful to write because I love Carla Gugino.