Genevieve Buechner Talks ‘UnREAL’ and ‘The 100’ [Exclusive Interview]

Genevieve Buechner is always excited to see the next script for Lifetime’s UnREAL, and can you blame her? Buechner plays Madison on the show, a young producer who is learning to do whatever it takes to be successful.

I recently had the chance to chat with Buechner about her role on UnREAL, reality television, and what it was like to work on The CW’s The 100.

One of the reasons Buechner believes UnREAL has been so successful is that it is “oddly relatable.”

“Everyone at some point in their life has, you know, behaved manipulatively and has probably felt bad about it,” Buechner said. “Even if you’re not as crazy as these characters, there’s stuff that you can see about people you know or people you’ve worked with, and everyone has worked in a stressful environment at some point. And it’s an extremely stressful environment to work in, so I think people can really pull from that.”

UnREAL is also a unique concept, as it follows the production of a fictional reality series much like The Bachelor. “It’s about something we haven’t really seen: the behind the scenes of reality. Reality TV is such a big thing right now. It’s huge. Everyone watches reality TV.”

As for the kinds of reality TV that Buechner enjoys, there’s just one show in particular that she follows.

“The only reality TV that I actually properly watch is RuPaul’s Drag Race. Because I think it’s super fun. I think the people on that show are so creative and interesting, and I don’t even watch it for the drama or the bickering. I just love seeing what these people make. I think it’s a really important show, especially in a time right now where there’s so many people, you know, stuck on what’s okay for anything to do with the LGBTQ community.”

For Buechner, working UnREAL has been a pretty incredible experience. “It’s been really exciting. I’m a huge fan of the show even if I wasn’t in the show, because I think it’s so clever. I think it’s so funny. Every time I get a new script, I’m super excited because I have no idea where it’s gonna go.”

“I didn’t know if Madison was coming back or not. I was totally unsure, and then I got the call saying I was coming back, and I was super pumped,” Buechner continued.

“I was really happy to see that she was a producer, and of course, they were gonna be hard on her because the way she [got promoted] was probably not Quinn’s favorite,” she laughed.

On UnREAL Season 2 Episode 1, Madison proves she’ll do whatever it takes in a powerful scene where she’s forced to ask a contestant some difficult questions. She cries as she forces herself to go through with it, then she vomits. Her reaction after it’s over (and after puking) is simply, “that’s awesome.”

Buechner talked specifically about what it was like to film that scene, which gave her a pretty clear indication of the direction her character would go this season.

“That was the first scene I did for all of Season 2. That was my first day [laughs]. So I looked at the call sheet and I was like, oh boy, we’re jumping right in! Okay!” Buechner said.

“Of course, it’s a little challenging to pull yourself to that place. But at the same time, the writing is so good, and it is so scary having someone speaking in your ear and saying such dark, horrible things that you know are gonna hurt someone.”

In that scene, Madison is interviewing Chantal about her fiancé, who was killed in a car crash. “Meagan [Tandy], her face when she’s sad is just heartbreaking. So again, it was just really easy to work off of her, and then the switch at the end was just so fun,” she explained.

“I think they did such a good job of keeping all the characters individual,” Buechner continued. “They’re doing a good job of balancing everything. There are so many characters.”

Of all the contestants on the show this season, Buechner admitted to having one favorite. “I do love Ruby,” she laughed. “I think the whole dynamic between Ruby and Beth Ann is really funny, and they are both so talented. Everyone is so talented.”

Though UnREAL can get surprisingly dark, it also has plenty of humor. “It’s so hard to keep a straight face sometimes with all of Quinn’s little quips and behaviors. And it’s still dark, and it’s still upsetting at times,” Buechner said. “UnREAL makes me laugh pretty hard sometimes. And sometimes I feel bad for what I’m laughing at.”

While Buechner didn’t give away too many details, she did give a few clues about what we can expect from the remainder of the season.

“I think just based on the beginning, you kind of get a taste of how dark it’s gonna be, and how a lot of people are going to go through some emotional struggles. It’s going to be challenging. And there are introductions of new characters, so you have to watch out for how these people are going to affect the main cast. There are new people coming in and kind of taking over the show.”

Buechner also played Fox on The 100, which was quite a different experience from working on UnREAL.

“We got to do a lot of stunt stuff. We worked with a lot of stunt coordinators, which is always really fun. I love that side of it. I think it’s super fascinating, and whenever I can get away with doing my own stunts, I do. I just love that whole world. I love the stunt performers; I think they’re incredible,” she explained.

“I was very honored to be able to work on The 100 as long as I did, especially how quickly people generally die on that show [laughs]. I was very grateful to make it as long as I did,” Buechner said.

“I’m not too scared of Madison dying, whereas on The 100, it was like every script was like– do I die? Am I gonna die next?!”

Be sure to catch Genevieve Buechner on UnReal, airing Mondays at 10/9c on Lifetime.

Featured image credit: Kyla Hemmelgarn

Save