SGS: “We don’t really hold [Quinn] to any standard at all: She’s a fucking terrible mentor, she’s vindictive, crazy, creepy, and competitive — all of the things that people really are. But she’s still the most important person in Rachel’s life...And also, Rachel is kind of a fucking idiot, too. She kind of stabs [Quinn] in the back in a way that’s ridiculous and cruel. They both just make huge mistakes with each other all of the time."

So, does that mean that season 2 is probing forgiveness territory, too?

SGS: [Laughs] “A lot, like a lot. There’s a heartbreaking scene between them, after something happens in Quinn’s life that’s pretty serious. They’re fighting at the time, because there’s been a betrayal and a power struggle — they’re all fighting for the throne. Quinn is running the show and Chet comes back from this Paleolithic lifestyle retreat as a caveman and is like, ‘You’re meant to have babies and be nurtured! Let me take the show back!' and Quinn's like, ‘Go fuck yourself.'

"So, they’re all fighting for power and there’s a moment where a real thing happens in Quinn’s life and Rachel tries to come to her and say, ‘Quinn, I know we’re fighting about work stuff, but are you okay?’ Quinn says: ‘Work stuff? What other stuff is there?’ It’s the fucking meanest thing that she could have ever said to Rachel, because she’s just saying, 'Our relationship doesn’t exist,' which is totally not true. That is the scariest thing for people who are workaholics — who make their whole life work — because they don’t have anybody else.”

Do you think reality shows about falling in love have had any impact on the way we date and seek romance in real life?

CB: "We talk about that [on the show]: We talk about Chet wanting [to create a] legacy. He talks to Quinn and says, 'We’ve brought up these generations of men...'

SGS: "Wimps and bitches.”

CB: "...wimps and bitches who think they should parachute out of diamond-studded helicopters. Women don’t want that. According to Chet, women want a man who can kill with his bare hands."

SGS: “I feel like where it sort of lands with me is that the princess fantasy is bullshit — but so is the Ally McBeal fantasy. I feel like we’ve been sold two lines of bullshit: One is Cinderella. The other is the super-happy career woman who doesn’t need anything except for her work...I think the truth is somewhere in-between. It's really complicated being in a wave of feminism where you can have it all — but lean in! Lean out! Opt in! Opt out! Do the career, but don’t! There are just so many messages about what it is to be a woman. Ultimately, everyone has to decide for themselves what works. Women are just people. Women have to navigate with what actually matters for them.

CB: "Any time you’re fighting your own nature, you’re not going to be happy. You’re not in your power when you’re fighting your own nature. I think sometimes we feel like we have to be ‘Money Dick Power’ [as though that] somehow that makes us bulletproof. It’s just not true. It keeps you vulnerable in a different way."

What informed the decision to cast a Black bachelor on Everlasting this season?

SGS: “We did it for variety of reasons: I feel like it’s one of the most pressing conversations happening in the country right now. When I was doing research on some of the police shootings and violence against Black men, one of the things that came up is the startling similarities between a lot of the testimonies of cops after those shootings. They have a really similar way of describing the unarmed Black men that are approaching them as ‘superhuman’ or ‘animals’ or ‘monsters'. Research [suggests that] Black men only being portrayed a certain way on television — as gangsters or drug dealers or criminals — reinforces this stereotype, so a split-second decision by a young or untrained police officer [means] they’re going to see that person as more threatening. Prince Charming as a Black man felt like a potent, important thing to do."

And what about the bachelor from last season? Is Adam making a comeback?

SGS: "He might be back! The truth is, we feel like their stories didn’t finish — like Rachel and Adam felt like they were not finished. They have more to do together. So yeah, he may make an appearance.”

Any other spoilers you can spill on?

CB: “Both women find love interests and they both start to think that there’s a beautiful life for them outside Everlasting, away from each other. We see them entertain that fantasy — and then, we see what happens with that, because of who they are and what they need. Constance Zimmer was saying that she’s having to play colors in Quinn that she has never had to play before and it’s uncomfortable, but it’s also exciting. She’s trying to find her way within those positive, loving feelings when she’s Quinn and 'How does Quinn handle that?'

[Turning to Shapiro] "And you direct. We have four female directors this season."

SGS: “It’s a huge passion for me: I’ve been a director since I was 16 and it’s one of the most sexist industries on earth. The ratios are worse than underwater welding — I had a better chance of becoming an ice road trucker, literally, than a working female director. I’m serious: They recruit women for ice road trucking and they just don’t want us to direct. So, I directed, Shiri Appleby directed, we had two other women direct. It’s been great to have that energy on set."

Who can we look for in terms of the ladies seeking love?

CB: “Because they’ve chosen the Black bachelor as the suitor, [Quinn and Rachel] have cast women around him in order to get maximum ratings and fireworks. Quinn ends up promising all of these crazy things to the network president to sell it, so Rachel has to go out and find those people. We have a girl that shows up in a Confederate-flag bikini. We have a Black activist woman."

SGS: “We have hot Rachel.”

CB: “Hot Rachel is a girl who is sort of a super hot, younger, undamaged version of Rachel, who isn't crazy and actually showers.”

UnReal premieres Monday June 6 at 10 p.m. on Lifetime. Episodes can also be streamed on Hulu.