Lifetime’s UnReal was one of our favorite new shows of the last year, and one reason was their resident lesbian character Faith (Breeda Wool). Because she was such a fan fave, out EP Sarah Gertrude Shapiro created a 10-episode web spin-off, The Faith Diaries, which debuted on MyLifetime.com today.
The Faith Diaries follows Faith and her longtime best friend/love interest Amy (Malea Mitchell) as they relocate to LA for Faith’s newfound career as the face of Silver Spur Jeans. If you haven’t watched UnReal (which you definitely should), you can still follow Faith and Amy’s journey in all-new two-to-three minute episodes. For some background, Faith was a contestant on Everlasting, a Bachelor-esque dating competition show where she vied for the heart of Adam Cromwell, a British womanizer. And while she didn’t do so poorly on the show within a show, Faith did reveal that she was more interested in her longtime friend, Amy, on a visit home to Mississippi.
“In between UnReal seasons, the feeling was that we want to sort of let people catch up with our characters,” Sarah told us at TCA. “And I always thought it would be fun to follow Faith and Amy because we sort of left their story really untold. Faith finally admitted she had feelings for Amy, and then decided not to come out at that exact moment at the Hootenanny, because it was maybe a bad time to come out. For me, that was one of the most interesting decisions we made in Season 1, and it was a really important one. As [someone] who has been out as a queer person since I was 16, it was also super complicated to make that decision to have somebody not come out on TV, because it’s not the message I want to send.”
The Faith Diaries gives Sarah the chance to explore more of Faith and Amy’s relationship and also bring in guest star Dot Marie Jones as an older, wiser lesbian that helps the younger women come to terms with who they are. The episodes follow Faith and Amy’s trip to Los Angeles where Faith is shooting a spot for her new endorsement deal.
“It’s based on video diaries, so Faith is doing a video diary every couple weeks,” Sarah said. “The thing that was really interesting for me on a character standpoint was that they’re not really out to themselves, they’re not really out to each other, but they’re making out the whole way across the country.”
It’s not until the two land in L.A. where they start to talk about what’s going on between them, something they never felt safe enough to do back home.
“I think in our liberal bastions on either coast it’s hard for us to believe that people would be that closeted,” Sarah said. “But when we did the research and really talked to people in those communities, it’s not a joke. Becuase coming out means leaving your community; it means losing your church. And that’s a huge deal for people who grew up in the church.”
Watch the first two episodes of The Faith Diaries below, and then head to MyLifetime.com to watch the rest. UnReal returns for a second season June 6 on Lifetime.
In the first episode, Faith and Amy arrive in LA, ready to get settled into their new apartment.
After some disappointing news, Faith and Amy find a new home with couple Mickey (Dot Marie Jones) and Ruth.
