Unscripted Untold Podcast

Evan Majors & Mike Sick
  • 5.0 (2)
  • TV & Film
  • Updated Biweekly

Unscripted Untold lives at the intersection of entertainment and culture. Raw conversations with executives, creators, and rebels who don't follow the rules. They rewrite them. unscripteduntold5.substack.com

  1. Aug 28

    Casting Put A Ring On It: CheatHab

    Put A Ring On It: CheatHab, the new hit relationship series on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and streaming on HBO Max, has the people talking. It has the internet buzzing. It’s provocative, complicated, and, yes, people keep calling it messy. Viewers in the comments on social media are drawing hard lines in the sand about what they would or wouldn’t do if it were them or their relationship. But what happens when the “mess” we’re watching is somebody’s real life? Unlike traditional reality dating shows, the couples on CheatHab aren’t looking for love. They already found it. They come into the experience at a crossroads after infidelity, emotional or physical, has broken the trust in their relationships. With relationship expert Dr. Stacii Jae Johnson guiding them through the process, they have to decide whether what they built together is worth fighting for, or whether too much damage has been done, and they either decide to pursue the person they cheated with, or a connection with one of the single men or single women they are set up with. In Episode 14 of Unscripted Untold, we asked whether we still watch reality dating shows because we believe in love or because we’re waiting for the crash-and-burn. This time, we’re looking at that question from the other side of the camera, before the audience picks sides and before somebody’s relationship gets flattened into a meme, a villain, or a hot take. As Senior Casting Director and Talent Producer on Put A Ring On It: CheatHab, I sat across from these couples before audiences knew their names. I heard their stories before they became storylines and saw the scars before television put a frame around them. This time, Mike turns the questions on me as we unpack what casting sees that viewers don’t, what makes us believe there’s real love underneath the dysfunction, and why vulnerability matters more than perfection when real people agree to put the most complicated parts of their lives on television. Audiences have also become more skeptical about what they see on reality television. We hear it all the time: Is this real? Did producers tell them to do that? And I get it. But sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction. These couples came to us with real history, real love, real resentment, real infidelity, and real hurt. We didn’t manufacture their stories. Our job was to figure out how to tell them. And then there’s that word: messy. Why do predominantly Black reality shows and casts so often get reduced to the mess, while equally chaotic behavior elsewhere can be discussed through a wider vocabulary of complexity, dysfunction, or humanity? Who gets to be layered? Who gets grace? And how much of what we think we’re seeing comes from the people on screen, versus the cultural lens we carried into the room with us? Because casting reality television isn’t about finding perfect people. Perfect people would probably make terrible television anyway. It’s about finding people willing to tell the truth about who they are, including the parts they feel shame about. Behind every hot take, meme, comment, and “I would never put up with that” is something easy to forget: These are real people. And when the cameras stop rolling, they still have to live with the choices we get to debate from our couch. This week on Unscripted Untold, we’re going behind the casting of CheatHab, but maybe the bigger conversation is about us: When somebody else’s real life becomes our entertainment, how much humanity do we allow them to keep? Unscripted Untold is a listener-supported podcast. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Jul 23

    The Reality of Love

    Dating and relationship shows have come a long way from The Dating Game and Blind Date. Today, the genre is bigger, more emotional, more dramatic, sexier, more complicated, and often much messier. What began as simple matchmaking has evolved into luxury villas, six-pack physiques, social experiments, manufactured drama, and even marriages between complete strangers. Yet beneath the spectacle, these shows continue to ask surprisingly human questions about love, connection, trust, and what we're really looking for in a partner. Episode 15 of Unscripted Untold is the first of several podcast episodes exploring the evolution of reality dating television. In this conversation, we look back at the shows that helped shape the genre, how the format has changed over time, and why audiences remain so invested in watching strangers search for love. We also pull back the curtain on the role casting plays in building these worlds: how the people chosen, the relationships formed, and the emotional stakes created can shape whether audiences believe in the love story, question it, or simply keep watching to see what happens next. But somewhere along the way, dating shows stopped being only about finding "the one." They became social experiments, relationship pressure cookers, and cultural mirrors. Can emotional connection outweigh physical attraction? Do love stories have an expiration date? What happens when marriage itself becomes part of the experiment? This episode opens the door to a larger conversation we’ll continue throughout the series with executive producers, casting directors, experts, and contestants about what dating shows say about the changing definition of love, attraction, gender roles, race, preferences, the impact of social media, and how we treat people as disposable, especially in our pursuit of connection, sex, and romance. The big question we'll be exploring throughout this series is: Do we watch dating shows because we still believe in love, or because we're waiting for it to fall apart so we can say, "I told you so"? Unscripted Untold is a reader-supported publication and podcast. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  3. Jun 2

    The Silence Between Us

    Mental Health Awareness Month may be ending, but we don’t think this conversation has an expiration date. Lately, we’ve been thinking a lot about shame, silence, and how so many men carry feelings they don’t know how to name. Not because they don’t want help, but because asking for help can feel like admitting defeat. Especially Black men, men of color, and people from cultures where being tough often means staying silent, ignoring our feelings, and burying them somewhere no one can see. Episode 13 of Unscripted Untold started with a question: Is shame keeping people from asking for help, or have we just stopped paying attention to each other? We received listener emails that helped us sit with that question in a real way. No easy answers. No five-step plan. Just an honest conversation about emotional isolation, anxiety, friendship, masculinity, social media, and what it means to check on men before they reach a breaking point, while paying attention to the signs we miss or explain away. We also talk about HBO Max’s Half Man, a series that stayed with us because of how it explores male fragility, rage that turns into violence, repressed homophobia, loyalty, silence, and the emotional debt we carry when nobody teaches us how to process pain, or even how to say “I love you” to other men in our lives. This episode is not about solving mental health. It’s about paying attention. It’s about asking better questions. It’s about remembering that sometimes men don’t need a perfect answer. They need to feel seen, listened to without judgment, and loved without conditions. Mental Health resources: Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health - (https://chhamh.org) - Chicago-based organization creating culturally grounded mental health conversations and community support. Better Help - (https://www.betterhelp.com) - Online therapy platform with flexible virtual counseling and financial aid options. Black Men Heal - (https://blackmenheal.org) - Therapist directory and mental health resource platform centered on Black men and boys. BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (https://beam.community) - Mental health advocacy, peer support training, and healing-centered resources for Black communities. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - (https://988lifeline.org) - If you're struggling, overwhelmed, or in crisis, help is available 24/7. Call or text 988 to connect with a trained counselor. You don't have to carry it alone. Unscripted Untold is a listener-supported podcast. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Apr 30

    You Can't Outwork What You Won't Face

    There are chapters in your life where nothing seems to be going your way. Not one thing is going wrong. There’s not just one thing to fix, but it’s a season where everything shifts at once. Your career. Your identity. Your sense of direction. And if you’re not careful, you’ll convince yourself that staying busy means you’re moving forward. On Episode 12, we’re joined by Arron Muller, a NYC-based licensed clinical social worker, therapist, and co-founder of Life Matters Psychological Services. He’s currently pursuing doctoral studies focused on men’s mental health, specifically how identity, pressure, and unaddressed emotional challenges impact performance, relationships, and overall well-being. Arron’s work spans private practice, community spaces, and education, and what stood out to us is how direct he is about something most men don’t say out loud: Sometimes we stay busy so we don’t have to feel. This conversation isn’t about “fixing” anything. It’s about recognizing what’s actually happening underneath the surface. We talk about: The illusion of progress. What it feels like when your identity starts to shift. What uncertainty actually does to your mental state. Not in theory. In real life. For Black men and men of color, there’s an added layer. You’re taught to produce, provide, to push through no matter what, to hold it together, don’t cry or show weakness, causing so many men to suffer in silence, which can have deadly consequences if not addressed. And when something shifts—when you lose your job, the ability to provide for yourself and your family, when the version of you that people recognized starts to fade, there isn’t always language for what comes next, so you keep moving. Because stopping feels like falling behind.Because feeling feels like weakness. Because no one really taught you how to regulate your nervous system. Arron breaks that down in a way that’s grounded and honest. He discusses what happens when identity and performance intertwine. What it looks like when men don’t have space to express anything outside of anger. And how uncertainty can quietly put your body in a constant state of stress without you even realizing it. Because this isn’t just emotional. It’s physical. It’s how you move. How you respond and how you see yourself. And if you’re a woman listening to this, this isn’t separate from you. There’s a version of this showing up in the men in your life: -the silence -the pressure -the emotional shutdown -the need to always “be good” even when they’re not This episode isn’t about excusing that. It’s about understanding it. We didn’t come into this conversation with answers. We came into it midway through our own life transitions. Trying to figure out what it means to keep going when things don’t feel clear. Trying to understand the difference between progress and avoidance. Trying to sit with the reality that you can’t outwork what you won’t face. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, this conversation felt necessary. Not as a statement. Not as a campaign. But as a reminder: Mental health isn’t just about feeling good. It’s about learning how to deal with life on life’s terms—the good, the bad, the pain, and the uncertainty. Learn more about Arron Muller: https://www.modifywellness.org   This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Mar 19

    The Sixth Man Behind the Camera of Sinners

    Actor Percy Bell has his own body of work as a performer, but his most recent project required him to step into someone else’s body, so to speak. In the film Sinners, where Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, Percy served as Jordan’s body double, helping bring both characters to life on screen in ways audiences might not even realize while watching the film. In a culture that often celebrates main character energy, this conversation explores the invisible labor that makes those moments possible, the preparation, precision, and teamwork required to make the illusion of filmmaking possible. On this episode of Unscripted Untold, Evan Majors & Mike Sick sit down with Percy to talk about the craft behind those moments. Percy shares what it takes to execute scenes with precision when one actor is playing multiple characters, the preparation required to match another actor’s physicality and movement, and why he compares the role to being the sixth man in basketball, essential to the team even when the spotlight isn’t on you. After the Academy Awards and Sinners winning four Oscars, it felt like the perfect time to pull back the curtain on the craft behind the performance. If you enjoyed this conversation, want to support what we’re building, join our community by subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing with someone. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Mar 11

    The Oscar That Took 100 Years

    On Episode 10 of Unscripted Untold, Casting Director and journalist Evan Majors and emcee and Creative Producer Mike Sick sit down with 3X Emmy-nominated TV, film, and theatre casting director and current President of CSA (Casting Society of America), Destiny Lilly, to discuss a historic shift inside the Academy Awards. For nearly 100 years, the Academy Awards did not recognize casting with its own Oscar category. Let that sit. Nearly a century of honoring directors, actors, editors, cinematographers, and production designers, without formally acknowledging the people responsible for assembling the very faces, the chemistry, and the performances that define those films. That changes at this year’s 98th Academy Awards with the introduction of Achievement in Casting. Not just ceremonially. But culturally. Institutionally. Professionally. This conversation unpacks: * What had to shift inside the Academy. * How has casting been perceived and misunderstood? * Why has invisibility often been defined in the works of casting directors? * What does being recognized mean, and what it doesn’t. You don’t have to work in the entertainment industry to understand why this conversation matters. Every great film or TV show begins with people, the actors who bring characters to life, and the chemistry that makes audiences believe in the story. Casting directors help shape those moments long before cameras roll. This episode offers a rare look at that process and why this new recognition from the Academy represents a meaningful shift. Casting isn’t an afterthought; it’s foundational. If you enjoyed this conversation, want to support what we’re building, join our community by subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with someone. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  7. Feb 21

    Everyone has plans until they get punched in the face.

    In this vulnerable Episode 9 of Unscripted Untold, Evan Majors, casting director and journalist, and Mike Sick, creative producer and brand strategist, open up about what it really means to create in the fog. Not the curated version. Not the highlight reel. The real one. When the wins go quiet. When the phone stops ringing.When you start questioning yourself. This is a conversation about what happens when a challenging season forces you back to basics. About separating identity from industry. About refusing to perform strength when you’re actually being refined by the fight. Evan speaks candidly about questioning whether he still has a career in casting during a slow season, and what it takes to rebuild belief without applause. Mike reflects on faith, reinvention, and why the fog is not a detour — it’s part of the journey. Together, they unpack: * Why is uncertainty part of the assignment * How discipline creates stability when emotions fluctuate * The danger of comparing your real life to someone else’s highlight reel * Reinvention as a requirement for longevity * Why action creates clarity, not the other way around * And why waiting for perfect conditions is how you lose the fight This episode is for anyone in a quiet season. Anyone who feels behind. Anyone rebuilding in real time. The fog doesn’t mean you’re finished. It means your journey just got real. 🎧 Listen now If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone navigating their own fog. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

  8. Feb 6

    Cool Can't Be Taught

    In episode 8 of Unscripted Untold, Evan Majors & Mike Sick break down how it gets recognized, weighed, and tested in real time. We talk about what it really is, what it isn’t, and why having “it” alone doesn’t guarantee anything. From casting rooms to competition shows, from visibility to readiness, this conversation breaks down how talent gets evaluated when the stakes are real. We unpack the differences between charisma and character, confidence and overcompensation, and being seen and being prepared. We talk about why casting is fundamentally about risk, not certainty, and why some people rise to the occasion while others fold, even when the talent is there. This episode is about awareness, preparation, and the uncomfortable truth that visibility can be loud while readiness stays quiet. If you’ve ever wondered why some people keep getting opportunities, and others don’t, this conversation sits right in that tension. What You’ll Take Away from This Episode: * How the “It” factor gets recognized, not defined. It’s intangible. You recognize it instantly. You can’t fake it. * Why visibility is not the same as being ready. How followers, buzz, and attention can mask a lack of preparation and experience. * What casting is actually assessing in real time: Awareness, professionalism, adaptability, and whether someone is a risk worth standing behind. * Why being ready determines longevity. How growth, humility, and the ability to take feedback matter more than polish or hype. We’ve made this episode free for everyone, but if this resonated, subscribing unlocks the deeper layer: full access to our behind-the-scenes episodes, our private backstage member chat, and exclusive content where we go even further off-mic. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unscripteduntold5.substack.com/subscribe

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5
out of 5
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About

Unscripted Untold lives at the intersection of entertainment and culture. Raw conversations with executives, creators, and rebels who don't follow the rules. They rewrite them. unscripteduntold5.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Evan Majors & Mike Sick
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Mike Sick & Evan Majors
  • Show Website
    Unscripted Untold Podcast