Rumors have swirled about Bravo pressing pause on season 12 of Vanderpump Rules — and the cast is already weighing in.
Multiple outlets reported in April 2024 that the network wasn’t in a rush to begin production after documenting the aftermath of Tom Sandoval and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss‘ cheating scandal. News broke of Sandoval’s infidelity — and his subsequent split from Ariana Madix — in March 2023, and cameras were quickly picked up again to film a new finale for season 10.
Ariana, Rachel, Sandoval and their costars later hashed out the drama in a dramatic reunion special, which delivered record-breaking ratings for Bravo and Peacock. Production on season 11 began in June 2023, three months after Ariana learned about the affair.
When the new episodes aired in early 2024, some viewers questioned whether the speedy turnaround caused conversations caught on camera to feel stale and less high-stakes. (Even some of the cast agreed.)
The cast of Vanderpump Rules are no strangers to controversy. The staff of Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant SUR made their debut on Bravo in 2013 as part of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills spinoff. The season 1 cast included Vanderpump, Stassi Schroeder, Jax Taylor, Katie Maloney, Tom Sandoval, Kristen Doute and Scheana Shay. […]
It’s possible production is being delayed to accommodate Ariana’s busy schedule. Following her time on Dancing With the Stars and playing Roxie Hart on Broadway’s Chicago, she was tapped to host Love Island USA. The dating series is set to film in summer 2024, which is typically when VPR production kicks into gear.
Keep scrolling to see what the Vanderpump Rules cast has said about potentially taking a break from filming:
Lala Kent
Lala Kent. Nicole Weingart/Bravo
During a May 2024 Amazon Live, Lala said she wouldn’t mind hitting pause — or coming back right away to film.
“Is this confirmed? I’m gonna say this. If we film this summer, I’m going to have a peaceful pregnancy, because I will not allow it to be any other way,” noted Lala, who is expecting her second baby via IUI. “This is my real life.”
Lala made it clear that her priority was motherhood, adding, “This is gonna be my baby forever, and I will be damned if anybody tries to make it [difficult] — which, I’m in charge of my own emotions. So if we do film, I will keep zen to protect the peace of my baby in the womb. And if we don’t film this summer, I will be on cloud 59.”
While some things never change, the cast of Vanderpump Rules is used to a shake-up … and a touch-up. Vanderpump Rules was introduced to Bravo viewers during a special episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in January 2013. Season 1 starred Lisa Vanderpump, who was a Beverly Hills Housewife at the time, Stassi […]
Tom Sandoval
Tom Sandoval. Nicole Weingart/Bravo
“I think one of the things is that, coming out of this scandal, it was like we picked up filming right when everything first happened,” Sandoval explained during an appearance on Fox’s New Day Cleveland in May 2024, days after the reported pause made headlines. “And then we kind of had a very short break and then right into filming this season that you’re watching now, season 11.”
The TV personality recalled the burnout that came with documenting his scandal, adding, “What would end up happening, production would just be down, the last episode of the season, the reunion, then our secrets revealed or whatever it is, would air and then it’s maybe a couple weeks and we would be back into filming again.”
Sandoval seemed on board with the pause. “They just wanna give it some time to breathe, take a break, maybe, I’m really excited about it,” he explained. “Because it’s like every year we film my birthday. We film Scheana [Shay]’s birthday at times or whatever. To kind of have a different time of the year, it might bring a fresh sort of feeling to our show.”
Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen. Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
The Bravo exec — who doesn’t make decisions about VPR‘s future — also sounded off on possibly halting production to improve the franchise.
“We used to do this all the time with the Housewives,” he said on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live in May 2024. “We would say, ‘You know what? Let’s put cameras down for, you know, four or five months and come back to them.’ And they will have lived, you know, life.”
Andy noted that he and Ariana discussed how fans can often “forget” the timeline of their show when watching the episodes.
“People forget that we picked up cameras a few, three months after [Ariana] found out about [Sandoval’s] affair, so that’s why she’s still in the violently angry stage and you can understand that,” he continued, adding that while “it’s great” to show her raw reaction, the drama has now run its course. “Sometimes you do want people to live their lives and see how things develop … so, I think it’s a very good idea.”
