Rumors of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Ending Could Be a Producer Power Move (2024)

Will Vanderpump Rules return for season 12? That's what some people were wondering after season 11's finale. The series ends with a flashback montage of the cast from season 1. It was then announced the reality show was taking a break from filming, and there was no timeline for when it'd return. Season 11 also shows the cast not being on the same page about how to move forward with filming.

Lala Kent accused Ariana Madix of messing with her "business" at the reunion. She and Scheana Shay spent most of the season trying to convince Ariana to interact with her ex, Tom Sandoval, more. But Ariana said she could film the Bravo show and stick to her boundaries. She doesn't plan to talk to Sandoval ever again. Will this be the end of the show? The producers might want us worried, but there are signs that there is plenty of life left in the show.

Vanderpump Rules

TV-14

Reality TV

Best known as one of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Vanderpump opens the salacious kitchen doors of her exclusive Hollywood restaurant and lounge, SUR.

Release Date

January 7, 2013

Cast

Lisa Vanderpump , Katie Maloney , Scheana Shay , Tom Sandoval

Main Genre

Reality TV

Seasons

10

Season 11 of 'Vanderpump Rules' Pushed Against Ariana Madix's Boundaries

Ariana had no interest in talking to her ex-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval. However, she filmed some scenes with him, like the outing to the beach and the one about her dog getting sick in their home. The cast gathered for an event for the finale. Ariana told Scheana that nothing would get in the way of their friendship. Sandoval tried to interrupt them and Ariana immediately walked away. A producer tried to intervene and Ariana talked to him.

"Him f--king walking up on me talking to Scheana, he doesn't give a sh-t if I f--king died in a ditch," she told him. "Or got a f--king deadly STD the way he was f--king around behind my back." Ariana stopped filming and that left the producers there to ask the remaining cast members to share their thoughts. That led to Sandoval shouting that Ariana wasn't Lala or Scheana's true friend. Lala ranted that it was ridiculous Ariana was sticking to this boundary while living in the same house as him. It's clear the producers had a different plan and probably weren't happy that Ariana wouldn't play ball.

Lala made her stance on production clearer at the reunion. She revealed she talked to Katie Maloney and a producer over the phone before season 11. Katie struggled to handle Something About Her while Ariana was away. She vented to Lala about it, but Lala wanted her to say those things while filming. Katie simply said at the reunion that she already talked to Ariana about it so it was unnecessary. Host Andy Cohen asked if Lala had a point that Katie was not sharing her feelings on camera. Katie said it was a moment and it passed. The camera cuts to Scheana looking at the camera with wide eyes.

The framing through editing, people in production, and some of the cast is that Katie and Ariana aren't doing reality TV right. However, many fans are throwing their support behind Ariana and Katie. The last ditch effort to make fans turn on them could be to threaten the end of the show. But that's hard to believe when the show grew to new heights.

'Vanderpump Rules' Proves to Be Relevant and Profitable

Scandoval had all kinds of people interested in the Bravo show, whether it was fans who stopped watching, fans who stuck with the show from the beginning, or people who never heard of the cast members before. The long history between Ariana and Sandoval, the subtle signs of his affair with Rachel "Raquel" Leviss, and season 10's dramatic confrontation boosted ratings. The Hollywood Reporter claimed season 11's premiere raked in 3.2 million viewers. That means advertising dollars and money.

Ariana's personal deals have continued, which shows there is also staying power to this fame. She has a shoe collection with DSW, she filmed a new Duracell commercial with Sanodval's former assistant Ann Maddox, and she was asked to return to Broadway for the summer of 2024. If other companies see a Vanderpump Rules star worthy of further investment, then why wouldn't Bravo do the same? We know the parent company only furthered its ties to her by having her as the new host of Love Island USA this summer. Ariana's busy schedule might be more of the reason for Vanderpump Rules to pause production than any real threat of it ending for good.

Lastly, Something About Her officially opened on May 22. If you're a fan of the show, then you probably saw videos and pictures of the long line outside the door that day on social media. There were multiple pictures of the sandwiches that were then critiqued by people at home. There was even a viral negative review of a woman complaining about waiting four hours to find out they were sold out. Other current and former Bravo stars showed their support including Cohen, Stassi Schroeder, Lindsay Hubbard of Summer House, and Schwartz.

So why are we talking about the show ending when the show's relevancy is at a high? We know producers think the engine of the show is the drama that comes from people who hate each other being in the same room. Lala and Scheana tried to get Ariana to talk to Sandoval again multiple times with no success. The producers were betting the fans would side with them because they didn't want the show to end or get boring. We know this because Cohen teased season 11, saying "Lala has become the voice of reason on the show" on his radio show and that Brock Davies was great. Brock also told Ariana that she should forgive Sandoval for herself, and he got the pleasure of filming all three parts of the reunion. It feels like the production's last-ditch effort to gain control of the narrative is to act like the hit show is in danger.

There is a rumor of Lala possibly joining The Valley to further fuel the rumor. She moved to San Fernando Valley, which raised some flags. "Let me be very clear," she said on Give Them Lala. "I bought my house in the valley because it's all I could afford. I would have liked to have been in the Beverly Hills flats, b-tch, but I can't afford it...yet." She denied moving there to be on the spinoff featuring Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, and Kristen Doute. Since then, Lala has surprisingly insulted Brittany publicly after being on good terms with her, which furthers the theory that she does want to be on the spinoff. "Brittany acted so out of pocket on the day of my gender reveal," she said at the reunion. "She reached out to my mother and was so f–king out of pocket."

However, if Lala does appear in The Valley, that doesn't mean Vanderpump Rules is over. The pause in production could give time for stars to do their separate projects and reunite when things are more cooled down between them. Season 11 was filmed just months after Scandoval, and it seemed like the pressure was on with the new eyes on the series. But there are plenty of reasons for it to gain another wind than to end. Reality shows have weathered stars not speaking to each other before and this can be the case for Vanderpump Rules.

Vanderpump Rules can be streamed on Peaco*ck.

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