Vanderpump Rules season 12 will be SUR-ving up fresh drama.
On Nov. 26, Bravo announced that the hit series was renewed — but the twist in the martini glass is that Vanderpump Rules will feature a brand new cast going forward.
“In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another. Cheers to the next generation of Vanderpump Rules,” SUR and TomTom owner Lisa Vanderpump, who will be the only returning cast member, said in a press release.
The original cast — Tom Sandoval, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney, Tom Schwartz, Ariana Madix, James Kennedy and Lala Kent — learned of the major series shakeup 24 hours before the news was made public.
“They’re understandably upset that it’s all coming to an end, but no one was necessarily surprised,” an insider told PEOPLE. “It’s more relief that they finally have an answer.”
Here’s everything to know about the Vanderpump Rules reboot, including the real reason Bravo decided to go in a different direction and what’s next for the legacy cast members.
Why did Vanderpump Rules get a reboot?
“Scandoval” did a number on the Vanderpump Rules cast. Nearly two years after Madix discovered that Sandoval was having an affair with their costar, Raquel Leviss, the friend group remains fractured, “still stuck in their feelings and refusing to bend,” a source told PEOPLE.
“There had been a long pause in production, and nothing had really changed among the cast since the [season 11] reunion,” the source added. “The network felt there was no path forward with the group in that capacity.”
Bravo also hopes to take the show back to its roots — to a time when the cast’s ties to Lisa’s West Hollywood restaurant SUR and its owner were much stronger.
“This is an attempt to recalibrate and bring the show back to the thing that made it such a success to begin with. It’s a fresh start,” the source continued.
For those suggesting that the network could no longer afford to pay their high-profile cast, a second source denied those rumors, telling PEOPLE that Bravo decided on a reboot before salary negotiations even began.
“It was completely driven by creative,” the insider said. “There weren’t any negotiations happening between the cast and the network where money was even discussed.”
What details have been released about the Vanderpump Rules reboot?
Bravo has disclosed very few details about Vanderpump Rules season 12.
The network hasn’t released the names of the new cast, but in a press release, they were described as “close-knit SUR-vers who are as complicatedly involved with one another as their iconic predecessors.”
In the same press release, Alex Baskin, executive producer of the show’s production company 32 Flavors, wrote: “What a thrill it is to build on the legacy of this series by doing it all over again. With profound appreciation for the original group and their iconic run, we can’t wait for the audience to see a dynamic new group of co-workers and friends make their way through life together.”
A premiere date has yet to be announced, but production is slated to begin in 2025, per Bravo’s statement.
How did the former Vanderpump Rules cast react to the reboot news?
Unsurprisingly, the Vanderpump Rules cast had “mixed feelings” about the reboot news.
“It’s no secret I do not like change. This is the exception,” Kent wrote on Instagram. “I want to say thank you for rocking with us for so many years. This show changed my whole life. I’m unbelievably grateful for every moment. We rocked this bitch until the wheels fell off.”
Madix echoed Kent’s words in her own Instagram post.
“I am forever grateful to have been a part of such an incredible cultural phenomenon,” she said. “[I’m] feeling at peace with closing this chapter. I don’t know that these were the best days of our lives, but they were definitely something special.”
Meanwhile, Kennedy called his time on Vanderpump Rules a “wild ride” and Maloney said she “wouldn’t change a thing” about her time on the reality show.
What has Lisa Vanderpump said about the reboot?
Considering her long and storied history with the original Vanderpump Rules cast, Lisa has kept her comments about the reboot brief.
“The last 12 years of filming have been an extraordinary run full of laughter, tears and everything in between,” she said in Bravo’s press release. “I can’t thank enough those who have shared their lives. How I love you all.”
Which former Vanderpump Rules cast members will appear on The Valley?
Several Vanderpump Rules cast members aren’t saying goodbye to reality TV just yet. Kent, Schwartz, Shay and her husband, Brock Davies, will all appear on season 2 of The Valley.
The VPR spinoff follows several of their former castmates, including Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute, as they “trade bottle service in West Hollywood for baby bottles in the Valley all while they navigate bustling businesses, rocky relationships and feisty friendships,” per the show’s official synopsis.
Taylor has formerly made comments in opposition to VPR alums joining The Valley‘s cast.
“I’m not trying to make this Vanderpump Rules,” he said on his podcast When Reality Hits in May 2024. “As of right now, that is a no. It is a hard no. But who knows, it could change.”
Shay clapped back on her Scheananigans podcast, saying, “You are afraid of me and Lala being on the show because we’re gonna call you out for the s— we actually know.”
What’s next for the former Vanderpump Rules cast?
Several Vanderpump Rules alumni aren’t hitching their wagons to The Valley. Instead, they’ll appear on other reality shows.
In January 2025, fans can watch Sandoval — who recently announced that Schwartz & Sandy’s is closing its doors — on season 3 of The Traitors.
Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that Madix will reprise her role as host on Love Island USA season 7. “I hope to host this show until I die,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2024.
With or without Love Island, Madix has a lot going on. Earlier this year, she wrapped up a successful run as Roxie Hart in the Broadway musical Chicago, and she recently launched a collection with DSW.
As for Kennedy, he’s fully invested in his DJ career with several shows lined up, and his girlfriend, Ally Lewber, is continuing her endeavor as professional astrologer.
While Schwartz won’t be slinging drinks at Schwartz & Sandy’s much longer, he’s excited to launch a project in 2025 with Podcast One called Detox / Retox.
Meanwhile, Kent is enjoying motherhood, raising two daughters: Ocean, who was born in March 2021, and Sosa, whom she welcomed via IUI in September 2024. The reality star is already considering having a third baby, news she teased during a conversation with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in November.
Shay, who has remained close friends with Kent, will continue hosting her podcast, Scheananigans, and fans will likely see new music from her. In 2024, she dropped three tracks: “Boy Crazy,” a screamo remix of “Good As Gold” and “Sweet & Sour.”
When announcing the season 12 reboot, Bravo also shared that a season 11 retrospective special is on the way and will celebrate “the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals.”
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