‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 12 to Feature All-New Cast in Apparent Fallout of Scandoval

It’s a tough week for the OG cast of Vanderpump Rules. First, Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz announced the closing of their namesake bar, Shwartz and Sandy’s, on Monday after just two years of being open. And now, Bravo has greenlit another season of VPR — but this time, with a whole new cast.

The network made the announcement on Tuesday, teasing a return to the original format of the show that first put the series on the map 11 seasons ago. “Under Lisa Vanderpump’s watchful eye, the West Hollywood mainstay SUR — and now TomTom — welcomes the next batch of servers, hosts, and bartenders rife with plenty of drama, situationships and frenemies,” the network said in a press release.

It’s unclear who the new “sur-vers” will be, but production for Season 12 is set to begin next year. And from the sounds of it, not a single member of the current cast will return. “What a thrill it is to build on the legacy of this series by doing it all over again,” said Alex Baskin, executive producer. “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.” 

Vanderpump added: “The last 12 years of filming have been an extraordinary run full of laughter, tears, and everything in between. I can’t thank enough those who have shared their lives. How I love you all. In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another. Cheers to the next generation of Vanderpump Rules.”  

But before bidding farewell to the OGs — which included Shwartz, Sandoval, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney, James Kennedy, Ariana Madix, and Lala Kent — Bravo will air a retrospective special to “celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts, and scandals.”

While not blatantly stated, it’s pretty obvious that the fallout from Scandoval led to this switch-up. For those not fluent in VPR, Season 10 ended with the revelation that Sandoval had been cheating on his longtime girlfriend Madix with their friend and fellow castmate Raquel Leviss. The affair took the internet by storm. Even casual reality TV viewers who weren’t caught up with the latest season of VPR found themselves getting sucked into the scandalous black hole. It was all anyone could talk about — except for the actual cast of the show. Season 11 largely centered around the fallout of the affair, but Madix refused to film with Sandoval, completely altering the dynamic of the group and the way the show was filmed. By the end of the season, a clear line had been drawn in the sand.
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After Season 11, Bravo announced that the show was going on hiatus to give the cast some much-needed time off. But fans quickly began speculating that certain cast members were refusing to film together or talk about certain topics that are needed in order to make a good reality TV show.

Of course, the question now becomes: Will some of the OG cast join other Bravo shows, like The Valley, which is essentially a “more grown-up” version of VPR? The Valley already features ex-VPR stars like Jax Taylor and Kristen Doute.

The future may be unclear, but one thing is certain: Sandoval — I mean Scandoval — really did them dirty.