I'm Not Worried For Vanderpump Rules' Future After The Season 11 Reunion & You Shouldn't Be Either (2024)

The future of Vanderpump Rules has been an open question and, after season 11, it's more uncertain than ever — after watching part 3 of the reunion, though, I'm not worried about what lies ahead for the long-running series. In season 9, Vanderpump Rules hit a creative and ratings nadir, but season 10's Scandoval breathed new life into a show that looked like it was limping to the finish line. Every cast member capitalized on the highly-publicized scandal that saw Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval's relationship fall apart due to Sandoval's affair with fellow cast member Rachel Leviss.

Vanderpump Rules season 11 has often felt like a letdown even in it's most fascinating moments. Frank discussions of the scandal and the show itself could not make up for what felt like a show spinning its wheels. This was due, in part, to how soon filming picked up after the season 10 reunion — the group of former SURvers began filming roughly 3 months after the news of Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss's affair broke. This is the typical timeline for the show, but its proximity to Scandoval resulted in a batch of episodes that rehashed the same points over and over.

Without Leviss' return, the producers were focused on a Sandoval redemption arc, something that Madix rightfully refused to be a part of. Madix's arc on the season made for good television, but in a way that we're not used to on Vanderpump Rules. In the past, break-ups have resulted in devastating conversations — think Kristen Doute and Sandoval's Miami breakdown, something Madix even references at the season 11 reunion. Without that, though, and with Madix focusing on herself and her other career ventures, something felt like it was missing this season, leading to premature end-times proclamations from doom-scrollers on social media.

Why Vanderpump Rules Will Return After Its Season 12 Pause

A Break For The Cast Is Necessary

Plenty of Bravo shows have been put on pause in the past — the network just pushed the brakes on the highly underrated Summer House: Martha's Vineyard after season 2, and they notoriously put The Real Housewives of Miami on pause in 2013 before bringing it back to resounding acclaim in 2021. Now, for the first time since its premiere, Vanderpump Rules won't pick up cameras this summer, but this doesn't mean it won't be back.

After season 9 reached a series-low in ratings, Vanderpump Rules skyrocketed in popularitypost-Scandoval, hitting around 2 million viewers for the reunion episodes that saw Sandoval and Leviss eviscerated by the rest of the cast. Season 11 hasn't reached those heights, but it's still one of Bravo's most popular shows, and it's unlikely that the network would just let the show quietly go the way of The Real Housewives of DC or Shahs of Sunset.

There's also the cast to contend with. Lala Kent has become one of the most vocal proponents of the show's continuation and, despite her awful delivery, she's not exactly wrong in pointing out the problems with this season. Besides Kent, almost every member of the cast has a vested interest in the show continuing in some form in the future as their livelihoods depend on it a way that Madix's doesn't.

Scheana Shay has also agreed with Kent, pointing out that this is how she supports her family. Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, and James Kennedy all have business interests that depend on the show's continued success. If they're willing to film in the future for Vanderpump Rules season 12, then some form of the show will exist.

Ariana & Tom's Reunion Part 3 Conversation Teases The Path Forward For Vanderpump Rules

Season 12 Of The Series May Look Very Different

I won't lie — I've wanted a conversation between Madix and Sandoval all season. I kept thinking back to the scene between Doute and Sandoval in Miami, a tearful exchange that was both heart-wrenching and a little bit ridiculous, mainly due to Sandoval's overly theatrical nature. Kent isn't wrong in pointing out that these conversations are part of the job.

In defending her choice to walk out of the reunion, though, Madix cites the Miami conversation as the very reason she doesn't want to speak to Sandoval on camera, and she's absolutely justified in her feelings. Making the cast watch the final part of the Vanderpump Rules season 11 finale resulted in the most heartbreaking scene of the season as Madix was forced to justify many of her actions and confront her ex, but she shouldn't have had to in the first place.

Madix has openly talked about the trauma Sandoval has put her through, conversations that aren't typical in this show. As Kent alludes to, many on the Vanderpump Rules cast have put aside their trauma to confront what has happened to them. Madix shouldn't be forced to do the same, despite what Kent and others say and, as Madix says, what happened on the show this season is as real as it gets.

Kent and Madix are technically on the same side — both show their authentic reactions to situations, they just don't gel together. The future of the show then, and the drama surrounding it, may be what the show has to be about going forward. It's hard to deny that Scandoval has irrevocably changed Vanderpump Rules, but the show is far from being on its last leg despite what others have said throughout the season. It's just going to look very different going forward.

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Vanderpump Rules is a reality-drama series created for Bravo that stars Lisa Vanderpump, a former star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as she expands her restaurant empire and staff. The cast consists of Lisa's staff members across her various establishments in West Hollywood as they try to build their futures and establish relationships that range from friendly to romantic. All of which frequently turn messy as mixing with business pleasure, as they are warned, doesn't always end well.