It’s Time for ‘Vanderpump Rules’ to Say Goodbye for Good

When Vanderpump Rules kicked off its eleventh season in January, audiences were hungry for intense drama. It’s hard to believe, but it’s been over a year since the infamous “#Scandoval” cheating reveal made headlines. Filming picked back up just a few weeks after the cast participated in Season 10’s explosive reunion last year, as the scorned Ariana Madix unleashed her anger on Tom Sandoval and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. It was during this that mocking jabs like “I know you like Harry Potter” became immortalized for Bravo fans to use as reaction GIFs.

Given the level of intensity and vitriol that most of the cast had toward Sandoval and Leviss, viewers thought they would maintain that same standard—providing some more edge-of-your-seat viewing worthy of another Emmy nomination. It seemed like Vanderpump Rules was truly back, reclaiming the throne of Bravo’s best show.

However, during the five months that this new batch of episodes has aired, tuning into each new installment was watching a gray void of absolutely nothing. Despite pulling in record viewing numbers on Peacock, it seems like people are tuning in just because they’re waiting for something—anything—to happen.

Sandoval’s attempted redemption arc reached a breaking point during last Tuesday’s finale, as the crew tried to co-exist at a chaotic whiskey launch party. There was quite a lot of build-up for most of the episode, from Jo Wenberg tearfully trying to apologize to Katie Maloney after some manipulative encouragement from Tom Schwartz to a random, unexplained partygoer crashing their VIP area and being forcibly removed by security.

Production had been just dying for a reunion between Sandoval and Madix to happen, while forgetting that they have to keep viewers interested for weeks with other plot points before then. This resulted in a seriously jarring shift of a fourth-wall break: Madix refused to play ball with producers after Sandoval once again tried to approach her.

Abruptly leaving, the rest of the group then proceeded to viciously bash Madix, mainly for the fact that everyone except her is getting paid to showcase their lives on the show. It’s hard to believe, after watching this back, that the cast members will be able to bounce back from their divided nature and film again. This exact moment signaled that this is the end.

The episode concluded with a somber throwback montage featuring younger versions of the cast in their confessionals from years ago, set to a slowed-down, emotional track. If there were ever a moment to say goodbye, it seemed like this was the right time to close this chapter—even if it wasn’t the neatest execution.

Most of the season found Sandoval and Madix going in circles about what to do with their shared house while the rest of the group floated around without any real contribution or storyline besides, “Should I forgive this man or not?”—making it truly painful to witness. (And we saw Sandoval try to hit on paid strangers he called friends at his pool party.)

I mean, let’s recap what else actually happened during Season 11. Lala Kent invited everyone to the snoozefest of whatever a “water tasting” is, as the group sampled expensive products from a water guru—not once acknowledging how ridiculous it sounds. She also begged Lisa Vanderpump to let her throw a sperm donor party. Meanwhile, Madix and Maloney continued to drag out their sandwich shop Something About Her, which is finally officially opening this month, only with none of the fanfare of filming to let viewers witness it down the road.

It’s no wonder that Vanderpump Rules has been put on a hiatus following Season 11’s reunion, which airs tonight; production is probably praying for the crew to be interesting again. Personally, though, it feels like a perfect time to call it quits, which is something many fans on social media have begun speculating to be the case, with the recent finale adding fuel to the theory.

Although the show will remain in the hearts of fans despite a few spotty seasons, long gone are the days of the SUR group struggling to get by and working, encapsulating the experience of being wannabe actors in their early twenties. Well, when they weren’t calling out sick to party in Vegas. It’s been years since they’ve clocked a timecard, trading in their modest houses and cars for lavish items, courtesy of a lush Bravo paycheck and other brand sponsorships. With no relatability, nothing at stake, and most of the crew being too “grown up” now to deliver any substantial drama each week, it begs the question: What’s in it for us to care anymore?

Madix, deservedly, has remained the most booked and busy of the cast. She’s set to host Love Island USA and announced that she’ll be returning to her role as Roxie Hart on Broadway this summer. She was the only person to compete on Dancing with the Stars, much to Scheana Shay’s dismay. She doesn’t need the show anymore, which production seems more than aware of. But now they need her if they continue VPR at all.

Before Sandoval and Leviss’ affair came to light, those who had loved the early seasons had grown up and tuned out, tired of the fact that nothing happened on the show anymore. Production attempted to introduce a younger batch of cast members, like Leviss’ former flame, DJ James Kennedy, and her friend Charli Burnett. As we now know with Leviss permanently leaving the show after the media firestorm, their plan to phase out the older crew backfired.

Another key factor leading to the show’s impending demise is The Valley, a Vanderpump Rules spin-off that Bravo premiered in March, starring the aforementioned Taylor, his (possibly) estranged wife Brittany Cartwright, and chaos queen Kristen Doute. Considering other VPR cast members have made cameos on The Valley’s first season and expressed an interest in joining the cast permanently, it seems more could make the leap onto the adult-and-parenthood-focused show. If this winds up being the case, VPR could (and should!) get rebooted eventually with an entirely new cast of younger, present-day SUR workers.

This doesn’t just apply to VPR either. It is an issue that has plagued a ton of Bravo shows recently, seemingly due to the struggle to keep today’s audiences interested after suuuuuch a long time. Real Housewives of New York received an entire cast overhaul; fans online have called for the same to happen with other cities in the Housewives franchise.

For the most part, even Lisa Vanderpump has jumped from a sinking ship, only really appearing when it’s time to showcase her Tahoe restaurant. We didn’t even see her opening party, where she posed with two shredded guys wearing wolf heads. That would have been a peak moment.

Instead, Vanderpump has had a larger presence on her new Hulu reality series, Vanderpump Villa. A return to the winning formula that she once found with VPR, she put together a working-class crew to help her host guests at a luxurious French property. The Villa cast is far and beyond more entertaining when compared. As just an example, Marciano builds upon the chaotic legacy that VPR’s Jax Taylor once paved.

For the reality TV lovers who had a hole in their hearts where Vanderpump Rules was, Villa seems like the best placeholder—one that has stronger odds of maintaining longevity if it continues to properly fire on all cylinders.

It would be a shame for season eleven’s dull nature to be the show’s defining legacy, considering all the years and the fans who have maintained their love for it during the highs and lows. Yet, there just doesn't seem to be a clear path forward that makes sense, until either Madix or Sandoval steps away to end the standstill.

Even then, if it is the latter being the one to only return, audiences would tune out, and there’d be no storyline intriguing enough to beg them to stay. Madix, in particular, has become so much of an integral part of Vanderpump’s core that it couldn't function without her, unless production (somehow) convinces the cast of Season 1 to return.

Only time will tell if Vanderpump Rules can redeem itself for one final lap around the track or if it has already crumbled from the shinier new shows surrounding it. But after all these years, it’s hard to root for this show’s future.