Friends and foes: ‘Vanderpump Rules’ returns with a much-anticipated premiere
Few reality series receive a breakthrough moment so far into their run like “Scandoval” provided for “Vanderpump Rules.” With its 11th season premiering Tuesday, Jan. 30, on Bravo, this upcoming season of the friend group-focused series dives deeper into the affair that had everyone talking — “Vanderpump” watchers and the uninitiated alike.
Returning to the show this season are series star, co-creator and former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast member Lisa Vanderpump; two of the three people in the eye of the Scandoval storm, Tom Sandoval (“Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”) and Ariana Madix (“Dancing With the Stars”); Sandoval’s business partner, Tom Schwartz (“Stars on Mars”); Day 1 cast members and former SUR servers Katie Maloney (“Summer House”) and Scheana Shay (“Overserved With Lisa Vanderpump”); 2021’s “Out of Death” actress Lala Kent; and former SUR busboy-turned-dj James Kennedy.
Ally Lewber, Kennedy’s current girlfriend and “I Believe In You” collaborator, as well as Shay’s husband, Brock Davies, are also confirmed to be a part of this upcoming season.
In a news release, “Vanderpump Rules” revealed that in the new season, the cast members “attempt to pick up the pieces following a scandal that jolted the tight-knit friend group.” In an official trailer for Season 11, Kennedy draws a literal line in the sand, figuratively planting Madix and Sandoval flags on either side.
For those who aren’t in the Bravo-lebrity loop, “Vanderpump Rules” premiered in 2013 in a savvy, seamless transition from a season premiere episode of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” It was a continuing storyline exposing an affair between Shay and a “Housewives” cast member’s then-husband. The series premiere followed Shay as she clocked in for her
shift at SUR, Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant.
Early “Vanderpump Rules” followed the lives of the staff at SUR, who quickly outgrew their service industry positions, expanding up and out into entertainment and entrepreneurship. What has stayed consistent over the past decade of the show is the cast’s ability to bring the drama.
While there have been big moments throughout the show’s history — it’s remained a fan favorite among an ever-growing slate of Bravo reality series — nothing had ever pulled as many eyes towards it as Scandoval. Madix and Sandoval had spent nearly a decade together, with ups and downs like any reality TV couple, before news broke last March that he had been having an affair with fellow “Vanderpump Rules” castmate Raquel Leviss.
Shocked by the betrayal of her partner and one of her friends, Madix gained the sympathy of gal’s gals everywhere. The term ‘Scandoval’ was coined, explainers were written and “Vanderpump Rules,” airing its 10th season at the time, received a major spike in ratings.
The affair and ensuing drama surrounding its reveal set social media ablaze, sending online sleuths on a mission to dig up the dirt. It really was an electric time to be a pop culture consumer — whether you were a “Vanderpump Rules” viewer or not, it was an engaging distraction from serious world events unfolding at the time. Fans dissected Season 10 episodes as they aired, filmed and edited before Scandoval became public knowledge, looking for any clues Sandoval or Leviss dropped.
But, one point of the triangle will not be participating this season. After completing her filming contract with the reunion, Leviss entered a treatment facility for “mental health counseling,” her representative confirmed to US Weekly in April 2023.