News of a potential Vanderpump Rules spin-off slipped when Andy Cohen introduced Lala Kent as the star of Vanderpump Valley on Watch What Happens Live. A spin-off was not officially announced. However, since WWHL, speculation has run ramped. After a subpar Vanderpump Rules season 9, it would make sense that Bravo is ready to shake things up.
Usually, low ratings would make cancellation imminent. However, Vanderpump Rules brought significant attention to the network at its peak, including some major celebrities. From Martin Scorcese to Rihanna, Hollywood started paying attention to the series focused on Lisa Vanderpump's mystery gang of up-and-coming Hollywood servers.
When it comes to a Vanderpump Valley spin-off, the word on the street is that Stassi Schroeder and Jax Taylor could return after getting fired in 2020 with their respective spouses, Beau Clark and Brittany Cartwright. According to Reddit, the blog "Bravo And Cocktails" explained the plan is to "rest the OG show for a year and give Leva Boneparte's Southern Charm spin off the time slot. The second part of the plan is to launch Vanderpump Valley, a spin-off starring the OG couples and fan favorites as they navigate their adult lives." While Katie Maloney hoped for a season 10, the new plan could work in her favor. The trajectory aligns with the upcoming The Real Housewives of New York series split. A Legacy RHONY will spotlight original housewives, and a new RHONY will bring a brand new and fresh-faced friend group that is more representative of New York City in 2022. With both series, there's a need to separate badly behaved and problematic original cast members from a new era of Bravo that centers on diversity, equity and inclusion.
However, the Vanderpump Valley approach is more nuanced than a single split. Bravo had supposedly toyed with separating Vanderpump Valley from another show, When Lisa Met TomTom, which would center on Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz's businesses and personal lives Tom Sandoval is no longer friends with Stassi or Jax and brings alpha energy in his own right. However, he has found a rhythm for sharing the spotlight with Lala Kent, who is at the helm of the franchise in many ways. The last part of Bravo's master plan to revamp Vanderpump Rules was to launch a brand new series with new waiters and waitresses from Lisa's restaurants. While a Pump Rules: Las Vegas is possible, casting has been slow. Instead, they will center on Vanderpump's LGBTQ bar Pump and a new cast.
While it makes sense not to throw the franchise away entirely, time will tell if the rebooted versions will be as successful as their predecessor. An enormous asterisk mark is hanging in the air about whether cast members like Stassi and Jax merit more airtime. Faith Stowers is busy elevating black businesses and executive producing her show. Meanwhile, Stassi's capitalizing on her racist behavior with a potentially fraudulent New York Times bestseller. Fans, however, are dying to see more of Lala, James Kennedy, Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, and the newly single Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz. Vanderpump Rules fans will have to wait to see how it all plays out, but people will be watching whatever path Vanderpump Valley takes.
Sources: Reddit