Is Vanderpump Rules Canceled? New Cast Speaks Out Amid Reports ‘Bravo Execs Are Struggling’ With the ‘Letdown’ Reboot
After a controversial cast change on the beloved Bravo series, Vanderpump Rules is reportedly in rocky territory thanks to low ratings. Several of the new SUR staff members spoke out about the backlash against Season 12 and what it means for the future of the show.
Lots of the new cast members are taking the feedback one day at a time. “Honestly, the amount of negativity has just been overshadowed by all of the love, and it’s been so surprisingly overwhelming to feel that,” Audrey Lingle told Us Weekly. “Anything that anyone has said that is negative has just been put in the ground tenfold by the kindness that people have given us.”
Vanderpump Rules overhauled it’s iconic cast members for Season 12 and fired legacy cast members including James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, Tom Schwartz, and Tom Sandoval.
Related: How Much Does the Vanderpump Rules Cast Make? The Highest-Paid Star May Surprise You
“I just feel very grateful for all the love that we’ve had at SUR and all the fans that have come in,” Venus Binkley reflected. “I know that there’s a lot of hate on the internet, but it just feels really nice to be surrounded by people who do love us, and the cast is sticking together no matter what.”
“There is a lot of noise,” Kim Suarez said. “So I think these are the parts that we’ve been really trying to enjoy, which is just the support and the excitement, and it’s kind of a, ‘How did we get here?’ kind of moment.”
Despite the fresh new faces, network executives aren’t convinced that the future of the show is bright.
Is Vanderpump Rules canceled?
After the Season 12 premiere, sources told the US Sun that the show is in danger of cancellation. “Bravo execs are struggling with the reboot,” they said. “First of all, they don’t find the show to be as good, that’s the biggest issue. The cast is not landing with the audience like the network thought before they filmed, and this big revival turned out to be a letdown. They had big plans and ultimately couldn’t deliver.”
“They had big plans and ultimately couldn’t deliver,” a source claimed. “The numbers for premiere week ratings are still coming in, and it’s still early, but based on early numbers, the lack of audience reaction, engagement, and overall interest, it’s likely at this point that the reboot will not come back.”
“It seems like Vanderpump Rules’ time on TV has come to an end if they can’t turn the ship around.”
The source blamed the executive producer and namesake of the show, Lisa Vanderpump, who wasn’t promoting the show enough, since her priority was on other shows like Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa. Another source disagreed, saying that the reality star is “very generous with her time promoting this show,” including during a party held at SUR in promotion of the show.
“It would be inaccurate to say it’s ‘not looking likely’ that the reboot would be picked up again with the same cast,” they added.
Lisa had also responded to the negative reviews, telling Page Six, “Screw the naysayers! I’m very excited about the new cast. Hopefully this time next year they’ll be a pain in my ass, because that’s when you know the show’s a success!”
Andy Cohen also chimed in, saying that they don’t look at ratings when renewing a series. “I start getting things from people telling me how Beverly Hills sucks and how the ratings are so bad for Vanderpump Rules,” the Watch What Happens Live! host said on his SiriusXM show.
“First of all, you don’t know the ratings for Vanderpump Rules,” he continued. “We don’t look at live ratings. I haven’t looked at a live rating for anything on Bravo. You know what the live ratings are? Hashmarks. It’s delayed, it’s DVR, and it’s Peacock.”
