‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 11 a “Worthy Follow-up to Last Season” Post Tom Sandoval Drama, Says Producer

Vanderpump Rules executive producer Alex Baskin has revealed the significant impact of 'Scandoval' on the franchise, stating that it breathed new life into a show that was faltering as it approached its 10th season. The scandal which involved Tom Sandoval allegedly cheating on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss, came to light after the filming of season 10 had already wrapped up, as per Heavy.com.

However, the producers quickly resumed filming to capture the aftermath of the scandal. An additional episode was tacked onto the end of season 10 to address the controversy, followed by a three-part reunion that was shot mere weeks after Ariana Madix and the public learned of the affair. Executive Producer Alex Baskin opened up about the fortuitous timing of the 'Scandoval' situation in an interview with Deadline. He shared, "The timing of [Scandoval] happened to have been perfect."

The reality show producer added, "It was insane and proof that there can still be a monoculture. The story of Vanderpump is one of survival more than anything. We were coming off a really tough ninth season and we had the cast firings before the season and there was a low-energy season during the pandemic." He added, "To the network’s credit, they gave us another run at it and we had a resurgence anyway." He highlighted the lesson from these shows that engaging characters, when placed in the right setting, can draw in viewers not just for a season but over the long term.

Baskin discussed the ongoing filming of season 11, describing it as a “worthy follow-up to last season”. He praised the cast's dedication to presenting the "real story" and their cooperation with the approximately 12-week filming schedule. Despite being deep into the production of season 11, Baskin revealed that they are still deliberating over Rachel Leviss' future on the show due to the impact of the affair on the entire group. He mentioned, “There’s one that we’re still figuring out even this deep into production… Otherwise, we’ve been filming with the others and it was a situation that involved the entire group so the aftermath was felt by everyone."

The return of familiar faces, including Sandoval, Madix, James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Tom Schwartz, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney, and Lisa Vanderpump, has contributed to the show's continued success. The 10th season of Vanderpump Rules has achieved an impressive average viewership of 11.4 million viewers, as reported by Variety in June 2023. This substantial number encompasses the first of the three reunion episodes, which aired on May 24. With 4.6 million viewers across all platforms, this episode set a new record for the most-watched Vanderpump Rules episode and also became the highest-rated Bravo episode in over nine years across all series.

References:

https://heavy.com/entertainment/bravo/vanderpump-rules-scandoval-season-11/

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/vanderpump-ratings-scandoval-season-10-viewers-1235646782/

https://deadline.com/2023/08/vanderpump-rules-alex-baskin-true-crime-32-flavors-season-11-1235453457/