Vanderpump Rules’ Original Stars Were ‘Left in the Dark’ About Plans for Season 12’s New Cast

The stars of Vanderpump Rules were not told about Bravo’s plans to reboot the reality show’s entire cast for season 12, a source exclusively tells In Touch amid news of the upcoming season.

“The cast members were left in the dark for months about the plans for season 12,” the insider says.

In Touch reached out to Bravo for comment.

TMZ first reported on Tuesday, November 26, that Bravo planned to have an all-new cast alongside Lisa Vanderpump in season 12. The upcoming installment will return to the show’s original formula of giving a behind-the-scenes look at Lisa’s many restaurants, according to the outlet. Sources told the publication that current VPR cast members Tom Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, Ariana Madix, Scheana Shay, James Kennedy, Katie Maloney and Lala Kent were only told about the decision “by production last night.”

Bravo also announced the news in a press release, revealing that the newly greenlit season 12 will feature Lisa, 64, “and a new group of close-knit SUR-vers who are as complicatedly involved with one another as their iconic predecessors.”

The new season is also slated to “celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals with a retrospective special highlighting the past 11 seasons,” according to the press release.

“Under Lisa Vanderpump’s watchful eye, the West Hollywood mainstay SUR – and now TomTom – welcomes the next batch of servers, hosts and bartenders rife with plenty of drama, situationships and frenemies,” the announcement continued.

Vanderpump Rules season 12 production will begin next year. The premiere date and official cast list will be announced at a later date.

“The last 12 years of filming have been an extraordinary run full of laughter, tears and everything in between,” Lisa said in a statement. “I can’t thank enough those who have shared their lives. How I love you all. In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another. Cheers to the next generation of Vanderpump Rules.”

Executive producer Alex Baskin added, “What a thrill it is to build on the legacy of this series by doing it all over again. With profound appreciation for the original group and their iconic run, we can’t wait for the audience to see a dynamic new group of coworkers and friends make their way through life together.”

Vanderpump Rules premiered in 2013 as a spinoff to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The series originally followed Lisa and the then-staff members at her restaurant SUR — Scheana, 39, Katie, 37, Sandoval, 42, Kristen Doute, Jax Taylor and Stassi Schroeder — as they navigated personal and professional drama. Schwartz, 42, Ariana, 39, James, 32, Lala, 34, and Brittany Cartwright joined the cast later, as well as other stars.

Vanderpump Rules was rocked by scandal in 2023 when news broke that Sandoval and Ariana were ending their nine-year romance due to the musician cheating on the Chicago alum with costar Rachel Leviss. The split and subsequent drama, dubbed Scandoval, brought in more VPR viewers than ever and earned the show an Emmy nomination.

However, Scandoval also left a major divide between the cast members and led the show to put season 12 production on hold. Sources told TMZ on April 30 that Bravo and the team behind VPR felt they needed to “give the cast a break and let their lives breathe a bit in the wake of Scandoval.”

“We’re told producers want to let the cast do their own thing for a bit without jumping right back into another summer of filming — all in the hopes that by the time they come back and shoot … there’ll have been some big developments and new drama to capture,” the report read.