Hmmm … something is afoot, and we’re not talking about these custom Chuck 70s with Lala Kent’s face painted on them. Bravo revealed on November 26 that the upcoming 12th season of Vanderpump Rules will have an entirely new cast of characters, still culled from SUR’s and TomTom’s staff. Lisa Vanderpump, per the title of the show, will remain. We have no word yet on what the cast will look like otherwise. “I want to say thank you for rocking with us for so many years,” Lala posted in response to the news on Instagram. “This show changed my whole life.” The thing that stands out here is that she’s so … calm. That’s not the Lala we know. Taken in combination with rumors that she, Scheana Shay, and Tom Schwartz are joining The Valley, it feels as if there could be something else brewing. Like … another spinoff show? Two spinoff shows? Bravo couldn’t let a star like Ariana Madix out of its clutches. Below are all the former SURvers raising their glass one last time.
Scheana Shay
When news broke of VPR 1.0’s end, many people had one thought: “But is anyone checking to see how this is affecting Scheana?” Scheshu acknowledged her centrality to this narrative in her IG post, writing “I don’t even know where to begin….well maybe first off, thank you to everyone who’s checked in on me.” She thanked the fans, Revolution Media, and the crew for “the experience of a lifetime.” Her post seemed extremely optimistic, the way someone who has a new reality show lined up would caption a carousel…
Lala Kent
Lauren from Utah acknowledged her Salt Lake City roots (and her legal name) in her farewell post. “I was a young girl from Salt Lake City who made her way to L.A. I would introduce myself as Lauren, but because my childhood best friend referred to me as Lala, my nickname quickly stuck. Sur was a place that became home,” she wrote. “I have such mixed feelings right now. It’s no secret I do not like change. This is the exception. I want to say thank you for rocking with us for so many years. This show changed my whole life. I’m unbelievably grateful for every moment.”
Ariana Madix
Ariana Madix took time out of her Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade rehearsal schedule to reminisce about being a SURver. “vanderpump rules, you will forever be that girl,” she wrote on IG. “im feeling at peace with closing this chapter and im excited for everything that is to come.
i don’t know that these were the best days of our lives, but they were definitely something special.” Not shocking Madix is the one to acknowledge how painful shooting VPR could be for the cast members.
Katie Maloney
Katie Maloney did not feel the end of Vanderpump Rules as we know it was gridworthy. She posted on Stories “It’s a mixed bag. But I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for the memories and the love the last 11 years,” as well as sharing Andy Cohen’s story about the first VPR reunion.
Tom Schwartz
The Toms are layering tragedy upon tragedy, with the recasting announcement closely following news that Schwartz & Sandy’s was closing. Rather than make another sappy post, Schwartzy posted a fan-made reel of the VPR cast inserted into the Friends opening credits. “How the last 12 years replays in my mind ❤️,” he wrote.
Tom Sandoval
Sandoval also didn’t go to the grid with yet another L. See you on The Traitors, buddy.
DJ James Kennedy
James Kennedy went with the classic text post on IG, captioning his carousel of memories with three purple heart emojis and the @ of Lisa Vanderpump. “I can’t lie,” he wrote, “I’m holding back some tears as I write this.” Kennedy thanked the fans and also shouted out his booked and busy schedule “All of my dreams are finally coming true; this year I played Neon Carnival, EDC and Stagecoach and I have a Vegas residency,” he wrote, “and I have all of you to thank.” Someone he feels no gratitude for and does not rely upon is the Oxford comma, apparently.
Ally Lewber
Ally’s statement could be doubling as a pre-Thanksgiving gratefulness post. A lot of fan snark has been dedicated to whether she’d leave Kennedy now that TV cameras aren’t essentially the third in their throuple. Lewber seemed to shoot those folks down, writing “Can’t wait to see what’s next for @itsjameskennedy & me.”
An earlier version of this post misstated the network broadcasting The Valley.