Just as sports fans return in droves to the Super Bowl every year,reality fans largely assumed it would be similar for the next season ofVanderpump. And they were right – the season 11 premiere attracted (including three days of delayed viewing),a 68 per cent increase over the season 10 premiere in 2023.
Scandoval sentVanderpump’s popularity soaring,breathing fresh life into a show that had been. The question is,how long can it maintain this momentum before viewers yearn for something different?
The first four episodes have focused almost entirely on the fallout from Scandoval,which saw cast member Tom Sandoval cheat on his long-term partner,Ariana Madix,with their fellow cast-mate Rachel (formerly known as Raquel) Leviss. In fact,the new season is so Scandoval-coded,its first episode is titledNotes on a Scandoval.
It’s technically exactly what the doctor ordered. Viewers have been intrigued by the casts’ shifting dynamics since the previous season’s fiery reunion episodes. This season,we see Sandoval largely ousted from the group,Madix cutting out those who still interact with Sandoval,and their friends struggling over whether to pick a side or remain neutral.
However,much of this isn’t new. TikTok videos,podcasts and news outlets have been carefully documenting the aftermath since filming began in June,including against Sandoval and Madix for alleged revenge porn. So far,season 11 has felt like a relatively stale recap of a topic that has already been exhaustively discussed and analysed online.
The exclusion of Leviss – she opted out of the new season after last year – is also key to its relatively flat performance. Without such a pivotal member of the scandal,how can any true drama occur? What was originally a messy love triangle has become a linear conflict within a divided group hesitant to cross enemy lines.
A good deal of the new season is yet to air,so it’s safe to assume fresh storylines will eventually play out. But how will they live up to Scandoval? Equalling an affair that practically broke the internet and saved a dying brand cannot be easy. If it’s more infidelity,it’s repetitive. If it’s completely unrelated to Scandoval,it’s forced.
Reality TV is ultimately transactional. Producers promise viewers a certain level of drama,which is usually slightly amped up with each new episode. In return,viewers promise to keep tuning in,turning a blind eye to the exaggeration of certain narratives. Each season sets new expectations,so if fresh material fails to deliver,viewers could begin to feel cheated.
Vanderpumpisn’t the only reality show to potentially run empty after a major scandal. In the second season ofThe Kardashians,Khloé Kardashian revealed her ex-partner Tristan Thompson while they were involved. The news stunned audiences,especially since Thompson had been accused of cheating on the reality star multiple times before. Since then,the show has struggled to generate tension. Despite the family experiencing genuinely complex issues,such as (formerly Kanye West),they instead chose to focus on a mundane argument between two of the sisters,which ultimately went nowhere by the end of the most recent season.
Season four ofBig Brother Australia also proved difficult to follow,after evicted contestant Merlin Luck used his. Shortly after being evicted,he appeared on stage with his mouth taped shut holding a sign that read “Free Th (sic) Refugees”. The incident was so shocking that Channel Ten extended the episode by half an hour to include the controversy. Though some succeeding storylines managed to grip and astound audiences,such as the notorious “” of season six,the show ultimately ran out of steam.
Other productions have managed to avoid such a fate,such asThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,which went straight from Erika Jayne’s to original housewife Kyle Richards’ in its two most recent seasons. Shows like these appear to remain an anomaly,however,with the majority getting crushed under the weight of previous scandals.
That being said,perhaps this is part of natural fluctuations within reality TV – the ebb and flow of drama that allows viewers to breathe and reset. After all,they are technically focusing on “real” lives,and sometimes life can be boring.
Vanderpump cast member James Kennedy agrees with this proposition,emphasising that although Scandoval offered juicy content for viewers,it ultimately impacted real people’s daily lives.
“If you worry about what happened last season,then you’re just living in the past. The story continues every year,and it’s very important to see growth through that,” he says.
“It’s not necessarily about how we’re going to top Scandoval,because it’s nothing to be proud of at the end of the day. These are real-life choices and situations. Scandoval shook our friend group to the core and changed it forever. Now,it’s just a matter of watching the waterfall cascade.”
Regardless of repetitive or dull storylines,people continue to tune into shows likeVanderpump andThe Kardashians. One need only look at the recent – a reality show known to recycle plot points (“they have a partner outside the experiment” is frequently said on the show) – to realise weak narratives are usually not enough to kill these shows.
Whether will be the case forVanderpump,only time will tell. Will it find ways to thrive post-Scandoval,or will it – like Icarus – plummet to the ground after soaring too close to the sun?
Find out the next TV,streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees..