“Scandoval,” the quippy nickname given to one of the most shocking infidelity scandals on reality television, catapulted Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules into newfound fame last year. The show, which aired on the network in 2013, initially followed a group of broke, incestuous bartenders and servers working at the sexy and unique West Hollywood restaurant, SUR. The high-stakes drama and record viewership of season 10 even scored Bravo its first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. And while dedicated fans of Vanderpump Rules – those who had long professed to critics, “No, the point is that they’re all bad people!” – finally felt some validation, it soon turned sour when they realized that there wasn’t much else to hold onto upon watching its latest season.
Season 11, which wrapped up its three-part reunion on May 28, overwhelmingly put a bad taste in viewers’ mouths, so much so that Bravo put production on “pause” for the foreseeable future. Throughout the season, fans were initially annoyed by the cast’s easy-to-forgive sentiments toward Tom Sandoval, who had cheated on his long-time partner Ariana Madix with fellow cast member Rachel Leviss. But what had really angered viewers (namely, those who have children) during the final reunion episode were comments made by the show’s voice of reason, Lala Kent.
