It’s a Tough Week to Be a Tom
"In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another," Lisa Vanderpump said in an announcement of the iconic show's reboot. "Cheers to the next generation of 'Vanderpump Rules.'”
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One of Bravo’s most beloved and longest-running franchises, Vanderpump Rules, suffered two devastating blows this week. On Tuesday, the show’s matriarch, Lisa Vanderpump, confirmed that while Vanderpump Rules would return for another season after a brief hiatus, it will no longer feature the ensemble cast everyone came to loathe, love, and laugh at since 2013. *cues up Dena Deadly’s “Raise Your Glass”*
“The last 12 years of filming have been an extraordinary run full of laughter, tears and everything in between,” Vanderpump said in a press release. “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.” Well, if that’s not the most polite firing I’ve ever read…
“What a thrill it is to build on the legacy of this series by doing it all over again,” Alex Baskin, the show’s executive producer said in his own statement. “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 co-workers and friends make their way through life together.”
As of now, there’s no word as to who this dynamic new group is. According to reports, the new season won’t begin production until after the new year. Until then, all we have is mourning for the 11 years we shared with one of the most chaotic casts reality television has ever known. Frankly, the shift seems abrupt given the last two seasons not only delivered batshit events — namely, #Scandoval and its fallout — but broke ratings records. Last season’s premiere, for instance, delivered 3.2 million viewers (a 68% increase compared to the one before). Well, it’s certainly not the first reboot for the network, but let’s just say if the Vanderpump Rules reboot is as universally disliked as the Real Housewives of New York reboot, NBC Universal better hire additional security.
It gets worse. Well, for the two Toms at the center of it all, at least. Schwartz & Sandy’s, the second bar owned (kind of) and operated (again, kind of) by the show’s former stars, Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz, is closing after two years in business.
“Deciding to close was one of the hardest decisions we’ve made,” Schwartz told People. “We agonized over it for quite some time because we truly believe it’s a great bar, still ripe with potential.”
“Unfortunately, the current climate for this business is pretty rough,” he added. “Recovering from all the negativity post-scandal wasn’t easy, and the slimmer margins post-covid made it even harder to bounce back. There’s not a lot of room for error in the restaurant/bar business.” Whether the current climate is bad for this business, or their business given all those bad Yelp reviews post-Scandoval, is neither here nor there. R.I.P. to the lobster corndogs. Those sounded good. But more importantly, R.I.P. to the original cast. There will never be another Number 1 guy in the group, or a Yellow Robe Smith, or, let’s be honest, even a Scheana Shay.