Why Fans Are Torn Over The Vanderpump Rules Season 9 News
Bravo fans, rejoice! After an extra long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2020, Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules" is finally back in production for a new season, per Variety. There had been a ton of speculation that the show would be ending for good after the firing of some original cast members, Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute, and some newbies, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni.
At the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, Stassi, Kristin, Max, and Brett were let go when past racist remarks and actions from the four of them were brought to light. In December 2020, Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright revealed they were leaving the show. The exit news came months after a 2017 tweet surfaced from the SUR bartender falsely accusing the show's only Black cast member ever, Faith Stowers, of "grand theft auto," per US Weekly. Dayna Kathan also announced that she would not be coming back, per E! News.
Per Variety, Lisa Vanderpump will be back, along with Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney, Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, James Kennedy and Raquel Leviss, and new moms, Lala Kent and Scheana Shay. There's more than enough to work with with those characters, but since many of them no longer even work at SUR, there will also be new cast members announced later in the year once it's clear whose story is "working," per the outlet.
But will anyone even watch if the show is going to be totally different?
There are mixed reactions to the new season of 'Vanderpump Rules'
Given the announcement that show was resuming production, fans had mixed reactions about "Vanderpump Rules" Season 9. With the absence of Stassi Schroeder, her fiancé Beau Clark, Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens, Brett Caprioni, Dayna Kathan, per Page Six, some longtime fans are torn about tuning in.
On Twitter, one person wrote, "Now I loved VPR, but a show without Jax, Stassi and Kristen does not sound good. I just think that the show is played out. They left it at a good place in their lives. And now they all have babies and families and have grown up — It was lightning in a bottle." Another agreed that despite the controversy surrounding the OGs, they didn't know how they would live without Stassi on the show. Another person tweeted at Jax directly that they weren't sure they'd be watching this season without their favorites.
Still, for others, the absence of so many cast members is actually a selling point. One fan decided they'd tune in again. "I might start watching again without Jax, Brittany, Stassi, and Kristen!," one person wrote (a former fan, perhaps?) Another imagined a different dynamic all around for some cast members, saying, "I used to hate Katie but I feel without stassi and Kristen she will come off much more likable ..."
Season 9 will surely be different. But if anything, it's a chance to start fresh.