Is Vanderpump Rules Ever Coming Back?

Bravo series Vanderpump Rules may very well already be canceled in the minds of some former fans, but when it comes to whether Vanderpump Rules is actually canceled for TV, that's another story. In a normal year, Pump Rules would be on the air right now — alongside Summer House which premieres Feb. 4 — and continuing on through the spring. But, this is not a normal year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays to both scripted and reality TV series. On top of that, it has had a huge effect on the restaurant industry. On top of that, Los Angeles has been a hot spot for COVID. With Vanderpump Rules being a reality show based around an LA restaurant, it's no surprise that its filming scheduled would be affected.

But that's only the beginning of the troubles for the show. Last year, six cast members left the series for a variety of reasons, ranging from being let go for posting offensive tweets to having contracts discontinued after reporting a Black cast member to the police for a crime she didn't commit and reporting her as AWOL to the military even though she had an honorable discharge. (Let it sink in once again just how despicable that is.) Three of the cast members who are no longer with the series — Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, and Jax Taylor — had been in the cast since the very beginning.

All of this put together is a lot for a series to come back from. Vanderpump Rules usually films over the summer, and that simply didn't happen in 2020. In July 2020, Shay confirmed in a tweet that the show had not been shooting. "Y’all just bc I’m moving now, does NOT mean I’m quitting the show," she tweeted regarding her move to San Diego with boyfriend Brock Davies. "I love my job!!. We aren’t filming right now. SUR/LA is closed."

There are rumors that Vanderpump Rules is over, but nothing to that affect been been confirmed by Bravo. In fact, on December 8, 2020, Andy Cohen gave an update and said the show still wasn't in production, while suggesting that it would be, eventually. "When that show’s going to start shooting again, I have no idea, but I’m excited," he said on his Radio Andy show (via Us Weekly). Cohen also said that a "solid cast" remained. Bravo did not immediately return Refinery29's request for comment regarding the fate of VPR season 9.

But crickets are still a-chirping in Pump Rules land. As of early February, SUR is still closed according to its website, despite LA County allowing the reopening of outdoor dining. Unlike some of Bravo's other reality series, like Summer House and Real Housewives, which were able to find ways to film during the pandemic, Vanderpump Rules is strongly connected to SUR, and it would be a very different show without it. However, introducing customers into a filming bubble complicates the COVID-19 safety protocols that most series are using. So, unless producers really switch things up and film without the restaurant, it's not even possible for Vanderpump Rules go to into production right now.

But, hey, that could be a good thing. If Pump Rules is going to continue, it could focus more on TomTom, the bar Vanderpump opened with cast members Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval — which is also been closed thanks to the ongoing pandemic. After all, the Toms and their partners, Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney, are still part of the cast and haven't been part of any major scandals.

Or, you know, Pump Rules could just end. The cast is all doing their own thing, anyway. Shay is expecting a baby with Davies, hosting a podcast, and living in San Diego. Lala Kent is expecting a kid with producer Randall Emmett and was in that movie with Al Pacino. Sandoval was just in a Lifetime movie with Vivica A. Fox. Schwartz has apparently re-entered the modeling game. (Maybe a show about that is in order.)

Season 8 already left off on a reflective note about the cast members settling down, leaving toxic friendships, and moving on from SUR. The finale even had that chilling moment where Taylor said, "This is why my show is successful," only for Vanderpump to immediately put him in his place. It's her show. Or at least it was. Maybe now it's no one's.