Vanderpump Rules EP Addresses Cast Claims Amid Hiatus

As Vanderpump Rules’ future remains in the air, its executive producer is addressing some troubling claims.

Showrunner Alex Baskin responded to castmember Scheana Shay’s recent claims of manufactured storylines on the Bravo reality show as he appeared at Variety’s FYC TV Fest.

‘I think that was a pretty dramatic, heightened account of what happened,’ said Baskin on Thursday’s ‘Reality Producers Tell All’ panel.

His appearance came after Shay, 39, said on her Sheananigans podcast that Baskin ‘said that midseason, the show was not in a good place’ shortly before Scandoval occurred on season 10. 

‘It was, you know, “X, Y and Z needs to happen. Or we’re going to have a short season and the show’s going to be canceled and that’s it,”‘ she recalled of the conversation.

Vanderpump Rules showrunner Alex Baskin responded to castmember Scheana Shay ‘s recent claims of manufactured storylines on the Bravo reality show as he appeared at Variety’s FYC TV Fest

‘I think that was a pretty dramatic, heightened account of what happened,’ said Baskin on Thursday’s ‘Reality Producers Tell All’ panel

‘I think Lala and I felt a lot of pressure after that day when it was like, “Well, we don’t want the show to get canceled,”‘ added Shay.

That led to herself and Lala Kent confronting Tom Sandoval over his behavior and ultimately helped expose his affair with Rachel Leviss.

Baskin claimed on Thursday’s panel that he never ‘asked [the cast] to manufacture anything’ for the show. 

‘We did get the entire cast together, and we thought we had hit a point in the season where I actually think that they were impacted by what was happening on social media,’ he explained.

‘We basically were telling them to drown out the noise, and to make the show that they had made over the previous 10 seasons — and that didn’t mean we asked them to manufacture anything.’ 

The EP continued, ‘It didn’t mean that we gave them any specific talking points. It just meant that we had made a show that worked because it was everybody rowing in the same direction, and reacting to each other. 

‘And we’ve gotten away from that,’ said Baskin. ‘So we thought that we had to intervene in that sense.’

He added that ‘we’ll have a clearer picture a few months from now’ of VPR’s future after season 11 ‘was such an intense experience in such a compressed timeframe.’

‘I think we will do an analysis of what else we need to consider for the show — and that’s who returns, and what the complexion of the cast looks like,’ explained Baskin.

His appearance came after Shay said on her Sheananigans podcast that Baskin ‘said that midseason, the show was not in a good place’ shortly before Scandoval occurred on season 10

‘It was, you know, “X, Y and Z needs to happen. Or we’re going to have a short season and the show’s going to be canceled and that’s it,”‘ she recalled of the conversation

Baskin claimed on Thursday’s panel that he never ‘asked [the cast] to manufacture anything’ for the show

‘I think everybody needs a little bit of time to live their lives, and then we can pick back up on them in a different spot,’ he added .     

Baskin previously addressed ‘a lot of speculation’ that the show is ending following the recent season 11 reunion. 

‘People have written the show’s final chapter many times, and the show has continued,’ Baskin told The Hollywood Reporter.

Last week’s concluding episode of the three-part reunion special ended with an emotional flashback montage of the show’s 11-season run, leading some fans to speculate that it could also serve as the series finale.

‘So just because it’s a reflective moment that clearly marks the end of one chapter does not necessarily mean that it is the end of the show,’ explained Baskin. 

‘You see, there is still a lot of fertile ground and developments in their lives,’ he continued.

‘We basically were telling them to drown out the noise, and to make the show that they had made over the previous 10 seasons — and that didn’t mean we asked them to manufacture anything,’ added Baskin

‘So I think it would be very premature that just because we really close the book on Scandoval in a lot of ways — because it was this moment that sort of blew up everything and that extended into the next season — does not mean necessarily that the show is over.’

Following the tense reunion special, the Vanderpump Rules cast is taking a hiatus from filming before going into season 12.

Meanwhile, Bravo has not yet given Vanderpump Rules an official renewal.

Baskin noted that ‘all things are possible’ when it comes to casting, as the hiatus might mean a change in faces if and when the show returns.

‘There’s still a strong core there. So I could totally see some version of the bulk of the cast returning and then some notable additions,’ he said.

‘I think there’s plenty of life,’ Baskin continued. ‘What form that takes, I don’t exactly know. But that’s certainly very possible.’

Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules is now streaming on Peacock.