“Vanderpump Rules” is so back, this time with a new cast of trouble makers.
Ten years into its original run, Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” was at the height of its fame. Tom Sandoval cheated on his girlfriend of nearly a decade, Ariana Madix, with their mutual friend Raquel Leviss, and the affair heard ’round the world, dubbed “Scandoval,” dominated headlines, podcasts and social media.
The news of Sandoval and Leviss’s relationship broke in spring 2023, as season 10 was airing. The aftermath was an explosive reunion confirmation, followed by heartbreaking fallout that characterized season 11. It became apparent to viewers, production, and the cast that this show, which had once been focused on a friend group working at a popular restaurant in West Hollywood, had been fractured beyond repair.
So the question became: Where does “Vanderpump Rules” go from here?
Well, according to Bravo, a shift change is in order. And after taking a year off from filming, a new group of “SURvers” is ready to take over the reins of the show and bring it back to its restaurant roots. “Vanderpump Rules” season 12 focuses on 10 new cast members: Natalie Maguire, Demy Selem, Venus Binkley, Jason Cohen, Chris Hahn, Angelica Jensen, Marcus Johnson, Audrey Lingle, Kim Suarez, and Shayne Davis, most of whom work for Lisa Vanderpump at her restaurant, SUR.
But can they live up to the expectations set by the original cast? Well, if you’re looking for drama between a group of friends in their 20s who work at a West Hollywood restaurant together, it’s safe to say that season 12 of “Vanderpump Rules” is delivering.
Here are the main plot points from the first episode:
Natalie, 26, is just returning to work after being suspended. The reason for her suspension is that she went to SUR on her day off and yelled at her 54-year-old ex-boyfriend Paulo Gorsse (also an employee). They roll the tape of security cams to show the squabble, as well as her yelling at SUR’s assistant manager, Demy Selem (also Paulo’s ex).
In Natalie’s series debut, her persona is reminiscent of Stassi Schroeder, a lead of the original series.
On Natalie’s first day back, Lisa Vanderpump goes into mediator, boss and mentor mode. Lisa, or LVP as she’s been nicknamed, is in a tough pickle as both the owner of SUR and an executive producer of “Vanderpump Rules.” She must maintain a sense of professionalism and order amongst her employees to ensure that the restaurant stays afloat, while also knowing that the drama between her staff is what keeps the reality TV show juicy.
Ultimately, Lisa leaves Natalie with a warning, “Listen very carefully. I will be keeping an eye on you.”
The other major drama is between Marcus, Kim and Natalie. Marcus and Kim are dating and have been known to have a tempestuous relationship, which will likely be reminiscent to fans of some of the couples from the early seasons of the series. Kim is not a fan of Marcus and Natalie being so buddy-buddy and feels as though boundaries are not being respected. This leads to an after-hours blow-up at the Belmont. Natalie and Marcus defend their friendship, stating that Marcus views Natalie as a younger sister. The cast naturally takes different sides, with Audrey quipping, “Kim being upset with Natalie wanting to be friends with Marcus — what, are we in the 1900s?”
In addition to the drama unfolding between the cast, there’s also some business drama at SUR. Lisa explains that West Hollywood, once the center of nightlife in Los Angeles, has been seeing more and more businesses shutter post-pandemic. Fans of “Vanderpump Rules” know that during season 11, it was shown that Pump (another of Lisa’s restaurants, which she owns with her husband Ken Todd) closed in 2023. “I’ve already said goodbye to one baby, I’m not going to do it again,” says Lisa, with determination to keep SUR afloat.
This is Lisa’s mindset when she leads the SUR staff meeting. One of Lisa’s business partners at SUR, Nathalie, has informed Lisa that Marcus has not only been drinking at work, but he’s now training one of the new hires, Jason, and encouraging him to imbibe on the clock as well. Lisa sends Marcus home, and it’s unclear to viewers, staff, and even Marcus if his days at SUR are numbered or if “the best days of our lives,” as the opening credits theme song suggests, are still ahead.
Other things we learn from the first episode about the group’s dynamic:
Natalie and Venus are friends, having both started working at SUR in May 2023, shortly after #Scandoval erupted online. Venus is friends with both Marcus and Kim, though Marcus is his bestie. Jason and Chris are both new hires and also half-cousins. And of course, I’d be remiss not to mention the series’s new problematic dreamboat? Antagonist? Casanova? Enter Shayne Davis, the only cast member who doesn’t work at SUR, and a good friend of Marcus, who describes Shayne as “jacked, pretty blue eyes, 90s hair.” Shayne has been casually seeing Natalie since her breakup with Paulo, but arrives at SUR with another lady in tow.
“I am more addicted to a hot succubus woman than I am drugs,” now-sober Shayne tells the camera.
New episodes of “Vanderpump Rules” season 12 will air on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. You can stream new episodes on Peacock the following day.