VANDERPUMP Rules is likely to end after next season, but a spin-off focusing again on the wild, young waiting staff at SUR Restaurant and Lounge in West Hollywood could be greenlit.
Sources say there's a big appetite for a fresh start, as none of the original cast work at Lisa Vanderpump's bar anymore and the Bravo show is winding down.
Filming for Season 12 has been postponed several times, while the cast is desperate to see it return and pick up their huge paychecks, with some getting paid more than half a million dollars a season.
Thea de Sousa, who worked in development in Hollywood for years, has now released a new book on the history of the show, The Unofficial Vanderpump Rules Ultimate Trivia Book.
She insists Bravo is still very eager to work on a season at SUR with fresh faces.
Thea told The U.S. Sun: "They are developing spinoffs, and they still want to work with the cast a lot. They're definitely doing a new show set on the new staff of SUR.
"People have been there actually for a couple of years but they've now been cast in a show about SUR that really will hopefully, if it takes off, become the new Vanderpump Rules. And that's really where the focus has to be.
"They've been filming scenes. I mean, this is what happens... So they obviously get a crew together, they go in the restaurant, they cast the show, and then they have to film a little bit, and then you have to send that to Bravo decks, and they have to watch it, see what's the chemistry, what are the storylines.
"So we're only at that point right now where they've filmed some scenes. The show is not full force yet."
Thea continued, "This is going to be a lot cheaper of a show. These are new contracts, new cast members, so it's a little bit less of a gamble. But they still have to see that they have something there that can be a whole season.
"And so we're at that point right now. Let's see where these relationships are going before we commit to a full season of filming."
SOMETHING ABOUT SUR
Thea claimed they've filmed in the restaurant, as it "looks pretty promising that we'll see a season of it maybe in the spring of the new show."
She added, "And then of course we'll see going from there, what are the ratings, how are people liking it, let's see if it gets renewed.
“It's not going to be called Vanderpump. I don't think they've said it yet. I don't think there's a working title. Something SUR but I’m not sure yet."
Thea spoke about the future of the franchise before a star-studded launch party powered by CellSound for her book with Vanderpump cast members at SUR this week.
The event saw reality star Jon Gosselin spinning tracks on the decks.
Tom Sandoval and his girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson walked the red carpet.
Thea said she would love to see other spin-offs from Vanderpump involving the original cast members following the success of The Valley with Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright.
"Those people are making like the minimum that you can pay because they're all hoping that the show takes off and then each season they'll get more.
"It's really more about establishing the show. And then, you know, again, with these mandatory bumps, eventually you'll end up making good money on the show, but nobody expects to walk into a show like the Valley, which was completely unproven, [and get paid a lot].
"We didn't know, even know if anyone would like it or watch it. And they signed those contracts before [they] even start filming. So it's such a gamble.
"So they are not paid well now, but I'm sure they've all landed sponsorship deals off of it. And now they have season two and it'll get better and better for them if the show keeps going. I'm interested in it. I'm loving it."
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Bravo for comment but did not hear back.
TOM TOM
Thea said she'd also love to see a show with the two Toms following the Scandoval fallout.
Tom Sandoval stunned cast members when he had an affair with girlfriend Ariana Madix's close friend, Rachel Leviss, and has now moved on with model Victoria.
His best friend Tom Schwartz was also ditched by his wife Katie Maloney and he's now dating Sophia Skoro.
"This is an unpopular opinion, but I really like Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz’s new girlfriends," Thea said.
"I actually hung out with Sandoval. They are very interesting women and I know season 10 they had planned to go over to Schwartz and Sandy's and do a whole show based on the Toms. And I hope [producers] revisit that."
BRAVO HIT
Vanderpump Rules first aired in 2013 and became a huge success with Sandoval, Jax Taylor, and Stassi Schroeder, who all worked at SUR for entrepreneur Lisa.
The Bravo show was a huge hit and each year the cast members allegedly got a mandatory pay bump, as well as making hundreds of thousands from endorsement deals and podcasts.
It peaked with Scandoval, which had viewers hooked as the cast rallied around Ariana and vilified her ex for having a months-long affair as he became labeled "the most hated man in America."
The last season saw the cast struggle to film together as Ariana refused to be in the same room as Sandoval, and it appeared Bravo lost control of the narrative.
But they are still said to be returning for at least one more season.
Thea also previously said, "They were supposed to be cameras up already and they're still having [a] problem, not because of the show but because of just the landscape of reality TV, and the payoff isn't as big as it used to be for Bravo.
"Best case scenario would be November, December worst case scenario, beginning of next year.
"And then the least attractive scenario is they can't literally ever afford to do it again, but they are still promising that they are supposed to do a final season. They've just postponed it.
"It was supposed to be cameras up mid-October and that's already been postponed.
"So that's happened about three times now where they've said, ‘Okay, we're almost ready’, but they have not greenlit."
Source : www.the-sun.com
