“Vanderpump Rules” producers have put the cast’s contract renegotiations on pause amid fallout from Scandoval.
Executive producer Alex Baskin told PvNew that the cast needed a break from the cameras — and all the drama — after filming such an explosive reunion episode back in March.
“I had thought that we needed cameras on them right away,” he told the outlet in an interview published Wednesday. “And I now think we need a minute.”
Baskin said “new information” about Tom Sandoval’s bombshell affair with Raquel Leviss will be revealed during the three-part reunion and the current cast members need to watch the whole thing before deciding whether or not to come back.
“The reunion is not just a recap of what you know, and it’s not just an intense version of the emotions,” he said. “I will put it this way: There are revelations, and they are revelations that not all of them know now. So we need a little space.”
Given the group’s “mob” mentality, host Andy Cohen conducted separate interviews with Leviss, Sandoval and the latter’s former girlfriend, Ariana Madix.
During these one-on-one conversations, the three reality stars were able to answer the hard-hitting questions without fear of backlash from the rest of the cast — which Baskin said will sway some people’s perspective of the entire affair.
n." >That’s why, the production crew is committed to having “a minute down,” so that key players have more time to make up their minds.
“I think everyone’s wrapping their heads around what that might mean,” he said about the stars coming back to the show. “No one’s saying no, I’ll say that — but I think it’s hard for anybody to say yes right now, because they feel like they haven’t gotten any reprieve.”
One of the biggest questions for producers is whether or not Leviss, who is currently off the grid at a mental health facility, will be making a return.
“We have had those conversations with her reps,” he said. “She and people around her have to feel OK about it. And so that’s why I also think that waiting a little bit helps.”
And if Leviss and Sandoval both decide to come back, the next challenge would be getting the cast to actually film with them — especially given the fact that Season 11 is supposed to start production in just a few months.
Baskin also isn’t ruling out the possibility of old cast members — such as Kristen Doute, Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright — making a comeback.
Leviss, 28, and Sandoval, 40 shook the Bravo universe after news of their affair broke in early March.
Their dalliance was outed after Madix, 37, found a sexually explicit video of Leviss on her then-boyfriend’s phone, prompting the sandwich shop owner to end their nine-year relationship.
Leviss and Sandoval have since called it quits.
Most of the cast — aside from Sandoval’s BFF Tom Schwartz — have been outspoken about their support for Madix on social media while simultaneously dragging the adulterous duo.
The fallout of the affair was captured for the season finale of “VPR” — which airs tonight — and subsequently covered during the reunion, which nearly became physical.
The highly-anticipated reunion begins Wednesday, May 24 at 9 p.m. ET.
