The End of the Road for Vanderpump Rules 1.0

I read about the end of Vanderpump Rules and discuss its reboot here, 

It's time for a retrospective. 

A big reason for the show's initial success is that five of the original six cast members were already friends and co-workers (Stassi, Jax, Kristen, Tom Sandoval, and Katie.) The new girl Scheana was the exception

Cast members were (relatively) real--they weren't trying to put on airs and pretend to be more than they were. They were waitstaff and bartenders with dreams of acting, music, and writing. Main storylines focused of three best friends (Stassi, Katie, and Kristen) dating three best friends.(Jax, Tom Schwartz, and Tom Sandoval.)

Their fights were ridiculously, stupidly funny. 

Kristen getting mad at Tom because she ran into someone (on a modeling job) that Tom slept with before they met. 

Jax and Stassi's breakups and their rebound flings with other SURvers Laura Leigh and Frank. 

Jax crashing Stassi's Las Vegas birthday party where a chunky sweater was torn off before a fight and a beer was poured on someone's head. Abandoned by her best friends, Stassi hosted a brunch of her second tier friends the next day.

They were messy and ridiculous and genuinely funny.

Over eleven seasons friendships shifted, and romances heated up and burned out. Cast members were spending less and less time at SUR and with Lisa Vanderpump; they making money elsewhere. Some cast members quit or are fired. Some new cast members came aboard.

Onto Season 10 and Scandoval. The scandal broke just as the season started airing. Fans could watch the affair unfold on the air, looking for clues.

I suddenly became interested in social media posts and stories about the VPR cast. When production was rushed for Season 11, I learned more about the show from these stories than from the episodes themselves. That upended the normal viewing process and made it less enjoyable, though I still kept watching.

Over the last few weeks, I've been rewatching the early episodes--the first season and a few episodes of the second. The show is still messy fun, but I am beginning to see patterns in relationships that will manifest themselves over the next several seasons. I'll keep up my re-watch. 

As for VPR 2.0? I'll definitely give it a try.