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Despite rumors that Vanderpump Rules was filming, the series is still on hold with no specific plans for a return. However, fans shouldn’t count the show out just yet.

'Vanderpump Rules' cast attends the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards
‘Vanderpump Rules’ cast attends the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards | Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

An “insider” source revealed that the series is not filming and a timeline for when it could return hasn’t been established. “There is now no timeline for the show’s return,” according to E! News source.

“With so many uncertainties during the COVID pandemic, showrunners are telling the crew that the show has not been canceled, but the upcoming season is currently on hold, and asking them to please sit tight until the future is more clear,” the source added.

Jax Taylor’s announcement caused confusion

Jax Taylor told fans that the series would resume filming in October. He answered fan questions on an Instagram Live, which is when he shared that filming should begin soon.

“We’re supposed to go back to filming,” he shared. “In fact, we were supposed to go back this month, in fact, I think. We’re supposed to. That’s the last I heard. We were supposed to. But it’s just a matter of when they’re gonna allow us.”

Other cast members admitted they weren’t sure if the series would return. “I have no idea,” Katie Maloney-Schwartz told Entertainment Tonight in September. “Every day, I’m being like, ‘Maybe today we’ll get the phone call!’ But, no… I’m hopeful. They haven’t canceled it, so there’s hope still. At least there’s not, like, anything definitive in that regard.”

Cast member Jax Taylor tends bar at No. 8 at VanderCrawl
Cast member Jax Taylor tends bar at No. 8 at VanderCrawl |Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times

Beyond the pandemic, the series’ future remained uncertain when four cast members were fired for racist actions. In addition to two new cast members, Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were also dismissed. Schroeder and Doute were original cast members and an integral part of the friend group.

The series could go in a few directions

Beyond returning without Schroeder and Doute, Vanderpump Rules could take a few different directions. The basis of the series was to feature young servers at Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant, SUR. The servers are mainly single, young, and nearly every cast member worked at the restaurant.

However, almost none of the original group works at the restaurant. In fact, the entire cast as partnered off, gotten married, and several cast members are expecting a baby. Within the past eight months, Schroeder, Lala Kent, Brittany Cartwright, and now Scheana Shay announced their pregnancies. So does the show follow many of the original cast members into domestic bliss?

Brittany Cartwright, Andy Cohen, Jax Taylor, Stassi Schroeder, Katie Maloney-Schwartz, Tom Schwartz, Beau Clark
Brittany Cartwright, Andy Cohen, Jax Taylor, Stassi Schroeder, Katie Maloney-Schwartz, Tom Schwartz, Beau Clark | Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank
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Or should the series return to its roots with an entirely new cast? The show tried to integrate younger cast members into season 8. However, the season appeared to be disjointed with an obvious divide between the new and old cast. Apparently, Taylor shunned most of the new cast, which a few openly discussed.

“It’s funny because the whole time we filmed, I didn’t feel that separation,” newcomer Dayna Kathan said on Katie Maloney-Schwartz’s You’re Gonna Love Me podcast. “And then I watched the show back and I was like why does this seem [like] it is two different shows? And I understood longtime viewers’ frustrations. But I think that everyone would have had a better season if it would have been more of the season had been like the last three episodes personally.”

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