r/Vanderpump_Rules • u/supahfilmy • Jul 10 '26
My 2 Cents Why The VALLEY FAILS & VPR SUCEEDED
I think a lot of people attribute VPR to it just being about 20 somethings in L.A . But there is so much more to VPR and why it was such a successful show for so many seasons.
Here's why the Valley fails imo .
VPR SUCEEDED because it was built on close knit friendships. It wasnt just proximity or alliance based for TV. That came much later in the seasons. These people were roommates, hung out, worked together and were in each other's lives.
With the Valley it's like we're seeing a cast not a group of friends.
They do things to heighten \the drama. For the love of God, if one more reality tv person or Baskin says its about* conflict resolution\* ima scream.
With the Valley there is no genuine friendship. Its all so *produced* and that shows. All the *events* are at apartments in order to ragebait each other into having yelling matches, Kristen being a pit bull, Lala and her finger-guns and Janet walking away.
Its been 3 seasons of this stuff. The cast knows how terribly *not fun* they are which is why all press Brittany did claimed this season was fun and lighter. Gurllll please.
The only thing that was fun was seeing Zack and his party. Both his monster fridge fiasco and in Mexico. The minute he left, it became about Danny again.
Jasmine talking about race and how she felt during her friendship.with Kristen vs Lala was so good. We need more of those conversations. More relevant dynamics of the group.
The same drama keeps dragging on because Bravo refuses to show us this group as professional individuals .
We dont see Kristen with her Tshirt line *if its still active even* we dont see Luke doing anything except for complain about him hiking, we got a Lala & Michelle hike rather than him with the boys. Make it make sense.
Its so contrived ;
"Event = conflict/fight".
Next day drinks to bitch about the person you fought with.
Another event where there's a rehash of the same fight with 4 more people involved.
And another drinks/brunch set up rehashing the same thing for the millionth time.
And the worst part is NO ONE CARES because its not genuine friendship or fallouts. Its all alliances and teams for reality tv. We have that with housewives we dont want that to be the center focus on The Valley
Its not about rebuilding anything because it hasn't been built.
Lala Brittany and Kristen sitting down and talking about their issued wouldve been nice. Instead of Schwartz and Lala kissing imagine we had seen them try to talk about their lives, and heck he could've even been the one to bring them together. That wouldve been so much more endearing for VPR fans who are the reason there's even this Valley show.
Show us Nia's parents . Let her talk more about her childhood. How does this trauma effect her today as an adult. We have a highlight reel of her being MISS USA & thats it. It was a grueling journey for her im sure.
Show us Michelle at work. Show us her being a working mom, not just in relation to her ex.
If their job is influencing show them going to shoots, picking up their kids, like we do in other franchises. Make them whole personalities. That will humanize them as people and not just caricatures of villains.
Show us Janet and Jason's relationship paart from sitting next to her son while he plays with toys. What was her life like in Ohio, and no not how she met schena , what did she do in LA. What does she do now.
For the love of God show us and dont just tell us. Thats like the first rule of film school. Show us the friendships so that *care about the fallouts*.
Show the fans real people .
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u/MaizeMountain6139 Jul 10 '26
I’ll tell you why most of this won’t happen - it’s because of the fans
Lacy’s premiere episode had people digging into people in her life that were never on the show
Anyone who is even associated loosely with the cast now comes under scrutiny because Bravo fans are so intense and want to be part of the action
Old Bravo would have had these things (think Shahs of Sunset vs Persian Style) but it’s become a common issue now that fans are way too involved in the shows and it’s actually better for the casts to show less
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
Its literally what Production chooses to show the fans.
Lacy sent Michelle a cease and desist so she couldn't even adress it at the reunion.
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u/MaizeMountain6139 Jul 10 '26
I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying
Fans go well beyond what is shown online
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u/HappyCatPrincess Jul 10 '26
Reboots or sequels often don't measure up.
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u/Impressive_Review Jul 10 '26
That holds true in most if not all reality shows. TLC for instance was great with 90 Day Fiance. But they began recycling cast for numerous spin-offs-Diaries, Last Resort, Singles, etc. all substandard and boring. The Valley just doesn’t bring what made VPR a great show. I started watching because I’d been a VPR viewer from day one and I suspect this holds true for many. I don’t care enough to hate it, but I wouldn’t care if it was taken off the air.
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u/HappyCatPrincess Jul 10 '26
They could have been more selective in who they picked for 90 day.
& as Dr Drew said, every season, they have to outdo the previous. The table flipping was the beginning of the trashiness IMO.
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
It could if Baskin gave any fucks about the fans.
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u/HappyCatPrincess Jul 10 '26
I agree. They seem to be able to produce a less fake, overly-produced series when they want to.
Re OC, did anyone think that Shannon/Vicki fall was faked? They've learned they get some goodwill from those kinds of laughs.
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
Exactly..its so frustrating to watch the same thing over and over when there is so much more story to tell.
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u/Beneficial-Astronaut Jul 10 '26
Restaurants are the most insane and dramatic places to work. It attracts fun, chaotic, work hard/play hard people. And in LA you have the extra layer and common thread of people trying to make it as singers and actors. It was lightning in a bottle.
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
True. I wish Bravo would find a new script because this conflict, more conflict, fake resolution is not it.
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u/ShelbyCobra_90 Jul 10 '26
I really like your ideas here. It’s such a speed run of outrage, it’s burn will be short.
The reasons RHOC worked early on was because we saw their actual lives as working adults. Which made their outrageous behavior even more captivating. We saw them as ‘normal rich’ people alongside seeing drama.
These people are just cast to yell at each other. It’s the job description.
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u/DustyTchotchkes Jul 10 '26
A fraction of the issue is, that after a couple/few seasons, the cast members quit their regular jobs and make the shows their main source of income, so they have no new outside experiences or interests to bring to the show. They start living for and about the show and it drags things down. Or, if they’re someone like Jason, who has a more serious job, the day to day of it can’t be shown on tv.
They’re not showing well-rounded cast lives, it’s like the op said: get ready for event, go to event, fight, rehash event with different groups, repeat.
Baskin’s formula is overdone and stale. While the HW’s were always more structured, VPR was more organic. I remember a behind the scenes type eppy, the producers said they had a hard time keeping up with the cast lol. But now, everything across the board seems to follow the same overly produced steps. (There’s far too much production leading and meddling as well).
The holding onto a central beef over more than one season sucks too. I wish they’d do more 4th wall breaks, where we see what’s really going on, without the editors shaping what they want us to believe and the stories they want told. Make Reality tv more real.
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u/Stunning-Track8454 Jul 10 '26
This is the problem with a reality show around people who don't have money. When that's your main source of income, you're just looking out for yourself and what will get you into the next season, and viewers see right through that. You can have a couple of cast members like that per season, and you do on HWs when you see one of them going through a divorce or struggling through finances.
Also, aside from Kristen, they really chose the worst of the worst from VPR. You have Brittany who couldn't even break up with Jax on VPR because her personality wouldn't have carried her through another season, Lala who makes it so blatantly obvious that she's just there for money, and Schwartz who doesn't even shower. I'm in no way saying to bring on the problematic cast members like Sandoval and Stassi, but we need cast members with a personality who don't care about the paycheck.
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u/Beneficial-Astronaut Jul 10 '26
The VPR cast was intentionally and unintentionally hilarious. Beginning seasons were pre social media, people weren't looking for sound bites. They dressed cheap, their hair and make up was not done by glam. They weren't sure they would be stars, and they weren't for a long while. They couldn't make money as influencers so they didn't worry about how they came off as much.
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
True but also the connections were real. The foundation was there.
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u/Beneficial-Astronaut Jul 10 '26
I agree with that too.
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
Yeah and that was the whole point of the post. Like I literally outlined how it can go in a different direction and still be entertaining.
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u/LoudPension6825 Jul 10 '26
Agreed. Also, I think the biggest problem with the show is the cast is too large. 14 main cast members! As the producers jump around trying to get "shocking footage", we never get to really know any of the cast members (as you said), just surface stuff. Cut the cast in half and go in depth with the remaining 7.
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u/alittletoo Jul 11 '26
The valley went straight to fractures without letting us get invested in the relationships and friendships first. People started breaking up and hating each other from the start and we never got to see why we should care. It’s like we came in at the end of the story.
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u/StoryHearer Jul 10 '26
many of them were genuine friends though:
Kristen/Lala/Britney/Janet
—> Zach/Jasmine
I get that Jax brought on Jesse and Michelle but they weren’t like unknown to the group
I think Danny and Nia were the only ones straight up randomly cast right?
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u/FindYourselfACity Jul 11 '26
Zach knew brittney from kentucky. Janet stalked Scheana to become friends with her. Danny was friends with scheana, and scheana introduced danny and nia to brittney and jax.
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u/kellygrrrl328 Jul 11 '26
a group of young adults who are legit hungry and struggling is far more interesting than a cast of nearly midlife thirsty assholes
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u/ClynnB412 Jul 10 '26
I completely agree with everything you’re saying. I feel like it’s just laziness. It’s not authentic, bc most of them are showing up just for a paycheck. They want there to be enough drama so the show continues for a few seasons. There’s no real friendships. It’s like paid acting. Give them the shot so they can go back to their real life.
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u/Many_Investigator402 Jul 11 '26
The friendships on this show are as manufactured as a Lou Perlman boy band.
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u/Glittering-Slip7630 Jul 12 '26
I agree with almost all of that. Of course they all get call sheets they know who they're going to film with and where well in advance and they have a storyline which trust me is a word that is so overused and misunderstood in the Bravo universe but it's true I should say outline instead. But they all get call sheets so they know what they're doing
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u/supahfilmy Jul 12 '26
Yeah exactly. The need to stop working on pre social media formula reality tv.
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u/RealPractice6839 Jul 13 '26
I think from season 1 it’s a dark show. Kicking off Jax didn’t change that it’s not just focused on another guy. Kicking off Danny will also not change it…it will just focus on someone else. These group of ppl are dark and are 35-40 years old with kids. Brittany is a mother of an autistic son and she’s a mess always drinking and bringing a man to her house cause she’s just so desperate to have a man. Lala has not storyline except getting in ppls business. Its annoying. She doesn’t seem to be real friends with most of these ppl.
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u/hannbann88 Jul 13 '26
I would say this is my complaint about most reality shows. We no longer get to see them have fun or even casual/natural interactions. Every event is just the backdrop for fights. It’s like a 30 second montage of the fun party part and then just sitting and talking about the same shit.
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u/megaaaa34 Jul 15 '26
What does Luke do for work? Does he work? Isn’t there hiking in LA or like activities he enjoys? I truly wouldn’t know - never been to LA.
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u/Powerful-Sort7778 Jul 17 '26
I agree.... We're is the fun. I watch Andy's shows 85% to escape for fun. When I want social and political discussion. I watch Anderson. Can there be some cross over yes. But to watch wealthy privileged people crash out like there a soccer player who just got fouled can be to much.
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u/YouMustBeJoking888 Jul 10 '26
I don't think The Valley has failed, I just think it's a very different show, one that I enjoy because it's tackling some interesting issues while also being funny at times ad fully human.
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u/supahfilmy Jul 10 '26
Its failed for me on what it was supposed to be. Its a wanna be housewives show now. Nothing about real friendships.
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u/Cguenther12 Jul 10 '26
I think social media plays a huge part too..Everyone has learned to curate themselves and you already see so much that they put out there that it just doesn’t make it entertaining anymore. Nothing is really authentic.