If you watched the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 trailer, you can tell the series will be much different from years’ past. Aesthetically, the show looks more like an Adam DeVillo docu-soap than a typical Bravo production.
Everyone is old (non-derogatory), and either getting married or separated. The bar TomTom, co-run by cast members Toms Sandoval and Schwartz, seems to be the nucleus keeping this group together, as opposed to Lisa Vanderpump’s own SUR or Pump. And Vanderpump noticeably has less people to scold now that most of the cast has graduated from waiting tables. (Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a scene of Ariana pretending to bartend at some point.)
Whatever Season 10 may bring, I’m approaching the show with an open heart. I’m ready to digest Vanderpump Rules 2.0 in all of its mature, elevated glory. However, I will not accept one rather egregious change, something producers should’ve never thought about tinkering with. I’m talking about the show’s brand-new opening credits sequence, revealed yesterday.
Over the past decade, Vanderpump Rules’s 20-second opening has become its own iconic music video. The cast does sexy, slow-motion turns and mindlessly spills drinks from trays (or other awkward activities) while Dena Deadly’s pop-rock banger “Raise Your Glass” plays at ear-splitting volume. They’re genuinely gorgeous visuals. The now-former wait staff look like they’re in “SUR heaven” as opposed to the actual West Hollywood spot—which customers have claimed is anything but. Every cast member is a poreless, AI version of themselves under bisexual lighting. It’s a feast for the eyes and ears.
In these new credits, though, everyone is introduced like a bunch of normies and not the stiflingly hot supermodels they think they are. That was what made the original sequence so exhilarating and ultimately funny: the air of self-importance and self-delusion.
Now, in the Season 10 opening, we get a much less sexy glimpse of reality, which is that most of these people have no reason to be hanging around Vanderpump’s restaurants and are just… there.
First, we see the outside of Schwartz and Sandoval’s latest establishment, Schwartz and Sandy’s, before the camera speedily travels into the restaurant and lands on the BFFs cheers-ing. Next, we whip-pan to TomTom, where Katie, Lala, and Ariana are stably holding drinks and trying their best to “smize.” Then, we venture to SUR, where Raquel, James, and Scheana are at the bar, giving unenthusiastic looks to the camera. Every credit is rushed and slightly offbeat with the song’s pulsating rhythm. They also look like they’re hanging out for an afternoon lunch, despite the nighttime exterior shots.
I also take issue with the final shot of Vanderpump, who’s sitting down at a table before we see the title card plastered over a view of Los Angeles. Typically, Vanderpump gets the last credit, like a huge movie star appearing for a brief cameo in a film. In previous seasons, she gracefully tosses a purse to the side or grabs a drink off a tray in slow-motion before joining the cast for a staff photo. Now, she looks less like an intimidating boss reigning over a bunch of hot delinquents and more like a random woman spying on these young people’s lives.
By the looks of Twitter, no one really seems to care about this development but me. One user described the intro as “hot af.” Others lauded a supposed upgrade in the show’s production budget. I get it! It’s fine! Admittedly, my reaction to this is a bit dramatic. And at least they didn’t scrap or alter the song like on sister shows Southern Charm and Summer House. (What happened to “We Never Stop”??)
However, I will always defend good art, which is what the original intro used to be. Beyonce-level hairography, horny stares, paisley mini-dresses, James awkwardly holding a microphone instead of a drink because he’s a DJ. In the words of that Bong Joon-ho meme, to me, that’s cinema!
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