Three Hours in a Bar Full of Bravo Fans

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Kaitlyn: I saw a good tweet the other day that was like, “Watching Vanderpump Rules makes me so proud to be an American. We’re incredible people. We lead amazing lives.”

Lizzie and I have now watched this program for 10 years and we’re happy to say it. A spin-off of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the show was meant to follow the hot, mean employees of Real Housewife Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurant SUR (“Sexy Unique Restaurant”). The first season was filmed before the rise of Instagram and the influencer—lightning in a bottle. Like no other people before or since, these deluded freaks were willing to fight, lie, cheat, steal, and generally humiliate themselves and one another on national television. They were all aspiring actors, models, and pop stars, and in the most tragic way possible. They were back-alley chain-smokers who treated Coors Light as a breakfast beverage and ordered Taco Bell for delivery despite living in Los Angeles. They were pathologically obsessed with the concept of “Boys’ Night” and with bickering near walk-in refrigerators.

For viewers, the thrill was trying to keep up with the always-shifting alliances and contradictions in personality. Once, the guy who everyone claims is the nicest on his girlfriend’s head to get her to stop talking. Later, the woman who everyone claims is the nicest obtained an audio recording of her boyfriend cheating on her and at their housewarming party. —there has rarely been a difference. James Kennedy, a British DJ who as “the white Kanye West” and once ended a relationship, somehow became one of the most likable people in the group.