Credit: Bravo
Vanderpump Rules season nine premiered to disappointing ratings last Tuesday.
After the firings of Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens, and Brett Caprioni in June 2020, and the exits of Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, and Dayna Kathan months later, the Bravo reality series was left with not only a fraction of the cast but also a fraction of the viewers.
According to a report shared by Spoiler TV, Pump Rules season nine saw just 637,000 viewers and nabbed just 0.21 of the key 18-49 demographic. Meanwhile, as noted by TV Deets, the season eight premiere brought in 1.272 million viewers and scored 0.5 of the 18-49 demo. That’s about a 50 percent reduction on both accounts.
In addition to having a slightly higher-rated premiere than season seven, which brought in 1.251 million viewers, season eight nabbed a season-high of 1.351 million viewers for the episode that featured Stassi and Beau Clark‘s engagement.
While Pump Rules has been a major hit for Bravo in recent years, even topping the ratings of several Real Housewives franchises, those days appear to be long gone. And that may not be much of a surprise for some. After all, the majority of the absent cast members had been with the show since its start and played large roles in the premise of the series.
Last summer, Bravo officially terminated the contracts of Stassi, Kristen, Max, and Brett after they were each accused of racist behavior. Then, in December of that same year, Jax and Brittany confirmed they too would not be featured on the series’ upcoming episodes.
While Jax was rumored to also have been fired from the show due to his allegedly homophobic and racist comments, he denied any such thing, claiming he and Brittany simply wanted to step back from the drama and focus on growing their family.
“The last three years of Vanderpump Rules, I was 90 percent checked out. I couldn’t go on faking it. I have no interest in any of the things they are doing on that show. I’m a dad. I’m 40-years-old. It didn’t make sense for me to pretend to work at SUR,” he explained on Instagram in February.
As for Dayna, she confirmed her exit from Pump Rules on Instagram in April, telling a fan, “I’m not returning but excited to see next [season].”
Vanderpump Rules season nine airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.