Vanderpump Rules will be getting an overhaul for season 12 — and one OG star claims he’ll be joining Lisa Vanderpump and the new crew of SUR-vers in the upcoming installment.
“The one that’s still there is yours truly,” SUR manager Peter Madrigal said on The Domenick Nati Show on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Bravo did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for confirmation, but the network typically does not comment on casting.
Madrigal, 40, said that season 12 will see the show get “back to basics,” and that Bravo’s decision to reboot the series was “much bigger” than Scandoval, although, “It’s definitely a part of it.”
“When it happened, I was kind of taken aback,” Madrigal said. “But then I wasn’t really surprised because of things I had seen and things that had happened to me privately and on the show itself that I like was like, okay, yeah there was definitely something going on the entire time.”
The Bravo star — who’s appeared on Vanderpump Rules since season 1, though, was never a main cast member — said that he doesn’t keep in touch with many of the original cast members.
“A lot of those relationships that you saw over 10 years ago, they don’t … they no longer exist,” Madrigal told Domenick Nati. “And that’s something I overheard on an interview that Katie [Maloney] did, and I was all like, ‘Wow that is so true.’ You see, like I said, I’m still friends with Scheana [Shay] and I see Ariana [Madix]… Ariana and I are still cool. And same with Katie.”
However, Madrigal said he’s spoken to some of the former stars about doing a show on his Reality Network channel.
“There’s a certain group of people that I’m like I’ve talked to about it already,” he said. “I’ve already had discussions about doing some stuff with some of my old castmates.”
Madrigal also promised that season 12 of VPR will bring the drama viewers have come to expect from the series. “The reason why the show worked is because of all the drama, so I think that focusing on the drama works, focus on the business aspects a little bit, yeah, but you know, the drama’s going to be there, too,” the reality star said. “So expect more drama and more shenanigans.”
When Bravo first announced the reboot news in November, the network confirmed that Vanderpump, 64, would be back, but did not announce the names of any new cast members or mention Madgrial’s return.
“The last 12 years of filming have been an extraordinary run full of laughter, tears and everything in between,” Vanderpump said in a release. “I can’t thank enough those who have shared their lives. How I love you all. In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another. Cheers to the next generation of Vanderpump Rules.”
A source said at the time that Bravo’s choice to revamp VPR came because “the group ties to SUR and Lisa was practically non-existent.”
“It just didn’t make sense to continue,” the insider added. “This is an attempt to recalibrate and bring the show back to the thing that made it such a success to begin with. It’s a fresh start, and the players they have are interested and motivated to participate. Fans will be happy with what they see. It’s going to feel like a return to form.”