Former BFFs Jax Taylor and Tom Sandoval have reunited, and we’re all getting front-row seats to witness the event.
Vandperpump Rules executive producer Alex Baskin guested on Lala Kent’s Give Them Lala podcast this week and shared that the first episode of Jax’s new show, The Valley, will launch with a ‘VPR’ crossover where the one-time SUR bartenders have it out at a boys’ night.
“We start ‘The Valley’ with a crossover between Jax and Tom Sandoval, so you have Jax joining boys’ night, which is with [Tom] Schwartz and James [Kennedy] and Sandoval, and Jax has a few choice words for Sandoval, and it’s really fun, and then we see Jax drive over the hill and go into ‘The Valley,’” he shared.
Lala compared this launch with ‘VPR’ getting its start in an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills more than a decade ago with Scheana Shay confronted by Brandi Glanville over the waitress’ affair with Brandi’s ex-husband Eddie Cibrian.
(For those not in the know, Scheana was labelled the original ‘VPR’ “homewrecker” over her relationship with Eddie, who also cheated on Brandi with his now-wife, LeAnn Rimes).
Still, Alex was a little hesitant to draw a direct comparison between the debuts of the two series.
“I almost hate to invoke that one because we can’t possibly compare to that because the stakes were so high, and so we had like 100 percent audience retention,” he said. “This still will give you the feeling of being in one and then being in the next one, and I think where ‘The Valley’ is very different is it’s a different phase in life and the idea is adulting and it’s also that this is a group that is trying to raise families or figure out what’s next, but they don’t have anything figured out, and so that’s the fun of it to me is that Jax is still Jax.”
The new series, due to premiere in the spring, follows Jax, his wife Brittany Cartwright, and their friends and neighbors, including former SURver Kristen Doute, in the Los Angeles suburbs.
Though the infamous womanizer, compulsive liar, serial gossiper and self-proclaimed “number one guy in the group” may have settled down, Alex promises Jax hasn’t really changed that much since his ‘VPR’ days.
“Jax preaches and proclaims that he is grown up and everyone needs to find the maturity that he has, and we see by the end of the first episode that that’s dubious,” the producer said.
Jax being Jax, it’s likely we’ll see him proclaim himself the number one guy of ‘The Valley’ group as well, particularly after producer Alex credited him for getting the new show rolling.
“Putting together ‘The Valley’ started with conversations I was having with Jax,” Alex said. “He and I went out to dinner, and we were just talking about what’s going on in his life now and who his friends are and I quickly settled on the idea of doing something about families or couples, right, and then we kind of built it out from there.
“We put on tape pretty much everyone that’s in his close inner circle and kind of went from there, so everyone really knows each other, they’re all invested in each other, they all care, and we didn’t want to add any gimmicks or try to fill out the cast in a way that wasn’t authentic,” he added.
As The Ashley reported, ‘The Valley’ stars Jax and Brittany; Kristen and her boyfriend/podcast co-host Luke Broderick; Jax’s party days pal Danny Booko and his wife Nia; Jax’s former modeling pal Jesse Lally and his wife Michelle; and longtime friend of the former ‘VPR’ castmates Janet Caperna and her husband Jason. Former SURver and Bachelor contestant Jasmine Goode and Brittany’s BFF/bridesman Zack Wickham will appear in “friends-of” roles.
Check out ‘The Valley’ trailer below.
RELATED STORY: Tom Sandoval Says He’s Ready to Date Again; Claims Ex Ariana Madix Constantly “Belittled” Him During Their Relationship
(Photos: Instagram; Bravo)
