The spinoff stars Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute.
Excitement is brewing among Vanderpump Rules enthusiasts as Bravo officially revealed its upcoming spinoff series, The Valley, slated to premiere March 19.
Unveiled at the VPR season 11 premiere party in Los Angeles on Jan. 17, the announcement came with the first promo, offering fans a glimpse into the drama that awaits.
The Valley will center around a group of friends navigating the challenges of life in the San Fernando Valley. Despite the majority of the cast being happily married with children, the show promises a surplus of drama that fans have come to expect from the Vanderpump universe.
ET takes a closer look at what fans can expect in the highly anticipated Vanderpump Rules spinoff.
Jan. 17, 2024 -- 'The Valley' Is Announced by Bravo
From bottle service to baby bottles! Bravo announced a new series, The Valley, starring Vanderpump Rules alums Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor.
According to Bravo reps, the show will follow couples Jax and Brittany, Kristen and boyfriend Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Jesse and Michelle Lally, and Jason and Janet Caperna as they navigate businesses, families and adulthood in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The show will also include friends Jasmine Goode and Zach Wickham.
Jax and Kristen were both original members of Vanderpump Rules, while Brittany joined in season 4. Jax and Brittany quickly began dating and married in June 2019. They welcomed a baby boy, Cruz, in April 2021.
For her part, Kristen decided after her last breakup that she was ready to have a baby, and soon after, met Luke, whom she has been with ever since. "This duo has a lot to juggle including starting a family, caring for three dogs, running multiple businesses, and not to mention, figuring out which state they want to call home," Bravo reps said.
Meanwhile, Danny and Nia's lives changed dramatically when they had their twin girls. As parents of three kids under 2 years old, their hands are, quite literally, full. Throughout the season, they'll try to figure out where to move their family of five, as divisions in the group threaten their attempts to stay neutral amid drama.
Then there's Jesse and Michelle, a couple for nearly a decade who found their marriage at a breaking point following their daughter, Isabella's, birth. As they work to repair their relationship and their joint real estate business, the couple will have to fend off group gossip for the sake of their family.
With their first baby on the way, Janet and Jason butt heads over how to prepare for their little ones. On top of that, Janet finds herself caught in the middle of the drama after Kristen exposes a rumor, jeopardizing their five-year friendship.
When it comes to the "friends" of the main cast, Bachelor alum Jasmine is working to get her real estate career off the ground under Michelle's mentorship while dreaming about a future family with her girlfriend, Melissa. Zack, meanwhile, is a longtime friend of Brittany and Kristen and the only single member of the group.
Jan. 17, 2024 -- Lisa Vanderpump Reacts to Jax Taylor's 'VPR' Return Ahead of 'The Valley'
ET spoke to Lisa Vanderpump at the Vanderpump Rules season 11 premiere, and she reacted to Jax's upcoming appearance on the series.
"You saw the trailer. You saw I called him a f**king hypocrite, I think it was," Lisa told ET. "Sometimes he needs to be put in his place and I am probably the one to do it."
Indeed, in VPR's season 11 trailer, Jax, who left the show in 2020, tells his one-time boss, "You wrote me off!"
"You're such a f**king hypocrite!" Lisa fired back.
Lisa serves as an executive producer on the new series, telling ET, "I have to support that as well, of course."
Jan. 24, 2024 -- Stassi Schroeder Weighs In
After Bravo's big announcement, many fans wondered why VPR alum Stassi Schroeder wasn't included on the series. She was quick to clear that up, telling SiriusXM's Jeff Lewis Live that she turned down the show.
"It's a lot of different reasons. First of all, it wouldn't be a reflection of what my reality is," she said. "... It's just not my group of friends. I'm friendly with some of them, I'm acquaintances with some of them -- and some of the new ones too that I think are lovely. But it's not my crew."
"I don't want to. I don't want to have to go and do things that I normally wouldn't do," Stassi added. "I don't want to disrupt the life that I have right now because I really like my life right now."
Feb. 27, 2024 -- The First Footage Is Released
The month ahead of the spinoff's premiere, Bravo unveiled the first footage of the show. The three-minute sneak peek begins with Kristen telling the cameras, "I'm 40 now. The Valley is where I need to be."
Throughout the trailer, life in the valley is on full display. As Jax and Brittany settle into married life and Kristen and Luke discuss their road to parenthood, Jesse and Michelle are described as the bougiest of the group, Danny and Nia are deemed "family goals," and Jason and Janet are busy preparing to welcome their baby.
All of that doesn't mean that there's not time for drama, as plenty of passionate arguments are teased throughout the teaser. Fans also get their first peek at friends Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham, who are sure to bring drama of their own to the friend group.
"All these people move to the valley, get a house, pop out a couple of kids, and then they think they're so grown up, but these people don't grow up," Zack says.
Feb. 29, 2024 -- Jax and Brittany Are Separated
Brittany revealed that she and Jax were taking time apart during an episode of their podcast, When Reality Hits. Though some speculated that the separation was a publicity strategy for The Valley, a source told ET that that isn't the case.
"Jax and Brittany have been having relationship issues for a long time. They are trying to figure things out and need space from each other in order to do so. They want to do what’s best for their family," the source said. "They aren't in a place where they would fake a break up for attention or press. They are genuinely going through a hard time."
VPR star Lala Kent agreed, joking on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, "They don't need any help with [publicity]. They are all a hot mess."
March 8, 2024 -- Cameras Are Up and Rolling
ET exclusively reported that Bravo resumed filming The Valley to capture the aftermath of Jax and Brittany's separation, since the couple's marital woes came to light long after production of The Valley wrapped last year. The additional footage will air at the end of the show's debut season, which is set to premiere March 19.
March 11, 2024 -- The Trailer Is Released
ET exclusively premiered the trailer for The Valley, which gave fans a further peek at what's to come on the show.
Following Jax and Brittany's separation news, the couple is at the forefront of the drama in the trailer, with the main source of tension coming from whether or not they'd expand their family. There's also mention of cheating rumors, the stresses of becoming new business owners, Brittany not feeling desired and an intense fight in front of their friend group about how Jax treats Brittany.
Then there's Kristen, who gets into a blowout fight with Michelle, yelling, "Your husband said on camera that he's gonna divorce you!"
March 14, 2024 -- Jesse and Michelle Are Separated
Days after Kristen's dramatic encounter with Michelle was teased, Jesse and Michelle announced their separation at the show's premiere.
"I think you're gonna be very surprised, there's a lot that happens," Michelle told ET. "We've been together for a long time and married, but you get to see our real struggles. You're gonna see that we have separated."
In a separate interview with ET, Jesse added, "The storyline of us working on our marriage is a big part of not only our personal life, but also part of the show. Unfortunately, right now Michelle and I are separated, but we're co-parenting, focused on Isabella. Michelle moved out recently, so we're living just a few blocks away. You'll see it unfold throughout the entire season this year."
Michelle noted that she was "scared at first" to have her separation play out on TV, but ultimately decided that "it's good to have people realize that they're not the only ones that go through real struggles."
"I want to show [that] not everything is glamorous and perfect," she said. "I want to show people that marriage is difficult and some people survive it and some people unfortunately don't."
As for if there's hope for reconciliation, Jesse said, "My only concern is Isabella. I hope that we will be best friends raising this beautiful girl. I mean, at the end of the day, that's literally all I care about is the baby."
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