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Credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com
Alex Baskin is speaking out in regard to the backlash he’s received for including Vanderpump Rules stars, including Scheana Shay, 40, Lala Kent, 34, and Tom Schwartz, 42, on episodes of The Valley.
As he also addressed Scheana’s potentially upgraded role on season three, the recent exit of Jax Taylor, 46, and the delay in filming on the new episodes, Alex reacted to Scheana, 40, keeping Brock Davies‘ affair from the cameras amid Pump Rules season 11 and teased the upcoming 12th season, which will feature a rebooted cast.
“[We] certainly take note of that,” Alex admitted to The Hollywood Reporter on July 24 of viewers’ reaction to the Pump Rules alums popping up on The Valley. “There’s a lot of heated thoughts. But I think part of what is fun about these series’ is that there’s something for everyone, and I think there’s a lot of different points of view, and I think obviously those three are very much a part of this group.”
While there were claims that the finale party may have served as a setup for Scheana and Brock, 34, to be featured more extensively on season two, Alex denied that was the case.
“But again, Scheana is really friends with that entire group, and so you actually have to take pains, in some cases, to not include that group, or those Vanderpump folks, because they are connected to this group,” he reasoned.
According to Alex, he didn’t want the show to be overcrowded with Pump Rules cast members during filming on season two and instead wanted Jasmine Goode, 38, and Zack Wickham, 36, to “take on more prominence.”
“They really delivered in every sense. [I] was pleased to see that,” he noted of their performance.
Looking to season three, Alex said that the new episodes will be different due to Jax’s departure.
“I think it’s going to be different, but I don’t think different is a bad thing,” he insisted.
As fans likely saw, Jax confirmed he would not be a part of season three earlier this month, claiming he would instead be focusing on his sobriety after facing backlash over his behavior throughout season two.
“I think in some cases the response from the audience is a good thing,” Alex admitted. “I think it forces someone to assess where they are and what they might need to do.”
Although Jax has suggested that he could return in the future, Alex didn’t seem so sure.
“We’re focused on making the show we’re making with the group that is here, but we think that that is the right decision for him, and hopefully he uses this time to make healthy choices and put himself in a position to succeed in life,” he stated.
As for why filming has not yet begun, despite the typical filming schedule The Valley has followed, Alex said they pushed things back due to “when we aired and how long our season was.”
“It sometimes can be a challenge to film while the reunion is airing. It’s nothing beyond that,” he vowed. “[And] the fun thing is, we’ll catch different events. We’ll catch different moments in people’s lives. There’s [more] birthdays and whatever else, and so I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
Speaking of how he and his team supported Brittany Cartwright, 36, through her divorce and tension with Jax amid his rehab stint, Alex applauded the massive growth of his talent.
“She started the season a changed person who sort of found a reserve of strength that she didn’t previously have. She very much wanted to share what she was going through, and in fact, she, in some ways, couldn’t help it. This was the story of her life, and she was really compelled to share it with her friends, and by extension, the audience,” he shared. “The audience has seen Brittany really grow. She was really young when she came into this space [on Vanderpump Rules] in the first place, and she was a little bit wide-eyed, and by her own account, naive. And to see this self-possessed woman who was determined to take care of her son and herself, I think, is pretty inspiring.”
He also had great things to say about the journey of Kristen Doute, 42, who got engaged to Luke Broderick, 33, amid season two and welcomed her first child after filming wrapped.
“We’re all so proud of Kristen and so happy for her, and to see what she’s been through over the years, and to see the struggle for her to find someone that she wanted to be with and to have a child, and to see that all come to fruition for her really means a lot to the people who know her and to the audience who also knows her and has been on that journey with her,” Alex explained.
Regarding Scheana’s revelation about Brock’s past cheating, Alex said he wished she’d been honest with producers and the cameras.
“Something that was obviously of great importance to Scheana and probably defined that period of her life would have been something we would have wanted in the show,” he noted.
Also during the interview, Alex teased the Pump Rules reboot, saying that it “has a lot of the hallmarks of the original but feels completely different.”
“We are not trying to make the series that we did the first time around, and it’s sort of got back to the basic principles of that show, which is falling around a group of interconnected coworkers and friends at SUR. And, this group just happens to be very different — they’re the 2025 version,” he described.
“There is a lot of dating within the group, a lot of hookups within the group. The friendships are deep, it’s messy and complicated and really fun,” he added.
While a premiere date for Vanderpump Rules season 12 has not yet been set, Alex confirmed it is “not too far away.”
