'Vanderpump Rules' EP Opens Up About Season 11, Who Will Return & Filming Scandoval

The highly dramatic tenth season of “Vanderpump Rules” has come to an end, and now it’s time to look back — and look ahead!

The Bravo show’s executive producer Alex Baskin opened up to Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps’ Sullivan on the “I’ve Had It” podcast about Scandoval and what the future of the popular reality series will look like.

When asked if production knew about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ affair, the crew said that while they suspected things, they weren’t aware it was anything more than a close friendship.

“We had heard about Tom and Raquel hanging out, and there were suspicions… but we didn’t know that it was anything more. We really didn’t know for certain until Ariana herself discovered on Tom’s phone that there were exchanges between him and Raquel, and Tom had to come clean.”

The final part of the explosive three-part reunion featured a one-on-one interview with Raquel in its final moments that revealed much more about the affair than the two had initially disclosed. During the confessional that was shot six days after the reunion, viewers were left confused by Leviss’ various emotions, which ranged from giggling to crying.

“I think she was struggling under the weight of the whole situation,” Baskin said on the podcast. “And clearly, she was more unsettled than she even had been. She’s the one who initiated that conversation. The showrunner Jeremiah [Smith) certainly was prepared to have it, and then asked her a number of specific follow-up questions but we didn’t know that was coming… I really felt like it was someone who was having a really hard time handling the whole situation and was saying the things she wanted to say. Like, ‘I’m not going to toe the line I did anymore and stick to a certain story I was asked to tell. This is what happened.’”

On Tom breaking down in tears during the reunion, Baskin said those were real tears.

“I thought he was overcome with emotion. I thought he was having a really hard time with all of it. Clearly, he wasn’t telling the full story. I saw him struggling that day. That was not someone who showed up and put on a performance.”

Baskin also addressed the rumors of Sandoval being upset with production for filming after the reveal of the affair.

“To the credit of this group, we found out about this on March 2, and March 3 we were filming… we filmed the next day. At one point, he was pissed at us and didn’t want to keep shooting before the reunion. I wouldn’t call it adversarial, and I’m not even being diplomatic. We were still talking, and we were figuring it out. Raquel had stopped filming with us… Look, I think Tom was spiraling. For the cast, it’s really hard when they realize it’s a situation they can’t control.

He added, “That is, by the way, why we kept filming at the reunion. You’re not going to get a moment where you get your stories straight. Not happening.”

On how they intend to proceed with filming for next season after the high tensions among the cast, the crew says, “It’s a challenge,” but they have “certain thoughts.”

“This group is very connected to each other. As of this day, Tom and Ariana still live in the same house together. They’ve both been out of town a bunch, but technically they live together… we’ll cover that.”

Baskin went on to say that although at this point, he anticipates everyone from the cast will be back next season, there still could be changes.

“We’re still figuring that out. I strongly think they will all be back. We’re documenting this friend group. The audience has an expectation that they will see the fallout of this, and not just see separate camps talking about it or moving on into a different phase of life. This is what they want to see… as of now,” he explained.

“I don’t have the hard and fast answers, but in a lot of ways, this group is stuck with each other… we’ll figure it out. I don’t have any answers now. It isn’t like, at this point, we’re putting a schedule in front of anyone.”

The way things currently stand, Tom and Raquel are isolated from the group. Sandoval’s business partner and longtime friend, Tom Schwartz, said on PodcastOne’s “When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany” last week that he was taking a break from the friendship.