Ariana Madix on If She’ll Watch ‘Pump Rules’ Reboot & ‘Will Trent’ Role (Exclusive)

Ariana Madix has moved on from “Vanderpump Rules,” playing a “heightened version” of herself in a guest spot on the drama series “Will Trent.”

“Extra” chatted with Ariana, who dished on the guest-starring role and whether she’ll watch the “Vanderpump Rules” reboot.

In November, it was announced that “Vanderpump” is returning for Season 12 with an all-new cast.

Madix shared, “I am very curious about it, so I definitely think I will tune in and just see how they did it and what's going on. But if it makes me too anxious, I'll bail."

She explained, “To be very honest, that genre of reality TV has always been something that’s hard for me to watch because it gives me a lot of anxiety to watch shows like that. I think that’s why I’ve always gravitated toward ‘Love Island.’ I gravitate toward ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ shows that have competition and feel like there’s more — when it's the real-life stuff, it definitely makes me feel a little bit, like the day-to-day, it gives me anxiety. Like, I can’t watch ‘Housewives.’ It’s too much anxiety.”

Madix is challenging herself, moving into scripted television with her role on “Will Trent.”

She shared, “Initially when I was reading the script and, like, knowing that I’m playing myself, there’s part of that that goes, ‘Who am I? Who is myself, you know, on camera?"

She continued, “As I started to get more into the process of getting ready for it, I started thinking, ‘Well, I need to think of myself also as a character that I’m playing,' and I think the script really helped with that as well, because the script is very much a heightened version of me. And then there were certain moments that I thought, ‘Well, what are things that people always think that I do? or 'How do people think that I am?’ and I’ll just lean into that a little bit and kind of give that. There’s a few moments where, you know, I definitely had to give a really good eye roll, you know? Things like that that felt quintessentially what people think of when they think of me."

It was a “really fun” experience for Ariana, who is a fan of the show.

Praising the show’s cast and crew, she said, “It’s a very well-oiled machine and they kill it. They’re, like, the best at what they do and it’s such a positive feeling on set. I felt like that the moment that I walked on set.”

Madix had a special connection to her episode since one of her “dearest friends” wrote it.

She commented, “I got to see him on set as well and so it all just felt very, very comfortable. We actually shot my last scene first, so as nervous as I was, I think, going into that first day of shooting, I think it being the last scene, once you see what that last scene is, I think it all actually just worked out so well, and the way that they planned that worked perfectly for what happens in that scene… It was a dream.”

Ariana got to do some action as well! She shared, "I definitely walked away with a few bumps and bruises, but I felt like those were, you know, I wore them with honor leaving set. And I was doing it all in some very tall heels, so that part was also really fun."

Madix is on a career high; she was recently nominated for Favorite Broadway Debut at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards for her role as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.”