‘The Valley’: The Dreaded ‘Vanderpump’ Spinoff Has Arrived

Bravo has long been the home of middle-aged women with no self-awareness, but has also adopted younger groups of sociopaths along the way. The Valley exists somewhere in between the network’s typical fare. It’s a calmer, less hookup-based entry than Summer House and its predecessor, Vanderpump Rules. But, unlike the Real Housewives franchise, there’s no glitz or glamour. It’s really more of a busted-up Desperate Housewives, featuring a group of suburban couples with drama bubbling underneath the surface—but unlike those scripted couples, there’s not even a facade of perfection here. It’s all mess, all the time in The Valley.

Doubling up on Vanderpump Rules content after the ratings explosion the mothership experienced with the Scandoval, Bravo rescued Jax Taylor, his wife Brittany Cartwright, and Kristen Doute from reality TV purgatory. Along these veteran psychos comes a group of new couples—including Kristen’s latest boyfriend Luke—all of whom pale in comparison to the professionals in the premiere. But reality TV isn’t a scripted endeavor where the writers put their best foot forward in the pilot.

Instead, you just have to have faith that the production team has found a group of nightmarish, delusional weirdos who are incapable of anything but insanity, something the veterans have all proven of themselves with their VPR tenure. The logline of this group of 30- and 40-somethings taking a “shot at adulting” is uninspiring, as is all the young parent footage in the pilot, but trust and believe the mind of Jax Taylor can declass any room until it stinks of TV perfection. This has potential to be Bravo’s darkest entry in years, and I say that as a major compliment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.