Should Bravolebrities refusing to film with certain cast members be fired?

Bravo has been churning out reality series such as The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Vanderpump Rules for almost 20 years.

People would argue on-screen with other cast members in the past as though it was an Olympic sport.

A new trend is taking over Bravo: Brovolebrities are refusing to film scenes with certain cast members.

The RHONJ Season 14 premiere aired Sunday, and Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga are straight-up refusing to talk about one another when asked for commentary by producers.

Given that a large chunk of the show’s run has centered around the drama between the sisters-in-law, it’s giving the show a little jolt of life because they seem sick of hurling expletives at each other.

Given the nature of the show, which requires them to film together, we wonder whether the cast members are breaking their contracts by not interacting with each other.

The cast is paid to put on a show

At the end of the day, they’re paid to film the show, and their interactions are what give editors footage to construct into a narrative for the season.

People refusing to speak to each other on camera must create a headache for everyone working on the show, and there’s always the risk that producers could decide against bringing the guilty parties back the following season.

It would be comical if that was the case with RHONJ, but there’s always that chance that their performances at the reunion will push producers to keep them around.

Vanderpump Rules is another show in which cast members refuse to film with certain individuals, and it’s all thanks to Scandoval.

By this point, we’re tired of hearing the term, but the cast can’t stop talking about it almost an entire season later.

Scandoval changed Vanderpump Rules forever

Ariana Madix has acted like Tom Sandoval doesn’t exist throughout Vanderpump Rules Season 11 after learning the truth about his months-long affair with Raquel Leviss.

With one episode left this season, all they’ve had is a screaming match about Sandoval’s treatment of Madix’s dog, but there is the potential for them to cross paths during the season finale before we delve into the reunion.

Given that Bravo shows have a structured feel, it seems like producers set up events, and the cast is expected to participate, whether that means they want to communicate with each other or not.

Divisions amongst cast members are par for the course in reality TV, but divisions with no resolution force cast members to pick sides, and in turn, viewers miss out because the dynamics are changed forever.

Vanderpump Rules is gearing up for significant changes

With Vanderpump Rules paused for the foreseeable future after the end of Vanderpump Rules Season 11, it seems that producers have already realized that putting the show back into production in the near future would result in a similar divide.

Bravo’s recent announcement the show is racking up 4.5 million viewers per episode this season means it won’t be off the air for too long. However, perhaps producers will be more inclined to part ways with some of the cast so that it won’t be as difficult to plan group events.

There are other shows and examples, but RHONJ and Vanderpump Rules are the most recent. It will be interesting to see what the network and producers do to remedy the situation across the board.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo. Seasons 1-14 are streaming on Peacock. Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays at 8/7c. Seasons 1-11 are available to stream on Peacock.