'Vanderpump Rules' will return with an entirely new cast — except for Lisa Vanderpump

“Vanderpump Rules,” the Emmy-nominated Bravo reality show that launched countless memes, merch, podcasts, endorsement deals and scandals, is recasting its 12th season — apart from its namesake, Lisa Vanderpump.

Bravo said in a press release Tuesday that the upcoming season would feature “a new group of close-knit SUR-vers who are as complicatedly involved with one another as their iconic predecessors.”

The series debuted in 2013 as a spinoff to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” executive produced and starring Vanderpump, a restaurateur. It focused on the personal lives of select staff at her West Hollywood restaurant, SUR, with Vanderpump in the role of both boss and maternal figure.

With in-fighting, cheating scandals, changing alliances and non-stop drama, the cast seemed destined to be followed by reality TV cameras.

“They’re 20-something and they’re young and they’re hot,” said Vanderpump of the cast in an interview ahead of the series premiere. “They want to play and they’re waiting for their dream and unfortunately their dream isn’t really to work at my restaurant.”

Bravo did not elaborate on its decision to cast a new group, but said the cast would be announced later and the new season would go into production next year.

“I can’t thank enough those who have shared their lives. How I love you all,” Vanderpump said in the statement. “In the restaurant business, one shift always gives way to another.”

As the original cast became more famous, they stopped working at SUR and launched their own ventures (and podcasts): Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval opened a restaurant and bar called TomTom with Vanderpump as a majority owner. The Toms, as they're known, branched off with different owners for a second bar called Schwartz & Sandy's — on Monday, they announced that venture would be closing its doors.

In 2023, the show reached a different level of attention and wider audience with the revelation of what became known as “Scandoval”: It was revealed that Sandoval, who lived with his longtime partner and co-star, Ariana Madix, had been having an affair with another cast member, Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. News broke after filming wrapped on Season 10, but cameras were picked back up to film the aftermath for an additional episode. It was followed by a three-part reunion that took place weeks after the discovery.

The cast, sans Leviss, returned to filming for Season 11 with Sandoval attempting to make amends with the others. Madix would film in group scenes with Sandoval but refused to interact with him 1:1, leading to friction within the group. During this year's reunion, Madix tearfully said to Sandoval, “I just want you away from me.” Shortly after, it was revealed the show was “on pause.”

While many key “Vanderpump” cast members have not released statements or did not immediately respond to requests for comment, a few shared complicated feelings online.

“im feeling at peace with closing this chapter and im excited for everything that is to come,” Madix posted on Instagram. “i don’t know that these were the best days of our lives, but they were definitely something special.”

The scandal and its fallout, though, made Madix America’s sweetheart. She received a plethora of endorsement deals, was cast on “Dancing with the Stars” and on Broadway as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” She also was named the new host of “Love Island USA.” Earlier this year, Madix opened a sandwich shop in Los Angeles called Something About Her with another “Vanderpump” star, Katie Maloney.

“It’s a mixed bag. But I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Maloney, whose rocky relationship with now-ex-husband Tom Schwartz was chronicled in the series, in an Instagram story. “Thank you for the memories and the love the last 11 years.”

"I have such mixed feelings right now. It’s no secret I do not like change. This is the exception,” Lala Kent posted on Instagram. Kent previously told The Associated Press she benefited from Scandoval with the sale of merch. She — along with current and former cast members — also devoted episodes of their individual podcasts to dissecting the drama.

Kent, Shay and Schwartz will make appearances on the second season of the successful “Vanderpump” spin-off, “The Valley,” which will air next year. That show stars Kristen Doute, a former “Vanderpump” star who along with Stassi Schroeder was fired in 2020 for racially profiling a Black co-worker. Two others, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni, were also let go at the time over tweets with racial slurs.

Bravo will also air a retrospective for the original show in 2025.

FILE - Ally Lewber arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Brock Davies arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Scheana Shay arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Katie Maloney arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Lala Kent arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - James Kennedy arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Tom Schwartz arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Tom Sandoval arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Ariana Madix arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Lisa Vanderpump arrives at the season 11 premiere of "Vanderpump Rules," Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

The Thanksgiving holiday rush neared its full stride at U.S. airports Tuesday, putting travelers' patience to the test.

The Transportation Security Administration expected to screen more than 2.8 million people on Tuesday and 2.9 million on Wednesday after handling more than 2.5 million people on Monday.

Things appeared to be going relatively smoothly at most airports. By midday Tuesday on the East Coast, about 60 U.S. flights had been canceled and around 1,700 others delayed — well below the average of about 4,500 flights canceled during the previous three days, according to tracking service FlightAware.

On the ground, there were a couple slow-speed collisions at Boston Logan International Airport. An American Airlines plane pulling into a gate touched wingtips with a parked Frontier Airlines plane on Monday, but no injuries were reported. On Monday night, a tug towing an empty JetBlue plane struck a Cape Air plane, and two Cape Air pilots were taken to a hospital as a precaution, according to an airport spokesperson.

An Arctic blast in the Midwest and wet weather in the Eastern U.S. could disrupt travel over the next several days.

A storm system that moved across the West Coast was forecast to bring heavy snow Wednesday to the Intermountain West, including the Rockies in Colorado, the Bitterroot Range in Idaho and Montana, and the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For Thanksgiving Day, forecasters expect clear weather over the western two-thirds of the country but a mix of rain and snow from Michigan and Ohio through New England.

Temperatures were in the high 30s in Chicago on Tuesday, but that was fine with Kristy Vincent of Houston, who landed at O'Hare Airport.

“I’m so excited. There’s not snow. I’m not going to freeze to death," Vincent said, adding that she was “a little worried" about weekend forecasts calling for highs in the 20s.

Auto club and insurance company AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday. Most of them will travel by car.

Drivers should get a slight break on gas prices. The nationwide average price for gasoline was $3.06 a gallon on Monday, down from $3.26 at this time last year.

Airfares, however, are about 4.1% higher than they were a year ago, according to government figures.

The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch. That would be 6% more than during the corresponding days last year but fit a pattern set throughout 2024.

The TSA predicts that 3 million people will pass through airport security checkpoints on Sunday; more than that could break the record of 3.01 million set on the Sunday after the July Fourth holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the next-busiest air travel days of Thanksgiving week.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said his agency is ready, with its highest staffing ever, but an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration could cause flight delays.

FAA Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker said last week that his agency likely will use special measures to deal with shortages at some facilities.

“If we are short on staff, we will slow traffic as needed to keep the system safe,” he said.

In the last two years, similar measures have slowed down flights in New York City and Florida.

The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of controllers that airline officials expect will last for years, despite the agency's lofty hiring goals.

A Senate panel used the busy travel period to issue a report blasting airlines over what it calls “junk fees,” and announcing that it will call executives from five airlines to explain why they levy those extra charges.

Airline fees have been growing for nearly two decades, starting with extra charges for checking bags and spreading to early boarding and other perks.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said Tuesday that American, Delta, United, Frontier, and Spirit raised $12.4 billion in fees for better seats between 2018 and 2023. Passengers paid extra to get more legroom or an aisle or window seat.

“As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend, we regret that travelers will be charged millions of dollars in fees that have no basis in cost to the airlines but simply fatten their bottom lines,” said the panel’s chairman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Airlines for America, the leading trade group for big U.S. carriers, dismissed the report as “just another holiday-travel talking point.”

The group said fees give consumers the choice of paying for the services they want and skipping ones they don’t. It said that after accounting for inflation, average U.S. round-trip travel including fees dropped 14% from 2010 to 2023.

TSA says it’s OK to bring turkey, stuffing and other favorite holiday foods through airport checkpoints, although liquids such as gravy and cranberry sauce can’t exceed 3.4 ounces.

Just because you can carry it on the plane doesn’t mean you should.

“Especially when it comes to gravy, I wouldn’t want that in my carry-on luggage, and I definitely wouldn’t want it in my checked baggage,” TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers said.

Thanksgiving brings out infrequent flyers, and they often have questions about what they can bring on the plane. The TSA app and website have lists of items that are banned or restricted.

Drivers should know that Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons will be the worst times to travel by car, but it should be smooth sailing on freeways come Thanksgiving Day, according to transportation analytics company INRIX.

On the return home, the best travel times for motorists are before 1 p.m. on Sunday, and before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on Monday, the company said.

In metropolitan areas like Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, “traffic is expected to be more than double what it typically is on a normal day,” INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue said.

Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, Melissa Perez Winder in Chicago and Mike Householder in Romulus, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Travelers pull suitcases as they walk toward a terminal, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, at Boston Logan International Airport, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Travelers wait at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Atlanta, as the Thanksgiving travel season kicks off. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Travelers prepare to board aircraft near a holiday decoration, top, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, at Boston Logan International Airport, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, travelers walk through Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this photo made with a long exposure, motor vehicles move along Interstate 76 ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in Philadelphia, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)