The drama is positively Shakespearean at Bravo, according to Lena Dunham. 

The Girls creator became an avid Vanderpump Rules fan during the 2023 WGA strike. While binging the reality series, she began developing an idea inspired by Tom Sandoval’s infamous betrayal of his then-girlfriend, Ariana Madix, an incident that was quickly dubbed “Scandoval” by fans. 

Lena Dunham was ‘so obsessed’ with Scandoval 

“I literally became so obsessed that I thought – what can we do while the writers’ strike is down?’” Dunham said during an appearance on the July 29 episode of the Shut Up Evan Podcast. “We should do a reenactment of the reunion in which Ariana confronts Tom and then takes Rachel/Raquel [Leviss] to town with trained actors.”

“We should basically create like a mini movie in which actors treat this as canon and get up and perform with all the passion and virtuosity of Shakespeare. I went so far as to abuse Andy Cohen‘s contact information to pitch him the idea,” she continued. 

Cohen didn’t bite on Dunham’s idea. “Maybe it wasn’t [what he needed] in that moment,” she acknowledged. But she had the casting all figured out, she said. 

“But I want you to know how far I took it … I kept being like, ‘Andrew Scott is Tom Sandoval.’ You know? ‘Jennifer Lawrence is Ariana,’ the Too Much creator recalled. “I sounded like someone who was having a break with reality and thought I was Jesus. That’s how obsessive I was.” 

“I want to take these words and direct them like it’s really serious theater,” she said, adding that her dream casting for Lisa Vanderpump was Rita Wilson. “And I want to treat these characters the same way that people go, ‘I feel so lucky, I get to play the role of Lady Macbeth.’ It’s like, ‘What an honor to play the role of Ariana.’” 

Andy Cohen addressed ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 10 drama on ‘Radio Andy Theater’

While Dunham’s vision for a Scandoval movie didn’t come to fruition, Cohen did apparently recognize its theatrically. In early 2024, he hosted a dramatic reading of the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 finale on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. 

The Radio Andy Theater episode featured Chrissy Teigen as Lisa Vanderpump, Amber Tamblyn as Ariana, Cheyenne Jackson as Tom, and Chloe Fineman as Raquel. Soap opera icon Susan Lucci, Carson Kressley, Brad Goreski, Leslie Grossman, and Sarah Sherman played the roles of of other Pump Rules cast members.

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