It seems like ancient history now, but once upon a time, there was a little backdoor pilot that dreamed of growing up to be a full-fledged reality television spectacle. Its name was “Vanderpump Rules” (you may have heard of the headline-making scandal it recently produced), and it was developed as a spinoff of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” the lustrous crown jewel of the Bravo network’s most popular franchise. While “RHOBH” documented the glitzy lives of the women inhabiting one of America’s most famous zip codes, “Vanderpump Rules” focused on the working-class drama of the staff at SUR — one of “Beverly Hills” star Lisa Vanderpump’s handful of restaurants. 

When a cheating scandal concerning a staff member at Vanderpump’s restaurant became fodder for a “RHOBH” storyline, Bravo execs made the brilliant decision to let an episode of the show’s third season bleed directly into the series premiere of “Vanderpump Rules.” For the first two seasons of “VPR,” the two shows would air back-to-back in a two-hour programming block that allowed viewers to traverse metropolitan California’s wealth spectrum. The Housewives let audiences immerse themselves in the 90210 fantasy before leaving through the golden gates of Beverly Hills to indulge in the familiar drama of real-life service workers. The pairing was an instant sensation. 

Lisa Vanderpump in "Vanderpump Villa" (Disney/Andrea Miconi)

“The Valley” and “Vanderpump Villa” provide viewers suffering from “Housewives” fatigue with a messy, less-produced reality TV experience, one that Bravo’s star franchise hasn’t offered in some time. Perhaps everything Lisa Vanderpump touches does turn to gold — or, at least, shiny, fake pyrite.

But for Vanderpump, having two shows on Bravo was about more than upping her profile; it was a shrewd business decision. “Vanderpump Rules” gave one of the breakout stars of “Beverly Hills” the chance to go it alone, and to prove that she is more than just an affected British accent and some stuffed — excuse me, very much “alive” — dogs: She’s an entrepreneur, an icon of the hospitality industry, whose name is powerful enough to draw customers no matter how many food poisoning lawsuits it’s named in. (Let the lesson be learned: Ordering an “orange fish with cream sauce” will cost you a lot more in hospital bills than what you planned to spend during an ironic night out with friends.)

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Vanderpump left “Beverly Hills” some time ago, yet she still keeps a foot in “Vanderpump Rules,” even with the show overhauling its entire cast for its upcoming twelfth season. And it seems like she knows when it’s a good time to reorient. “Beverly Hills” has been struggling for years,........

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