Los Angeles Times

Gustavo Arellano: The very LA lessons at the heart of reality TV smash 'Vanderpump Rules'

Katie Maloney, left, and Ariana Madix celebrate the opening of their new sandwich shop Something About Her on May 21, 2024, in West Hollywood, California.

LOS ANGELES — For 11 seasons, Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules" has followed the triumphs, tragedies and tomfooleries of a group of Hollywood 20-something nobodies who became 30-something wannabes as the show became a reality TV juggernaut.

Never heard of it? Maybe it's for the better — but you've been missing out on an unlikely morality play about who makes it and who doesn't in the eternal heartbreak that is Los Angeles.

It started as a series about the wait staff at SUR, a loud, overpriced West Hollywood restaurant whose star dish is fried goat cheese balls that aren't as appetizing

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