Over time, though, this newfound celebrity began to chafe against the show’s establishing constraints. No one really believed that these now quite famous, no-longer-so-young protagonists—sexy dissembler Jax Taylor, excitable d.j. James Kennedy, grumpy drunk-texter Katie Maloney, volatile vixen Kristen Doute, evasive dandy Tom Sandoval, and the rest of the gang—would continue to clock in for shifts at SUR and receive stern if maternal talking-tos from Lisa Vanderpump forever. To deal with this contradiction, more grownup plotlines were developed, with the show following cast members as they pursued other hospitality endeavors, among them the West Hollywood lounge TomTom and, later, the sandwich shop Something About Her. In Season 8, a new cadre of rookie bartenders and servers were thrown into the mix, but their addition felt contrived; meanwhile, the series’ seasoned old standbys had begun to lose their ability to amuse and astonish. “Vanderpump” was running on fumes.