Katie Maloney Returns to Reality TV on Stassi Schroeder's House of Stassi — After Telling Her She Shrinks Her World

Katie Maloney was not looking for another reality show. After Vanderpump Rules aired its final season with the original cast in 2024, she told The Hollywood Reporter the experience "took a toll" on her by the end, and she would only come back for something that felt genuinely different. What pulled her back in was a phone call from her old castmate Stassi Schroeder — not to join the cast of Schroeder's new Hulu series House of Stassi, but to appear on it after the core ensemble had already been assembled. The Hollywood Reporter

Their first onscreen sit-down was also their first meeting after a personal fallout. Maloney did not hold back. She told Schroeder she makes her world "smaller and smaller" — to the point that only people who "came out of her, married her, or are on her payroll get to be in her life." Schroeder, who serves as an executive producer on the series, later said of Maloney's on-camera honesty: "Damn, this bitch is good… I need her to do this show." The Hollywood Reporter

Maloney told The Hollywood Reporter she "would not have signed up for another reality TV show if not for the people involved," and that she and Schroeder were aligned on how to navigate the show. She had also made clear, through casual conversations, that she had zero interest in The Valley, a spinoff built by the same production team behind Vanderpump Rules. She said she never considered joining the House of Stassi cast either, for a number of reasons, and learned early on that filming had not yet started. What she agreed to was something narrower: a guest appearance on her own terms. The Hollywood Reporter

House of Stassi was first announced in August 2024. Three months later, Bravo confirmed it was rebooting Vanderpump Rules with an entirely new cast for season 12, with Maloney among the outgoing members. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the reboot in December 2024. The Hollywood Reporter

The series launched with a two-episode premiere on Freeform on 29 July at 9:00 PM ET/PT, with the full first season streaming on Hulu from 30 July. The official trailer frames the show as Schroeder's return to reality television, with Schroeder herself saying she "can't stay away" from the cameras. ABC7

For Maloney, the cautiousness is deliberate. She told The Hollywood Reporter she has enjoyed being out of the public eye — away from the cycle of constant attention that an active series brings. She has also kept busy off-screen: she and fellow Vanderpump Rules alum Ariana Madix opened the sandwich shop Something About Her, while Madix went on to host Love Island USA. The Hollywood Reporter

What makes this stand out is the dynamic between two people who were close, fell out, and are now sitting across from each other with cameras rolling. Schroeder built the show; Maloney agreed to walk onto it. The result is a conversation neither of them could have scripted.