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Why ‘The Kardashians’ is created to satisfy fans, and how it’s completely failing
This article contains spoilers of the latest episode of the show.
Jan. 2nd, 2023
I have been watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians since season 5 aired in 2010. It is safe to say that I have been hooked since then. I saw the show evolve, change and grow over the years. Therefore, I was surprised to see that when KUWTK stopped, the family signed a new contract to air their new show The Kardashians.
It has been over a month that the season 2 finale of TK aired. This season of the show has left a lot of fans disappointed and outraged. One thing is sure: fans aren't afraid to express their feelings.
Underwhelming season
Different Kardashian fans spoke out on Twitter about season 2 of The Kardashians.
One of the viewers on Twitter wrote, “Let’s face it. The whole season was kinda underwhelming. I can handle maybe 1 episode of infomercial/product placement/advertising – but not 10. The rest of the time I’m feeling shitty cos I know my life will never live up to #TheKardashians #KUWTK.”
The most mentioned comments are about the lack of a storyline, the main focus on Kim Kardashian, and the Jenners not being present on the show. And to end on an even worse note, the final episode of season 2 focused on Kim Kardashian walking on the runway of Balenciaga. The episode aired a few days after The Balenciaga Scandal, which also didn't go unnoticed.
Image credit: Hulu
keeping up (or not)
The Kardashians earned the most amount of fame through their reality hit series Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The show started in 2007 and eventually got 20 seasons, 10 spinoffs, and aired in at least 167 countries. Therefore KUWTK is the most successful reality series of E! Entertainment. In the book Kris Jenner... And All Things Kardashian, Kris mentions that she knew she needed to include all the highs and lows of the family in the reality series to become successful. And so the family started recording they're personal lives - including all the ups and downs - for their new reality series...
With a show come viewers, and with viewers come haters (and lovers obviously!). I read a lot of hate tweets about KUWTK, and to summarize the reactions for you:
People hate(d) the Kardashians because they seemed famous and rich for no significant or important reason, and because the show gives the impression that the only way to be successful in life is to come from a rich family.
WHAT THE KARDASHIANS WANT
In The goop Podcast: Gwyneth Paltrow x Kim Kardashian: On Routines, Family, and Marriages, Kim explains that the reality series The Kardashians allows sharing of different sides of the family. Taking the E! Entertainment audience into her law school journey would "bore them to death", Kardashian further explains. The documentary nature of the show also gives the family the opportunity to have more boundaries and keep their private life (a little bit) more private.
Though the family has decided to live their life more privately, they are aware that the media will publicly share their private events and happenings. To keep control over the rumors and news that the media shares, the Kardashians use their show to tell their narrative of the situation.
what the viewers want
With Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the viewers made clear that they want to see the Kardashians from a more entrepreneurial perspective. Seeing the family living their crazy family lives without showing their work and ambition made the family look 'dumb', 'useless' and 'trashy'. People wanted the family to stop showing how rich they were for 'doing nothing'.
The producers listened and gave us The Kardashians: more focus on the businesses of the family, their day-to-day life (let's be honest, the Kardashians work 24/7 on their billion brands), and their ambitions.
Now guess what... people still aren't happy. Why? Because now there is less personal drama (a.k.a. less tea to spill). You know, the drama that made people call them 'useless' and 'dumb'. Yeah, even I am confused. And I am not alone in this cause Kim Kardashian went to Twitter to ask what the audience wants to see in season 3 of the show. So can people please - honestly - respond to her? Just make sure that Kylie and Khloé share their baby names, thank you.