‘KUWTK’: The Most Frustrating Thing About the Show Fans Wish Would Change
Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been a truly momentous accomplishment in the world of reality television. The chance to get an up close and personal look into the lives of the Kardashian-Jenner family is an irresistible opportunity for many fans. Even as the family drama heats up and the cast undergoes changes, the family returns to the screen year after year and invites viewers to take a look at their lives.
Even though the show has remained popular for close to two decades, some parts are starting to feel stale. Fans have a lot of ideas about how to improve the reality show for the future, and there’s one big change in particular that would make a difference.
‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ is entering its 18th season
The show originally aired in 2007 and is expected to return for its 18th season sometime in 2020. Over the years, the show has presented viewers with a revolving cast of characters that changes based on the interpersonal dynamics of the family itself.
Without a doubt, the key players in the program are the Kardashian sisters: Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney.
Little sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner are not featured as prominently on the show, which is apparently a result of them having different contractual obligations to appear on screen.
The family has had to figure out how to keep the show interesting and fresh as each passing year leaves them having to open up again and again about their personal issues and family squabbles to keep viewers tuned in.
The show has provided many iconic moments
Viewers have seen some real drama in KUWTK over the years.They’ve seen Khloe Kardashian reenact her arrest for driving under the influence. Cameras even followed the star into jail as she reported for a parole violation.
The very first season had Kim Kardashian posing for Playboy with her mom by her side for support, a stunt that shocked viewers at the time.
Fans have also had front-row seats to the many marriages, divorces, breakups, and make-ups of the entire family. They’ve watched the family grow as children were born and seen the sisters transform from teens and young adults into fully capable adult women with their own business empires to grow and manage.
Through it all, the show has faced many criticisms. Some complain about the shallowness and self-centered nature of an entire family who plans their lives around how they will look on camera. Others have simply complained that the show doesn’t seem authentic or real.
At the end of the day, though, fans have continued to tune in year after year, giving the show its long run.
Cancellation rumors have been swirling
By this point, the show feels almost like a permanent fixture in the celebrity world, but there have been rumors going around that it may be nearing cancellation. Kim Kardashian has been publicly frustrated with her sister Kourtney for not committing as much time to the show.
She feels it falls on her and Khloe’s shoulders to pick up the slack. The resulting drama has Kourtney stepping away from the show, leaving an even bigger hole to fill.
Meanwhile, fans are speculating that the entire family may be ready to call it quits. Kim is the only one who seems fully committed to continuing, and it’s possible (though perhaps unlikely) that the star and her noteworthy family could end up on a show of their own.
Some fans, however, have a solution that would keep the show alive without putting extra strain on the cast.
In a Reddit thread on how to improve the show, one viewer makes the simple but transformative suggestion that the show’s air time simply be cut in half.
It’s currently an hour long with about 44 minutes of programming. A half hour time slot would mean only 22 minutes of programming for each episode, giving the cast less time to fill and fewer pressures to bare their souls to keep the cameras rolling.
Many commenters chimed in their support for the plan. They pointed to the “filler” the show frequently uses to pad the existing time and think that a streamlined version would be more enjoyable.