‘The Kardashians’: Why the Show Moved From E to Hulu
Fans worldwide were shocked to hear that Keeping Up With The Kardashians would be going off the air in 2021. However, the famous family soon announced that they would be starring in a new show on Hulu, The Kardashians. So, why the move to streaming?
‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ began in 2007
Keeping Up With The Kardashians premiered in 2007 on E! It was massively popular, spawning spin-off shows like Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Khloé & Lamar, Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons, Dash Dolls, Rob & Chyna, and Life of Kylie.
It also made stars out of the Kardashian sisters, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, and Kourtney Kardashian, their half-sisters, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner, and other family members like mom Kris, brother Rob, and Kourtney’s longtime former partner Scott Disick.
In an interview with Variety, Kris Jenner revealed that she and the rest of the family never planned on becoming as famous as they did.
“It really wasn’t this master plan,” she explained. “When I started Keeping Up With the Kardashians, we were so excited to have our own show and so appreciative of the opportunity.”
KUWTK ran for 20 seasons and is one of the longest-running reality series in the United States. That’s why fans were so surprised to hear that the family would end the show.
However, they quickly revealed they would be taking their talents to Hulu, with the new show, The Kardashians. So, why did the Kardashians make a move to streaming?
Why did the Kardashians move to Hulu?
For some of the family members, the shooting environment for KUWTK started to become toxic. Siblings Rob Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian both agreed that they were not enjoying their time on the show. However, Kourtney maintained that she was not the reason the show came to an end, saying, “I think that we were all ready to move on to something else.”
The move to Hulu made sense for a lot of reasons. One of them was the quick turnaround time that streaming provides. This means that when things happen to them in real life, there’s less of a lag when it comes to being shown on The Kardashians.
“We wanted it to be as current as possible,” Kim Kardashian shared. “We hated how long we had to wait. That was like the death of us, because once we got over something, we had to rehash it all over again.”
Another element to the network shift was the importance of being on-trend. Streaming has largely replaced traditional network television, and the Kardashians didn’t want to seem out-of-date.
We wanted to be with someone that’s tech forward, so we’re with the times,” Khloé says. “For us to be still on cable was just not so on brand for us.”
While it’s unknown how long The Kardashians will run, some of the family members have already expressed a desire to stop living life for the cameras.
“I see myself living in another city,” Kourtney Kardashian said. “I don’t think I see myself filming on a show in five years. I would probably envision myself, like, just living.”
Kim Kardashian also talked about leaving reality TV behind: “Sometimes I think, ‘Oh, my God, the dream. I can stop being Kim K. in 10 years.” However, when asked if she really thinks about living without the cameras, she said, “No. I don’t.”
How to watch ‘The Kardashians’
For fans of the Kardashian clan, The Kardashians was a welcome addition to their television habits.
The show is available to watch on Hulu, with new episodes premiering every Thursday.
