Photo Courtesy of E!
Those of us who want to keep up with the Kardashians will have to just stalk their social media profiles like we have to do with every other celeb. That’s because Keeping Up With the Kardashians will be no more. The long-running E! Network reality TV series will serve up its very last episode in early 2021; its 20th and final season will begin airing September 17.
It may seem a stunning announcement in the midst of a global pandemic, political unrest, and an economic recession, but the cultural impact of this one family cannot be understated. Beyond the shapewear, the perfumes, and the lip kits. They are the family that introduced the idea of being famous for being famous. A concept that has taken us from leaked sex tapes to reality TV to the dawning of the Instagram influencer.
“Without Keeping Up With the Kardashians, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Kardashian West wrote on social media. “I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who has watched and supported me and my family these past 14 incredible years. This show made us who we are and I will be forever in debt to everyone who played a role in shaping our careers and changing our lives forever.”
Kardashian West isn’t wrong: Keeping Up With the Kardashians did launch her career when it premiered on E! in 2007. It’s what helped her pivot away from her early semi-fame as Paris Hilton’s closet organizer and the girl whose sex tape leaked and toward the kind of celebrity who shows up on the cover of Vogue. It also made her sisters magazine-cover stars and helped launch the larger Kardashian-Jenner media empire.
It’s unclear what lies in store for the members of the family when KUWTK finally leaves our screens next year, but one thing is certain: whatever medium they focus on, their names will remain firmly in the spotlight. Because if there’s one thing Kardashian-Jenner women know how to do well, is evolve with the times.
