The Biggest Differences Between The Kardashians' Reality TV Shows
In June 2021, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" aired for the last time, devastating fans across the globe. Kim Kardashian made the shocking announcement nine months earlier via Instagram, as noted by Us Weekly. "It is with heavy hearts that we've made the difficult decision as a family to say goodbye to 'Keeping up with the Kardashians,'" the Skims founder captioned her post. "After what will be 14 years, 20 seasons, hundreds of episodes, and numerous spin-off shows, we are beyond grateful to all of you who've watched us for all of these years."
Fans may have thought this was the last of the Calabasas family's time on the small screen, but little did they know how brief their reality TV hiatus would really be. Less than a year later, on April 14, 2022, their new reality series debuted on Hulu, meaning that this famous family is back to filming their daily lives. While "The Kardashians" may boast a slightly shorter title, how different is this new show from the original series? Apparently, "it's an entirely different concept," an insider revealed to Us Weekly. Now that "The Kardashians" has officially premiered, we can finally compare it to the popular E! series to dish on all the details.
The Kardashians have said goodbye to E! and hello to Hulu
Gone are the days of the 2000s when people used to flip on the TV and watch whatever show was on. Nowadays, streaming services have taken the world by storm while cable boxes are gathering dust. Like several other binge-worthy reality TV series, including "Selling Sunset" and "The Bachelor," "The Kardashians" has landed a prime spot on one of the most popular streaming platforms: Hulu. Twitter accused the famous family of crashing Hulu when the second episode premiered, though it appears that the network promptly corrected the issue (via Deadline).
In an interview with TV Insider, several of the Kardashian family members hinted at the reason for the network change. "We wanted to be with someone that's tech-forward, so we're with the times," Khloé Kardashian shared. She added, "For us to be still on cable was just not so on-brand for us." According to Kris Jenner, the family unsurprisingly had several "options" on which platform to go with. One can assume that the family most likely opted for the platform with the highest offer. "Well, money always matters," Jenner shared. "I think that anybody would be foolish to say that money doesn't matter anymore."
According to Variety, the Hulu series is bringing home a $100 million paycheck for the Kardashians, with each famous family member earning the same cut. "We're all equals," said Khloé.
"The Kardashians" has taken on the look and feel of a documentary series
With a new streaming platform comes a new look. Upon viewing the first episode of "The Kardashians," the audience can instantly tell that this new series is opting for a different cinematic style. With overhead drone shots of cities and sleek scene openers introducing each sibling, "The Kardashians" now has the look and feel of a high production documentary series rather than a low-grade reality TV show (via Variety).
While the show is changing up its look, it's also changing up its length. "Before on E!, it was totally us and totally amazing, but the episodes were so short," Kim Kardashian shared in a video interview with Variety. While "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" changed a lot since the first season, one of the major adjustments during the show's 20-season stint was the length of each episode. The first episode of Season 1 was approximately 20 minutes in length, but the show switched to a new format by Season 7, where each episode was approximately 45 minutes in length (via BuzzFeed News). Kim revealed in the video interview with Variety that the shorter episodes were catered towards "what the E! Audience wanted" while the new show "feels a little more documentary style."
"The Kardashians" will focus more on the individual lives of each family member
Finding the balance between sharing secrets and keeping things personal can be tricky on reality television. Leading up to their series debut, the Kardashians discussed how they want to set boundaries for themselves in this new chapter of their lives. "I think for every sister, we all have different boundary levels," Khloé Kardashian revealed in an interview with ET. When it comes to the "Queen of Boundaries," though, it's without a doubt Kourtney Kardashian, according to her sister Kim.
"Don't even get me started on boundaries," Kourtney joked in a video interview with Variety. For the eldest Kardashian sister, creating boundaries means carving out time for herself off-camera, whether that's taking a moment to work out in the morning or driving her kids to school. Kourtney also revealed that she's not going to allow the cameras to be rolling during Valentine's Day, a day that's undoubtedly reserved for her fiancé, Travis Barker. "That's going to be a no," she said.
Unlike the longtime E! series, "The Kardashians" is going to be more focused on each of the sisters' individual lives, rather than the family as a unit (via TV Insider). This will give the Kardashians more freedom to go about their daily schedules as they please, rather than structure their time around filming the show. Hopefully, this allows each of the Kardashians some space to create their own boundaries!
The Jenner girls will take more of a back seat in this new chapter
As diehard fans of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" know, the two Jenner sisters were very young when the first season of the show aired. According to ScreenRant, Kendall and Kylie Jenner were 12 and 10 years old respectively. In an interview with ET, Kendall opened up about lessons she had learned from watching her sisters in the spotlight during this time. "Our older sisters kind of experienced a life that we got to view," she shared (via YouTube). "From a really young age, both Kylie and I kind of knew what we wanted to keep off the show and what we wanted to keep to ourselves."
That said, in this new Hulu series, the Jenner sisters will be taking more of a backseat. "The new show is going to have the entire family be part of it, but Kim, Khloé [Kardashian], Kourtney [Kardashian] and Kris [Jenner] are going to be on it the most," a source shared with Us Weekly. Don't worry Kendall and Kylie fans, you'll certainly get some content of the two youngest sisters in the family anyway!
The Kardashians want their new series to showcase the more meaningful aspects of their lives
From secret affairs to sibling spats to lavish Easter celebrations, the Kardashians' lives are anything but boring. While many people tuned into "Keeping Up with Kardashians" for the drama and scandal, the famous family wants their new series to be focused on the more meaningful aspects of their lives.
In a video interview with Variety, Kim Kardashian explained that the series will be "coming from a different angle of where we are at in our lives now." She added, "Because it's different sides that maybe the E! audience wasn't as interested in our business ventures or my law school journey."
Kris Jenner is a big fan of the new content that will be showcased on "The Kardashians." The renowned "momager," who had a really hard time ending "KUWTK," explained how the new series will give the Kardashians' fanbase a better idea of what happens behind the scenes in their lives "Before you would see little snippets of something, and now I think the episodes are fuller of content that shows the whole story," Kris shared in an interview with ET.