Why Did ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ Get The Plug Pulled?

Kim Kardashian’s Tuesday announcement that “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” is ending is now seeing the bombshell news dubbed “the end of an era.” The 39-year-old reality star and makeup mogul shocked fans yesterday by announcing that her family’s hit E! show is wrapping up, also taking a big moment to thank fans for 14 years of support.

In an Instagram statement accompanied by an old promo for the 2007-commenced series, the KKW Beauty founder wrote:

To our amazing fans – It is with heavy hearts that we’ve made the difficult decision as a family to say goodbye to Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Kim continued: “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 – through the good times, the bad times, the happiness, the tears, and the many relationships and children. We’ll forever cherish the wonderful memories and countless people we’ve met along the way.”

Since dropping the news, the digital space has expressed sadness and shock, with fans of “KUWTK” extending love to Kim and sisters Khloe, Kourtney, plus Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Talk has now shifted to why the Calabasas-based family pulled the plug on their popular show, with theories coming out of the woodwork.

The biggest assumption is that it was down to ratings. The show, which will air its final episode in early 2021, brought in an average 4.8 million viewers in the season four finale, peaking at 10.5 million for Kim’s 2011 wedding to Kris Humphries. Ratings were down to 1 million during the season 18 premiere this year, though.

Another possible reason, boiling down to cash, is that E! was simply paying out too much money. In 2017, executive producer Kris Jenner and her daughters signed a $150 million deal with the network to renew. Also being discussed, with a far more recent feel, is rapper Kanye West’s breakdown.

July brought Kim’s 2014-married husband Kanye in a high-profile breakdown amid his Presidential run. A rally saw the “Ye” rapper break down crying on stage, alongside outing Kim having once considered aborting daughter North. It’s reported that the SKIMS founder didn’t want her husband’s bipolar episode aired. Likewise having fans wondering, was Kim and sister Kourtney’s high-profile brawl, a source of backlash for the 41-year-old and her younger sibling. Furthermore, Poosh founder Kourtney was reported to have refused to film as she chose to focus on children Mason, Penelope, and Reign.

Kim’s post, now sitting at over 5.9 million likes, but largely drawing sadness amid the comments, concluded:

Thank you to the thousands of individuals and businesses that have been a part of this experience and, most importantly, a very special thank you to Ryan Seacrest for believing in us, E! for being our partner, and our production team at Bunim/Murray, who’ve spent countless hours documenting our lives.