Why Is ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ Canceled?

The Kardashian sisters announced that they have decided to cancel Keeping Up With the Kardashians. On September 8, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and the official Keeping Up With the Kardashians Instagram account posted photos notifying their fans and followers that the the last season of KUWTK will air in early 2021. After the final season aires, the franchise will total 20 seasons, 14 years, and numerous spinoff series.

“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, Khloe, and Kris wrote.

While the cancellation announcement shocked many fans – and even a family member – the family mutually decided together. “There was no big reason why the family decided to end KUWTK; it was a mutual decision,” a source told ET. The kids who started the show now have their own kids and it’s getting very hard to film all together or get enough footage separately. The family is grateful for their time and is happy they have all of these memories filmed for the rest of their lives. The family wanted time to focus more on their family and future projects and the show is a major job that takes up a lot of time.”

Khloe Kardashian hinted that the family needs a change

While Kim, Khloe, and Kris all wrote similar farewell posts, Khloe Kardashian revealed a potential reason for the show cancellation. “Change is hard but also needed at times,” she wrote in her Instagram caption. “I love you all. Thank you for the memories!”

KUWTK first premiered in 2007 when the Jenners and Kardashians still lived in their ranch-style home. Caitlyn Jenner recalled the show’s early days in a vlog on September 14. “I remember when we had our first meeting at E! and I remember the executive producer goes, ‘I don’t know if i really get it, but we’ll shoot six shows,’” she said. “We didn’t get four episodes in and they said okay we’ll go to twelve. Well it went from there and just kept building.” Since 2007, the KarJenner siblings have grown up with the cameras and spotlight on them the entire time.

The Kardashian-Jenner siblings have shielded their kids from KUWTK

Since its premiere, the memories of KUWTK seasons past are endless. Most notably, the KarJenner siblings have welcomed a total of ten children into their lives. When Kourtney Kardashian first gave birth to Mason in December 2009 – and also helped deliver him – she let Disick film the birth and it made the cut for the season 4 KUWTK finale. Kardashian let producers film baby Mason for one season, but she didn’t allow any cameras on the then one-year-old for their next spinoff, Kourtney & Kim Take New York. “You’re not going to see Mason,” Kardashian told PEOPLE in January 2011. “Scott and I decided not to have him on the show this season.” Since then, Mason has made on and off appearances on KUWTK, but her kids make frequent appearances these days.

Kim Kardashian – the next sister to have kids – also had to make the decision about how much she wanted oldest daughter North on the reality show. During North’s first few years, she made few appearances on the show, per Kardashian and husband Kanye West’s request.

The SKIMS founder detailed her and West’s decision on an episode of Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham from 2018. “I have a good balance, if our kids are ever on the show, Kanye has to view it and approve it,” Kardashian said. “Sometimes I will send him a picture of the kids and he will post it, and I won’t necessarily want it to be posted. Or he will say to me that we should chill out on posting the kids. So we have our moments and it changes all the time.”

The newer parents – Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, and Rob Kardashian – have followed in their sibling’s footsteps by slowly easing their kids into the reality television show saga.

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