Are ‘The Kardashians’ In Their Flop Era, Or Simply Taking A Conscious Step Back From The Tabloid Frontlines?

The party line on the Kardashians these days is that they’re in their flop era. They’re losing their grip on culture; their relevance is fading; they’re out of touch with reality. While some of that may contain an element of truth — there’s no denying that the family is several years removed from the height of their inescapable command on pop culture — couldn’t that be said for pretty much any entity in today’s fractured media landscape? The public consumes its pop culture diet from a continually diversifying range of sources and platforms, meaning that the monoculture that the Kardashian-Jenners rode the wave of to amass their influence doesn’t really exist anymore.

But that doesn’t mean that the Kardashians are irrelevant or have lost their ability to impact culture. Anyone claiming that is likely just projecting their wishful thinking onto reality, which is actually that the pervasiveness of the Kardashian-Jenner clan isn’t going anywhere. It just may not be as dominant as it once was.

The family’s flagship show, The Kardashians on Hulu, embodies this perfectly. The show, which succeeded E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians as their central promotional vehicle, just wrapped its fifth season, which was the least eventful and impactful season of the series yet. It produced no inescapably viral moments, there was noticeably less conversation about it online and offered less drama than usual. Coming off of last season’s “Dolce Vita Lifestyle” fight between Kim and Kourtney, this was a stark change for the series.

Season 5 of The Kardashians was more akin to background television, which isn’t necessarily even a knock on the show. To be sure, for longtime fans of the family, the show merely existing is enough for it to be entertaining. They’d watch the family do anything and don’t need a central feud or hook or source of big drama to tune in. And there’s an argument to be made that The Kardashians being background TV reflects the Kardashians’ current place in pop culture: Always there, always at least in the background of everything, always somewhat accessible.

But it’s a far cry from just a few years ago when the show promised to deliver the stories behind the headlines, to color in the lines of what really happened behind closed doors when it came to scandals like Tristan Thompson cheating on Khloé with Kylie’s best friend Jordyn Woods, Caitlyn Jenner’s transition, Kim being robbed at gunpoint in Paris, Lamar Odom’s overdose and, most recently, Kim’s divorce from Kanye. These days, the biggest headlines that the Kardashians make are typically tied to their love lives, and they’re either glossed over or completely ignored on the show: Kylie’s relationship with Timothee Chalamet, Kendall’s fling with Bad Bunny, rumors that Kim dated Tom Brady. 

And, considering that they’re all executive producers on the show, this is how the family wants it. Perhaps the juice isn’t worth the squeeze anymore for them. The attention that comes from pulling back more of the curtain on their lives comes with increased backlash and negativity and controversy and, considering that they’re already the most famous family in the world, what do they really gain by continually letting us in that deeply? It’s not difficult to jump to the logical conclusion that the Kardashians want a break from that pressure. They want more of a boundary up — and they’ve earned that.

Now, some may say that if the show isn’t going to let us into their lives in the same way that it once did, then why do they even need it? Why would it exist at all? After all, they have hundreds of millions of followers on Instagram and can control their message, tell their stories and promote themselves there. The difference is that on Instagram, their profiles are siloed from one another. They post content with their sisters all the time, but that doesn’t unify them onto one platform like their show does. And having that central driver of their family’s story is crucial for the Kardashians because, while they all have their individual brands, being part of the Kardashian family is in the DNA of each of those brands. The public needs constant reminding of that.

Not only that, but their social media activity these days generally tends to flatten their personalities and exists mainly to sell their products. On the other hand, while The Kardashians might not always be high drama or the deepest program on television, it does the essential work of humanizing them. It serves as a reminder that Kris and Kourtney and Kim and Khloé and Kendall and Kylie are all people at the end of the day. People with emotions who can make us laugh and tease one another, all while being part of the most famous family on the planet. Relatable, but not.

And who’s to say that this moment of holding their cards closer to the chest will last forever? Refusing to talk about the juiciest parts of their lives may just start to be a problem for the show’s future or the family’s general ability to make a splashy headline. When that time comes, they can let us back into their love lives or tell us where things really stand with Kanye or discuss Scott and Kourtney’s current dynamic or maybe even explain whatever is going on with Rob. That’s all it will take to reel everyone back in.

Gibson Johns is an award-nominated entertainment journalist, host, podcaster, and reality TV commentator known for his Bravo hot takes, celebrity interviews and prolific tweeting. His work has appeared in Esquire, Men’s Health, Betches, Yahoo! and more. He’s conducted hundreds of interviews with top celebrities like Khloe Kardashian, Matt Damon, Chrissy Teigen, Kate Hudson and Gabrielle Union, as well as interviews with over 80 “Real Housewives.” He’s appeared as a moderator at multiple BravoCons, hosted premiere panels for Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Potomac and Dancing Queens, and been a guest on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy.