‘KUWTK’ Reportedly Canceled Due To ‘A Big Kardashian Cash Grab’ And These Other Factors

Kim Kardashian and her famous family members announced earlier this week that Keeping Up with the Kardashians will come to an end in 2021, leading fans to question exactly what led to the demise of the popular E! reality series. A source has now opened up about why it will be no more after 14 years, alleging that Kanye West, declining ratings, and financial factors all played a part.

According to Page Six, ending the show has allegedly “been a long time coming.”

The site claimed that the Kardashian clan has been thinking about “what the end of their show looks like” for “three or four years” and suggested that Kanye’s recent mental health struggles played a big part in the decision.

After it was reported that Kim had asked cameras not to film her husband amid his recent bipolar episode and that his mental health struggles will not feature on upcoming episodes, sources said it made things feel less authentic and “would have left fans feeling cheated.”

The site also cited the E! network’s finances as another reason for the ending, claiming the NBCUniversal company had been hit particularly hard financially by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. KUWTK has aired on the channel since it first began in 2007 with the network also airing its various spin-offs, though it recently made big changes to its schedule. Among those was canceling E! News after almost three decades on the air.

The Kardashians allegedly “wanted more [money] to re-up” and film more seasons, though the outlet claimed E! didn’t have the same leeway to offer more money as it has before.

Page Six also noted that Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ ratings have fallen over the past few years, which may also be why the network wasn’t so motivated to respond to the supposed “big Kardashian cash grab.”

Finally, it was claimed that the series has become more of a way for the family to advertise their products and less about the storylines that drove the earlier seasons. The gang is said to be “less tied” to TV now because they’re able to plug endorsement deals on their highly followed social media accounts.

Kim confirmed that 2021 will see the last episode of the show in an emotional Instagram post on September 8.

She shared a throwback promotional photo from one of the early seasons and wrote in the lengthy caption that they had “made the difficult decision as a family to say goodbye.”