Why Kris Jenner Called Her Show 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' Is Just Genius: "We Can Never..."

Kylie Jenner recently revealed the real reason behind her mother, Kris Jenner's decision to name their iconic reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. According to Kylie, Kris fought hard to include the family name in the title to secure their unique identity on the show.

Kylie, reflecting on the early days of the series, shared in a recent interview with Vogue: "My mom came into the living room and announced the name of the show. She’s like: 'Hey, it’s going to be called Keeping Up With the Kardashians.’" Kylie recalled voicing doubts with her sister, Kendall Jenner, saying: "And I remember Kendall and I were like: ‘Don’t you think that’s a handful?’ She was like, 'I’m fighting for this because it’s so important that our name is in the title of the show. So that we can never get replaced.’"

The show premiered on E! on October 14, 2007, and ran for 20 seasons until 2021, becoming one of the longest-running reality shows in U.S. television history. With Executive produced by Ryan Seacrest, the series was initially conceived after Kris pitched the idea of a family reality show during a barbecue. Seacrest recounted during an episode of Live! With Kelly and Ryan, "[Kris Jenner] was looking to do a show with the family. We met and I remember they were going to do a barbecue at their house. She said, 'Why don't you send a camera up and shoot this barbecue?'" Seacrest's team filmed the footage, which he later described as having "all of the ingredients to make a great show."

While the show catapulted the family into international fame, it initially aimed to promote the Kardashian sisters' business ventures. In the 2000s, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, and Khloé Kardashian ran boutique clothing stores called Dash and Smooch. Kris believed a reality show could help market these businesses. In a 2014 interview with Giuliana Rancic, Kris said that her pitch to Seacrest was motivated by the desire to boost the family’s entrepreneurial efforts, reported E! News.

However, after the show aired, the family’s growing popularity led to the closure of Dash and Smooch and the Kardashians launching their own ventures. Kim launched her shapewear brand SKIMS in 2019, Khloé debuted her denim brand Good American in 2016, and Kourtney founded her wellness brand Poosh.

The show also served as a springboard for the younger Jenner sisters. Kylie, who was nine years old when the series began, transformed her platform into a billion-dollar empire with Kylie Cosmetics. Kendall, on the other hand, pursued modeling, collaborating with high-end brands like Givenchy, Chanel, and Fendi, and later launched her tequila brand, 818.

Kylie, who once described herself as her mom’s 'favorite child' during an interview with James Corden, has also credited her mother’s influence for much of her success. In an episode of the show, Kylie said that Kris was the 'best example' of a working mom. "My mom has been the best example I could look up to. She has 100 kids and she still manages to do it all, so [I'm] very inspired," she said, according to People.