Recent reports have fans worried The Kardashians may be getting cancelled at Hulu.
The beloved celebrity family has been the center of the reality TV universe for nearly 20 years. Their reign has spanned two TV series, combining over 330 episodes and 25 seasons.
Season 5 of Hulu's The Kardashians ran from May to July 2024. The show has already been renewed for a sixth and seventh season.
Has The Kardashians Been Cancelled?
Word of The Kardashians being cancelled spread following the release of a new report.
According to Radar Online, industry insiders claimed the future of the hit reality series is not guaranteed after the already announced 20-episode sixth season.
Radar Online's sources say that these looming cancellation rumors have the Kardashian family's matriarch, 68-year-old Kris Jenner, worried.
She reportedly "wants the show to go on forever," but the financial realities of streaming are starting to become apparent to those behind the show:
"Kris wants the show to go on forever, but the economic realities of the streaming world are creeping up on her. Everything from marketing budgets to episode counts are getting tighter so streaming services can continue making a profit."
The same source, however, says that while Jenner is nervous about her TV empire ending, her daughters Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney are ready to move on.
Seasons 6 and 7 of The Kardashians were officially greenlit in July to coincide with the end of the recently-released Season 5 (per Variety). However, this new report could put the future of Season 6 in question.
It is assumed that these two new seasons would include 20 episodes each (as the rest of the series has so far), but according to The Hollywood Reporter at the time of their announcement, that was not guaranteed.
How Likely Will The Kardashians Be Cancelled?
Some may see these Kardashians rumors and scratch their head.
Viewership of the hit Hulu series has remained incredibly strong even 17 years into the family being on TV.
Season 5 debuted in May 2024 with 3.9 million views globally in its first four days across Hulu, Disney+, and Star+.
The Season 5 premiere was the most-watched unscripted series premiere of the year on all Disney platforms and the biggest entertainment premiere of 2024 (via Deadline).
And it has not just been new episodes that have seen a bump. The Kardashians has legs, as the debut of Season 5 tripled views of its first season and provided solid gains for Seasons 2-4.
However, the series is not the cheapest production in streaming TV.
Reality series tend to lean on the less expensive side of things. Still, given the pedigree of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, the asking price for these colorful personalities to appear season after season has to cost a pretty penny.
Also, some have soured on the show in recent years for its (according to some fans) lack of substantive value as time has gone on.
The Kardashian family certainly does not have the stranglehold on the world they once did, when past seasons sometimes reached 4 or 5 million viewers an episode (via Entertainment Weekly).
An enticed audience is still there, as evidenced by The Kardashians' Season 5 numbers. However, Disney may be grappling with the return on investment as the financial realities of streaming start to set in.
The Kardashians is streaming on Hulu.
