It's the end of an era, as Keeping Up with the Kardashians [1] is set to come to an end in 2021 [2]. After so long on the air, we're all wondering why the show is ending now? The announcement largely skirted around the reasons for the cancellation, simply calling the decision a "family" one, and we probably won't know the real reasons for some time. It's not the first time that the show has been rumoured to be headed off the air, though, and we can perhaps get some hints from there.

Individually, the Kardashian-Jenner clan members have been slowly distancing themselves for a while. In late 2019, Kourtney shockingly departed the show [3]. She lated told Vogue Arabia, "I have been filming the show non-stop [4] for 14 years… I was feeling unfulfiled and it became a toxic environment for me to continue to have it occupy as much of my life as it was... Privacy is something I have come to value and finding that balance of private moments with being on a reality show is hard."

Rumours have also followed the family for years that Kendall and Kylie Jenner, both of whom have launched their own careers outside of the reality show, have been trying to get out for years. They've appeared less and less in recent seasons, and in a December 2019 Twitter Q&A, Khloe Kardashian cleared up the rumours [5]. "Kendall and Kylie have different contracts. Kourt, Kim and I have an equal contract," she explained.

The E! network has been struggling this year, with the notable cancellation of their flagship E! News program in early August; it's possible that the end of the Kardashians' show is tied to that as well. In true reality TV star fashion, though, none of the family has ever really addressed the possibility of the show ending, at least publicly, until now, when the decision has been made. It seems strange to think of a reality TV landscape without the Kardashians [6], who pretty much pioneered their particular blend of high-life, real-life "reality" shows, but rest assured that the Kardashians themselves will definitely still be around.