Why The Kardashians traded E! for streamer Hulu

After twenty seasons, the Kardashians ended their popular E! Network reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians (and their contracts).  It appeared that the famous family was done with reality television and wanted to branch out to new projects.

New projects, yes, but ending their reality show reign?  No. The Kardashians‘ media empire was simply traded from E! to the streamer Hulu for their newest venture, The Kardashians.  The series premiered earlier this week, and while it was a new beginning for everyone, the family unit was stronger than ever.

But why the change in networks when their success only exploded with E!?  While money is the primary factor, there are other motives as well.  According to Khloe in an interview with Variety, “for us to be still on cable was just not so on-brand for us,” she shared. The Disney Company, which owns Hulu, is more “tech-forward“, an asset for The Kardashians to stay in the current, rather than to retract to the past, as that was the style of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Another reason for the shift is to film adjusting to each Kardashian member’s schedule.  Instead of gathering up the entire family for filming, shots can be done individually, which made it easier to output the desired results.  One surefire way to grab individual footage was the use of drones, which can be seen in both the trailer and (spoiler) first episode.

With new ventures, come new life moments.  Kourtney has been sharing the limelight with her fiance, Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker, and her younger sister, Kim, is in a new romance with SNL member, Pete Davidson, following her divorce from Kanye West.  You can expect to see Kourtney share the screen with Travis on The Kardashians, but Pete is staying offscreen, at least for this season.  Nonetheless, there will be plenty of new things to come not only for Kim and Kourtney, but with Khloe, Kendall, Kylie, and mom(ager) Kris.

Have you seen The Kardashians yet?  Let us know in the comments.