The Kardashians is back, and it has a problem: it knows exactly what it wants to be, and it can’t quite deliver it. The 2022 season of the long-running reality show, which premiered on Hulu after years on E!, is a portrait of a family that has spent decades turning personal drama into public spectacle. The question the season raises is whether that spectacle still holds any meaning, or if it has simply become a machine running on its own momentum.
Trailer, via Hulu.
The Family That Built the Machine
The season opens with the familiar cast assembled around the table: Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner. Each member brings their own brand, their own business, and their own set of grievances. The show’s central tension is that everyone is trying to succeed while also competing with each other for attention, money, and relevance.
The result is a cycle that repeats across episodes: a conflict is introduced, it simmers, it erupts, and it is resolved by the end of the episode, often through a phone call or a tearful apology. This is the engine of the show, and it runs smoothly. The problem is that the engine doesn’t move anywhere.
The Kardashian Brand Machine
The show spends significant time on the machinery behind the family’s wealth: the brands, the endorsements, the social media strategy. Kris Jenner is shown giving speeches about entrepreneurship and hustle, and the younger sisters are constantly negotiating deals and partnerships. There is a sense that the family is working harder than ever, but the show rarely asks whether any of it means anything beyond the bottom line.
That’s the core issue. The Kardashians have built a brand that sells itself as authentic chaos, but the show increasingly looks like a corporate operation with cameras attached. The personal becomes performative, and the drama becomes predictable.
The Season’s Key Episodes
Several episodes stand out as the clearest examples of the show’s strengths and weaknesses:
- The episode focused on Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy and her decision to have a surrogate carry her child.
- The episode centered on Kourtney Kardashian’s relationship with her new partner, which was marked by jealousy and insecurity.
- The episode that dealt with the family’s reaction to a negative story about Kris Jenner.
- The episode that followed Kim Kardashian West as she prepared for a major business announcement.
Each of these episodes follows the same pattern: a personal moment is turned into a public spectacle, and the family navigates the fallout. The difference between the two is rarely explained, which leaves the viewer wondering whether the show is documenting real lives or manufacturing them.
The Show’s Weaknesses
The biggest flaw is the lack of stakes. The family is rich, famous, and powerful. Their conflicts are rarely about survival or failure; they are about positioning and perception. This makes the drama feel trivial, even when it involves serious issues like health, relationships, or business pressures.
The show also struggles with pacing. Some episodes feel padded, with scenes that repeat information the audience already knows. This is a show that could be tighter, but chooses to drag out its runtime.
The Final Word
The Kardashians is not a bad show. It is a show that has become comfortable with its own formula, and it executes that formula with competence. But comfort is not creativity, and repetition is not depth.
The season does capture moments of genuine feeling, particularly when the family confronts personal issues. These moments are the show’s best work, and they remind the viewer why people keep tuning in. But they are fleeting, and they are quickly swallowed by the larger machinery of celebrity.
The 2022 season of The Kardashians is a competent but hollow exercise in brand maintenance. It documents a family that has built its life around being documented, and it does so without asking whether that is a life worth having. The show is entertaining, but it is not meaningful. It is a machine that works, but it is a machine without purpose.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
