The Kardashians review: Billionaire siblings bicker in an addictive American K-drama

The 'Famous for being famous' tag apart, the Kardashian and Jenner sisters have hundreds of millions of followers on social media. (Image source: Instagram.com/kimkardashian)

Instagram queen Kim Kardashian taught millions of girls two things: body positivity and style. Though I had never enjoyed reality shows before, Keeping Up With The Kardashians drew me in. I watched dad Robert Kardashian, Johnnie Cochran, et al., defend the man in a white Ford Bronco in that slow chase that led to Judge Ito’s court. If dad could stand by his friend, how would his kids be?

Keeping Up With The Kardashians - or KUWTK, as it is fondly known - ruled the airwaves before Instagram struck our collective scrolling fingers. If anything, it taught us sibling love. The sisters could draw blood and hurt one another with words. How I wish there were emojis back then! So much sarcasm was thrown about. But then, in an instant (or after their mother Kris told them all to behave, or say sorry to one another), they would be sharing food. You might have thought it’s much ado about nothing, but when your life revolves around appearances and people scrutinising what you wear (repeats never go unnoticed) and do all the time, a sister borrowing a Gucci bag without telling you seems like a valid reason to create a humongous scene at a restaurant.

Kris Jenner is the one at the centre of it all. She is not just mom to the Kardashian sisters, but also to the Jenner girls Kendall and Kylie. There’s the brother Rob Kardashian, too, but he was as relevant to the central plot of the show as the hero’s best friend is.

In truth, the men in the show - and that includes Kanye West - are relevant only when there’s lots of love between the sisters and the show needs a disruption. The men pop up to say such ghastly, thoughtless things - you see the girls visibly uncomfortable but they always come together and solve things. I have special hatred toward Scott Disick because after years and years of being mean to Kourtney (and he coughed everywhere during the pandemic, including putting his mouth to the flute at the health food store), he chooses to play the victim even in the new show. His toxic, selfish relationship with Kourtney makes me so angry… No amount of ‘pranking’ he did with Kourtney made me smile. He’s the character our own K-drama queen Ekta Kapoor would write into the soaps to annoy the long-suffering heroine. The other men that the sisters dated - professional basketball players mostly - ended up looking helpless and all wrong. With Kourtney now married to a heavily tattooed drummer Travis Barker (and their constant in-your-face PDA), the new show promises to be interesting. In the first episode of The Kardashians on Disney+Hotstar, when Scott wasn't invited to the ‘intimate barbeque’, the show earned my loyalty. Please, co-parent Scott, just stop showing up to break bread with the Kardashians. Travis, on the other hand, looked after the kids when Kourtney suffered from Covid and has been a friend to her. Plus his home looks like a great place for their kids: he’s drumming with the kids, and there’s bicycles for them to wander about, and I do hope Kourtney is happy now…

Kim and Kylie (above) have also built successful businesses. (Image source: Instagram.com/kyliejenner)

How is this American family drama relevant to us in India here? Why did I watch Kylie and Kendall get into a literal catfight over something as trivial as ‘drop me home after a dinner with the family’? The same reason why I watch the sisters go to a restaurant and each orders something and when Kim orders a salad (don’t forget the fries on the side), all the sisters just put down the menus and say, ‘I’ll have the same!’. The same reason why we love Bigg Boss knowing that the fights are staged…

The Kardashians may look like they’re all about looking good, but between them their Instagram follower count is like the population of India. Their fashion sense and shapewear has boosted the morale of countless women across the world (their fashion stores Dash shut shop during the pandemic but we know that the sisters too have a family WhatsApp group where they tell one another what to wear). Each is passionate about something and their bank accounts show that this doesn’t happen simply because they’re ‘famous for being famous’. If you have seen how they support one another through the many life crises and come out sharper and brighter, you’d become a fan too.

After ruling the E! Network for over a decade, the show in a longer format has moved to Hulu, which is a part of the Disney family. Moving from cable to a bigger platform will only increase the viewership (though Kim might say, ‘Disney will bleep out all my cuss words!’) and the Kardashians will access all kinds of tech with Disney. Why are the Kardashians worth billions? Because they made a reality show with perfect women with perfect nails, perfect shoes and perfect skin and yes awesome clothes. In reality, it’s a brilliant business move. Show business.