After 20 seasons, Keeping Up With The Kardashians is ending. Fans and haters alike are thirsty for details about why it's over.
The official story is that it was an emotional decision ... but reports say that this choice was all business.
Shortly after the stunning revelation that Keeping Up With The Kardashians was coming to an end, reports claimed to know the "real" reason.
After 14 years and 20 seasons, it was said that Kim, Kourtney, and Kylie were all demanding that the show end -- or at least Kim and Kylie wanted to quit simultaneously.
According to this rumor, the family decided to cancel it to save face instead of try to keep the series going with so many conspicuously absent.
However, Kris spoke with executive producer Ryan Seacrest, at which point Kris explained how "emotional" it was for everyone involved.
Apparently, the entire family had been "locked in an ongoing debate" for "months" over deciding the show's future.
On Tuesday, as a group, they were finally ready to announce their decision.
"I think that number 20 used to sound good ... until 2020," Kris told Ryan.
"But," she continued, "the number 20 just seemed like the right time, I think."
This was the time "for us to take a minute and breathe and everybody slow down a bit."
Kris explained that the family wanted to "figure out what our next steps are."
"We've had such an amazing run," Kris affirmed.
"And," the momager concluded, "we're so grateful ... for every single moment and everyone we work with."
Interestingly, Page Six reports that, actually, that's not quite the truth, Kris.
According to their report, it is rumored that the real reason that the landmark reality series came to an end was because of money.
Namely, that Kris and her brood were asking for more money to continue the series ... and E! refused to pony up.
Reportedly, the Kardashains were paid $150 million for the show's previous five contracts over 14 years and 20 seasons.
Estimates say that each of the show's stars were taking home about $930,000 per episode -- but keep in mind that this is only the core cast.
At 20 episodes per season ... well, the Kardashians were already rich, but the series hasn't exactly hurt their fortunes.
In the past, stories about E! balking at the family's demands for more money were always followed by, well, reports of them caving and renewing the show for more money.
This time, however, it seems that something was different.
That something was the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like countless businesses, families, and individuals, NBCUniversal took a hit when the virus began to hit America.
Obviously, unless countless Americans whose government failed to take care of them during this crisis, NBCUniversal will be fine.
But that doesn't mean that it's not tightening its budget when it comes to various expenses.
So no, it doesn't sound like E! decided to save money by canceling Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
But if reports are to be believed, this time they had to play hardball with Kris when she demanded more money.
It seems that the Kardashians were not bluffing -- so it is now the end of an era.
Some argue that it was a long time coming, and not just because Kourtney had already quit.
Back in 2010, the show's season premiere lured 5.8 million viewers who simply could not look away.
The show's most recent episode drew only 1.6 million.
That's not a terrible rating for, like, a new drama on The CW, but it's not great.
For further comparison, Kim's marriage to Kris Humphries (remember that?) drew 10 million viewers.
That marriage came to an abrupt end, though one could argue that it's still not Kim's worst marital decision.
It is not unreasonable to suspect that many factors were involved in the show's ending, including family drama and fatigue.
But in the end, this was probably a business decision.
After all, a massive six figure payout per episode is nice, but Kylie can make more than that with a single Instagram post. How is filming for hours and hours on end still worth her time?
