Keeping Up with the Kardashians (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Keeping Up with the Kardashians (often referred to simply as The Kardashians) is an American reality television series that premiered on October 14, 2007, on E!. It follows the lives of the Kardashian/Jenner family, including sisters Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé Kardashian.

The series' success has led to three spin-offs: Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Khloé & Lamar, and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami.

Background

Defense attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Houghton (now Jenner) married in 1978 and had four children together, daughters Kourtney (born 1979), Kim (born 1980), Khloé (born 1984) and son Rob (born 1987). The couple divorced in 1990. While she was in preschool, Kim became friends with future reality television star Paris Hilton. In 1994, Robert entered the media spotlight when he defended O.J. Simpson for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman during a lengthy trial. Kris married former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner in 1991. Bruce and Kris had two daughters together, Kendall (born 1995) and Kylie (born 1997). Robert died in 2003 eight weeks after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In 2004, Kim became a personal stylist to recording artist Brandy Norwood, and she eventually develops into a full-time stylist, shopping and styling actress Lindsay Lohan. Khloé, Kim and Kourtney further ventured into fashion, opening a high fashion boutique D-A-S-H in Calabasas, California. Throughout this, Kim was involved in high profiled relationships with Norwood's brother rapper Ray J and later singer Nick Lachey. In 2006, Kourtney starred in her first reality television series, Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive. In February 2007, a home sex video that Kim made with Ray J years earlier was leaked. Vivid Entertainment bought the rights for $1 million and released the film as Kim Kardashian: Superstar on February 21. Kim sued Vivid for ownership of the tape, but dropped the suit in April 2007 and settled with Vivid Entertainment for $5 million.

Development

In August 2007, it was announced that the Kardashians and Jenners would star in a yet-to-be-titled reality show on E!, with Ryan Seacrest serving as executive producer.ref name="Announcement" /> Seacrest said "At the heart of the series"despite the catfights and endless sarcasm"is a family that truly loves and supports one another [...] The familiar dynamics of this family make them one Hollywood bunch that is sure to entertain." The series announcement came one week after Hilton and her friend Nicole Richie announced that their popular E! series entitled The Simple Life was ending. Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiered on October 14, 2007.

On November 14, 2007 it was announced that E! renewed the show for its second season. The following year, it was renewed for a third season. Lisa Berger, executive vice president of original programming and series development for the network, said "viewers have embraced the Kardashian family and the series has become one of television's most-talked-about shows [...] We are fortunate to work with Seacrest and Bunim-Murray, which have an exceptional ability to capture the Kardashians' hilarious, chaotic and always entertaining personalities and family dynamics." The Hollywood Reporter reported that the family made an estimated $65 million throughout 2010.

In 2011, Kim married NBA player Kris Humphries in a highly publicized wedding ceremony, but filed for divorce 72 days later. This caused widespread backlash from the public and media. Several news outlets surmised that Kardashian's marriage to Humphries was merely a publicity stunt, to promote the Kardashian family's brand and their subsequent television ventures. A widely circulated petition asking to remove all Kardashian-related programming from the air has followed since their split. As of September 2012, seven seasons of the series have aired. On April 24, 2012, E! signed a new three-year deal with the Kardashian family that will keep the series on the air until 2015. The deal was estimated at $10 million.

Spin-offs

See Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami for more information In April 2009, it was announced that Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, would premiere in August, following the two as they open a second D-A-S-H store in Miami. The series premiered to 2.7 million viewers and averaged 1.89 million viewers. The second season began in June 2010 and averaged 2.717 million viewers, a 43% increase from the first season.

Kourtney and Kim Take New York premiered in January 2011, following the two as they oversee the opening of a third D-A-S-H store in SoHo. The show premiered on January 23, 2011. Khloé & Lamar premiered on April 10, 2011. The second season began on February 19, 2012, but it is no longer airing. On September 16, 2012, E! aired a teaser at the end of the season 7 finale that confirmed Kourtney and Kim Take Miami will air in January 2013.

Cast

Cast member	Season(s)	Notes
Main cast
Kris Jenner	1-	Kris is the family matriarch. She was married to Robert Kardashian, best known for being a defense lawyer during the O. J. Simpson murder trial, and had four children with him before they divorced in 1990. She later married Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, and together they have two daughters. She owned the now-closed children's boutique, Smooch, in Calabasas, California.
Bruce Jenner	1-	Bruce was the decathlon champion in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He married Kris in 1991, and together they have two daughters. He has four other children from two previous marriages: Burt, Casey, Brandon, and Brody.
Kourtney Kardashian	1-	Kourtney is Kris and Robert's oldest daughter. She and her sisters co-own D-A-S-H, a women's boutique with locations in Melrose, Miami, and New York City, as well as previously co-owning the now-closed Smooch with Kris. She was featured on the reality series Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive and had a guest role on soap opera One Life to Live. She and boyfriend Scott have two children, Mason and Penelope.
Kim Kardashian	1-	Kim is Kris and Robert's second daughter. She came to prominence after a tape was released in 2007 of her and then-boyfriend Ray J. In 2008, She took 12th place on Season 7 of Dancing with the stars. She co-owns and launched her first perfume in 2009, as well as having endorsement deals with bebe, QuickTrim, and ShoeDazzle. Kardashian was reported by the New York Post as the highest-paid television reality star in 2010, and was estimated to have earned $6,000,000 from the show and endorsements for products. She was married to Brooklyn Nets basketball player Kris Humphries, until filing for divorce after only 72 days of marriage. Kim has been dating Kanye West since April 2012 and is currently pregnant with their first child as of December 2012.
Khloé Kardashian Odom	1-	Khloé is Kris and Robert's youngest daughter. She is married to Los Angeles Clippers player Lamar Odom. She co-owns D-A-S-H. She was arrested in 2007 for a DUI, and appeared in a nude photo shoot for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked than Wear Fur" campaign. She was also a contestant on season 8 of The Celebrity Apprentice. She is a co-host of The X Factor.
Rob Kardashian	1-	Rob is Kris and Robert's only son. He was the runner-up on the thirteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. He is single.
Kendall Jenner	1-	Kendall is Kris and Bruce's first daughter. She models with Wilhelmina Models and has previously represented Forever 21 and Sherri Hill's prom dresses. She is single.
Kylie Jenner	1-	Kylie is Kris and Bruce's youngest daughter. She was first featured in Paper magazine's "The Beautiful People" with Kendall, and later began modeling for Sears' "Crush Your Style" promotion. She has done photo shoots with OK!, Teen Vogue, and photographer Nick Saglimbeni. She is single.
Supporting cast
Scott Disick	1-	Scott is Kourtney's boyfriend and father of her children. He recently opened a Japanese inspired restaurant, RYU, located in the Meatpacking District in New York City only to close a few months later
Malika Haqq	2-	Khloe's best friend.
Lamar Odom	4-	Lamar is Khloé's husband. He plays as a forward for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Mason Dash Disick	4-	Mason is Kourtney and Scott's son.
Penelope Scotland Disick	7-	Penelope is Kourtney and Scott's daughter.
Kanye West	7-	Kanye is a Grammy Award winning singer/rapper, Kim's boyfriend, and the father of Kim's unborn child.
Brandon Jenner	7-	Bruce's son from his second marriage. Singer/songwriter
Adrienne Bailon	2-4	Adrienne is a singer and Rob's ex-girlfriend.
Reggie Bush	2-4	Reggie is an NFL player and Kim's ex-boyfriend. He plays running back for the Miami Dolphins.
Kris Humphries	6	Kris is an NBA player and Kim's estranged husband. He plays power forward for the Brooklyn Nets.

Episodes

See List of Keeping Up with the Kardashians episodes for more information

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		DVD release date
			Season premiere	Season finale	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	1	8	October 14, 2007	December 2, 2007	October 2, 2008	January 23, 2012	November 17, 2008
	2	11	April 9, 2008	May 26, 2008	November 10, 2009	March 26, 2012	October 15, 2009
	3	12	April 8, 2009	May 26, 2009	August 17, 2010	May 28, 2012	October 29, 2009
	4	11	November 8, 2009	February 21, 2010	April 6, 2010	July 30, 2012	July 7, 2010
	5	12	August 22, 2010	December 20, 2010		September 24, 2012	November 3, 2011
	6	16	June 12, 2011	December 19, 2011		February 11, 2013	September 21, 2012
	7	19	May 20, 2012	October 28, 2012		February 11, 2013	March 6, 2013
	8	TBA	July 2013	TBA

Reception

The show was an instant hit for E! - in its first month on the air it became the highest-rated series on Sunday nights among men and women aged 18 to 34 and was also seen by 1.3 million total viewers according to Nielsen Media Research. The Kardashians garnered a following; Lisa Berger, executive vice president of original programming and series development for E!, said "The buzz surrounding the series is huge, and viewers have clearly fallen for the Kardashians [...] Seacrest and Bunim-Murray's unique ability to capture this family's one-of-a-kind dynamics and hilarious antics has made the series a fantastic addition to our prime-time lineup." The second season continued the success and was viewed by 1.6 million viewers, a 23% increase from the first season.

The fifth season averaged 3.11 million viewers. The fourth season's premiere, "The Wedding" was watched by 3.2 million viewers. The second episode of the season topped the 3.2 million of the premiere and had 4.1 million viewers. The Hollywood Reporter said "why, despite the eye-rolls of half of America, does the other half worship at the altar of a family that unabashedly embraces, celebrates and monetizes that post-millennium cliché of being famous only for being famous?"

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