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You’ve probably heard by now that wealthy people are actually very sad. It’s the premise of nearly every HBO show now, The Great Gatsby, the David Fincher movie The Game, Lana Del Rey’s music catalog, etc. It’s also surprisingly become the theme of the current season of The Kardashians.
Since launching their Hulu reality show two years ago, the Kardashians have struggled to make their overly opulent lives look any fun. Most episodes show the clan milling around their colorless mansions and attending work meetings in distressingly beige offices. The family’s “fun” activities, like randomly learning how to drive stick and taking illegitimate health tests, are noticeably staged. For the most part, it doesn’t seem like anyone really wants to be on camera, besides Scott Disick.
Watching this current season, however, I’ve noticed that The Kardashians isn’t just dull anymore. The vibe of the series has gotten a lot more bleak and, dare I say, self-reflective. That’s particularly true of the past few episodes, which find Kris, Kourtney and Kim reckoning with the amount of success they’ve achieved and how it’s corrupted their family.