The 'KUWTK' executive producer recalls the early days of the show.
It's the end of an era. After the big announcement on Tuesday that E!'s Keeping Up With the Kardashians is coming to an end in early 2021 with its 20th season, the show's executive producer, Ryan Seacrest, commented on the news on Wednesday's episode of Live! With Kelly and Ryan.
KUWTK has been on the air since 2007, making it one of the longest-running reality television series ever. Seacrest looked back on the show's "amazing run" and thanked the entire Kardashian family, but more specifically, Kris Jenner.
"I almost feel like I'm family with her, and she is truly an amazing partner and I think one of the savviest business people on the planet," he said. "Think about how she manages family and how she manages an incredible empire. It's no small task, and she has really propelled that franchise and those businesses into what they are today."
Seacrest recalled the start of the show 14 and a half years ago, when Jenner was looking to have a series about her family and he, as a producer, was looking for his first show to produce. Jenner invited him to film a family barbecue and Seacrest and his partners didn't even own a camera at the time and had to buy one from Best Buy. But Seacrest said the footage was "magic" from the start and he pushed E! to give the show a chance, and the rest is history.
"Thank you to the Kardashians, who changed entertainment forever, I think," he said, also sharing a throwback picture of himself with the family.
On Monday, a source told ET that the Kardashians' decision to end their iconic show was a mutual one, rather than for any one big reason. Previously, Kourtney Kardashian has been the most vocal about no longer wanting to film.
"The kids who started the show now have their own kids and it’s getting very hard to film all together or get enough footage separately," the source said. "The family is grateful for their time and is happy they have all of these memories filmed for the rest of their lives. The family wanted time to focus more on their family and future projects and the show is a major job that takes up a lot of time."
Meanwhile, when ET spoke with Seacrest last June at iHeartRadio's 102.7 KIIS-FM Wango Tango concert, he empathized with Kourtney wanting out.
"Well, if the cameras go away, as long as they can come back, Kourtney," Seacrest said at the time. "You know, they can go away for a little bit, but bring 'em back so we can do another season or two. Honestly, I don't know how they do it."
"They lived for over a decade with cameras following [them]," he continued of the famous family. "I could not do it, no matter what they were paying them. I could not do it, so I give them a lot of credit for having those cameras in their lives all the time. And I love you, Kourtney. Love her."
Watch the video below for more.
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