After taking a nearly year-long break from life away from the cameras, the infamous Kardashian family made their return to reality TV on April 14 with the hot release of “The Kardashians.” 

Premiering on Hulu, the pilot ran for an hour, giving the viewers a glimpse back into the crazy lives of the internet’s favorite family. The episode began with a shot over their luxurious Beverly Hills mansion, focusing on one family member at a time. From Khloe’s house construction to Kendall Jenner giving herself a sound bath, everyone seems to be busy in their own way. Additionally, the sisters have emphasized how “The Kardashians’’ differs from their previous 20-year long show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” by showing viewers a “new” side to them. 

In the show, Kim mentions that “It’s fun to start with a clean slate… To me that’s what’s so exciting: that side of our lives, like, people don’t see.”

The “clean slate” Kim mentions refers to the 25 years of controversy anchored to the Kardashian name, from Kim’s released tape to the countless cheating scandals. However, against Kim’s wishes, her tape gets featured in the new show as she explains how her son, Saint, saw a pop-up advertisement on an iPad app about it. Breaking into tears, she fears her past is finally coming back to get her and her children as well. With her public power, she calls her team of lawyers.

Another spark of a scandal was the growing love of Kourtney Kardashian and her boyfriend, Travis Barker, with Scott Disick (Kourtney’s ex-husband of 10 years) peeking from behind. The new couple’s love seems to be going strong as viewers notice all of Kourtney’s airtime in this episode has had Travis Barker in it or has been about him. Tensions of exclusion grow from Scott, who expresses sadness and frustration from not being invited to the Kardashian’s barbecue. Acknowledging his years of mistakes during his marriage with Kourtney, he tells Khloe and viewers of his worst fears coming true: not being a part of this family, especially sharing three children with his ex-wife Kourtney. 

Another mother struggling with her partner is Khloe Kardashian, finding it hard to draw lines with NBA star Tristan Thompson after he was caught cheating a year ago. She decided by the end of the episode that she will stay friends with Tristan to focus on parenting and caring for her newborn, True; though Tristan made headlines for a cheating scandal just a few days before the delivery of their daughter. Younger half-sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner are not seen much during the premiere, partially because Kylie had COVID-19 during the initial shooting. 

With a jam-packed episode from the get-go, viewers questioned the validity of Kim’s concerns with Saint’s iPad pop-up, claiming that the likelihood of it happening on “Roblox,” one of the most popular games, was low, and that it could easily be another seed planted by the clever Kardashians for publicity. 

“It caught me off guard when I was watching it because it seemed unlikely that Roblox, which every kid plays, would allow that kind of content and considering the fact that no other kid has seen such ads,” junior Eshika Jaini said. “Regardless, validity has never really been the focus of the Kardashians, like the show is just fun and funny to watch.”

Other avid viewers of Fremont High expressed mixed emotions. Many showed excitement for the upcoming show, for the satisfaction of watching a family drowning with drama and the juicy gossip. Others mentioned how they are excited to watch because of the guilty pleasures of watching a “useless” show. Some watched it to fuel their hatred for a family with no real reason for being famous.

“Honestly, I think everyone watches it simply because it’s fun, because there is a certain entertainment in watching a family deal with problems you can’t relate to like what cupcake Kim wants for her children or switching partners every few months,” junior Shreya Suriya said.

But who can, right?