Is this the decline of the Kardashian dynasty?

For years they have dominated. But with accusations of greenwashing, a social media backlash and questionable commercial deals, is their time up? Joe Stone reports

- Joe Stone

REMEMBER life before the Kardashians? Me neither. Sometimes I have sepia-tinged recollections of a time when I moved through the world blissfully ignorant of the fact that Kim's will includes make-up instructions for her corpse, before I'm rudely interrupted by an intrusive thought like: should I sleep on the left side of my face because Khloe Kardashian sleeps on the left side of her face? The world's foremost dynasty haven't just colonised our brainspace, they've conquered the worlds of reality TV, social media (they have a combined Instagram following of over 1.2 billion), shapewear and cosmetics. But, recently, rumours have circulated that their Kar-domination could be drawing to a close.

While Hulu, the streamer behind their latest show, doesn't release viewer numbers, audiences have been underwhelmed. Meredith Jones is a professor at Brunel University and organiser of the Kimposium, the world's first academic conference devoted to the Kardashians. "Certainly the new show is a great disappointment," she said. "It is boring, repetitive and they've stopped revealing as much of themselves. It feels very rehearsed and stingy."

And while we've been Keeping up with the Kardashians, Jones believes that the family haven't kept up with the shifting culture. "Part of cancel culture is about taking to task people who have not "kept up" - with the green movements, with conversations about cultural appropriation and the family haven't. They're looking dated."