Entertainment

Is E! Trying To Find Its Next Kardashian?

by Kate Ward

Typically, children-focused reality shows go one of two ways: Either, we spent hours fearing for their well-being (see: Toddlers & Tiaras, Kid Nation), or hours hating their cushy well-being (see: Laguna Beach, My Super Sweet 16).

It seems E! will try to capitalize on the latter with its new series, Rich Kids of Beverly Hills , which is exactly how it sounds except for one thing: The series will focus on extremely wealthy 20-something youth, so we're pushing the "kids" definition a bit here. (But, as they probably say in Beverly Hills, 20 is the new 13, thanks to excessive Botox treatments!) So it seems the network is likely trying to do more than find the next obnoxious Super Sweet 16 star Twitter can obsess over. No, my bets are on the House the Kardashians Built trying to find its new Kardashian.

After all, after one blow-out televised wedding and the birth of America's royal baby, Kardashian is starting to run out of headlines to occupy. Hell, even her mother, Kris Jenner, is starting to focus her attention elsewhere, since Kardashian's fame seems close to shriveling up tight enough to resemble Bruce Jenner's face. And since reality shows are ripe for spin-offs — just ask E!'s Kourtney & Khloé Take Miami, Kourtney & Kim Take New York, and Rob Takes a Shower — what better way to test how much an audience is willing to obsess over a terrible subject than have them choose from a set of terrible people?

So it would make sense for E! to try to find its next easy-to-hate global phenomenon on a series whose premise is so easy-to-hate. (Just look at how much we love to hate Rich Kids of Instagram, which is not affiliated with E!'s new show.) But can we possibly hate anyone more than Kardashian? If the Rich Kids of Beverly Hills are anything like the Rich Kids of Instagram in the picture below, we should have our answer.

Image: Rich Kids of Instagram via Tumblr