Ryan Seacrest Reacts to ‘Keeping With the Kardashians’ Ending

The Kardashian-Jenner family announced on Tuesday that Keeping Up With the Kardashians would be ending with Season 20, which is set to air in early 2021. On Wednesday, Ryan Seacrest, who created the show and served as an executive producer, addressed the news about KUWTK‘s future while on LIVE With Kelly and Ryan, as E! News noted. Not only did Seacrest address the fact that the show is coming to an end, but he also recounted how the series came to be the phenomenon that it is today.

Seacrest explained to co-host Kelly Ripa that Kris Jenner was first looking to do a TV show about her family over fourteen years ago. “It was about 14-and-a-half years ago, [Kris] was looking to do a series with the family,” the American Idol host shared. “I, as a producer at the time, was looking for my first series to produce…I remember they were gonna do a barbecue at their house and she said, ‘Why don’t you send a camera up and shoot this barbecue?’” At the time, Seacrest’s production company didn’t have a camera. So, he had to purchase one from Best Buy in order to film the famous family. Seacrest reportedly sent a colleague over to the family’s house to film, and they instantly knew that a show about the Kardashian-Jenner crew would be a hit.

“There was yelling, there was laughter, there were hugs, it was all the ingredients to make a great show,” he continued. “We made a seven-minute tape out of it and we showed that to E!” After this short filming session, Seacrest went directly to the head of the E! network to pitch the show. Mere weeks after he pitched the series, KUWTK was officially on the air. In addition to recalling the reality show’s humble beginnings, Seacrest also issued “a big thank you to the family.” He specifically took time to thank Jenner, who has served as his partner on the show during its run. Seacrest added, “I know her [Jenner] as my partner and dear friend, I almost feel like I’m family with her. She is truly an amazing person and, I think, one of the savviest business people on the planet.”

The Kardashian-Jenner family issued a joint statement on Tuesday in which they noted that KUWTK would be coming to an end after 14 years, 20 seasons, and hundreds of episodes worth of content. They noted that they “are beyond grateful to all of you who’ve watched us for all of these years – through the good times, the bad times, the happiness, the tears, and the many relationships and children. We’ll forever cherish the wonderful memories and countless people we’ve met along the way.”