Netflix's 8-Episode Calabasas Confidential Fails to Mint New Kardashians in Season 1
Updated
Updated · Variety · May 29
Netflix's 8-Episode Calabasas Confidential Fails to Mint New Kardashians in Season 1
8 articles · Updated · Variety · May 29
All eight episodes of Netflix's first season land without a breakout star, leaving the Calabasas-set reality series short of the next Kim or Kylie it appears to be chasing.
A 14-member cast is the main drag: the show’s premise of hometown twentysomethings reconnecting after college feels contrived, and the ensemble lacks the family or workplace ties that usually give reality TV momentum.
Jemma’s feud with ex-boyfriend Dylan—dubbed “Douchebag Dylan”—provides the clearest emotional throughline, especially after he starts dating one of her close friends midway through the season.
Famous relatives, large houses and influencer-adjacent backstories fill the gaps, but many cast members blur together, making old grudges and shifting loyalties hard to invest in.
The result falls short of Calabasas predecessors from the Kardashian empire to “The Hills,” because viewers are asked to care about a shared history they never saw.
With its cast of famous kids, what does this show reveal about the new rules of celebrity?
Is this show's failure a casting mistake, or a sign that the entire reality TV formula is broken?