The Kardashians fans saw quite a bit during the streaming show's first season. Among the things covered were Kim Kardashian’s SNL hosting gig, Khloé Kardashian’s paternity scandal with Tristan Thompson and Kendall Jenner’s cucumbergate. Something they didn’t see, however, was a sizable amount of Kim’s boyfriend, Pete Davidson. The comedian was heavily mentioned in a few installments but didn’t actually appear, aside from a slight “cameo” in the season’s post-credits scene. Now, following the season finale, the showrunner is opening up about whether Kim ever tried to persuade her beau to get in front of the camera.
Danielle King, who also serves as an EP on the reality TV series, is more than aware of fans’ desire to see more of Pete Davidson on The Kardashians. She previously explained that she was surprised by the audiences’ passionate reaction to his absence in the early aughts of the highly publicized relationship. King has now confirmed that she’s never seen Kim Kardashian ever try to entice her beau to appear on the show. She also explained how the show handles the presence of significant others:
The show is about our core cast, it’s about this family, so if there are significant others, it’s really up to them. I have never once seen; Kim never tried to persuade Pete (to be on the show). It’s always up to the significant other or the peripheral person that they’re dealing with. If they want to join in on the fun, more power to them; we’re happy to cover that.
One must remember that although the famous titular family has signed on to have their lives documented for public consumption, the people they bring into their orbits haven’t. So it makes sense that the SKIMS founder wouldn’t want to pressure her man into appearing. There’s also a unique aspect of the Saturday Night Live alum that sets him apart from the starlet’s past mates. As Danielle King explained while appearing alongside Kris Jenner on Deadline’s Crew Call podcast, he's an actor, which means he has a different kind of relationship with the camera:
Pete’s a high profile person, he’s an actor; like Kim has said before; when the cameras are rolling for him, it means performance time. When the cameras are rolling for this family, it’s time to get real. It’s a different muscle that they worked and he worked.
There is a big difference between playing a character and being yourself on camera. Many would probably agree that Pete Davidson does the former masterfully, though he may not be ready to do the latter on a reality show. With this, if Davidson does ever appear on camera, it’ll be his call, according to Danielle King:
Whether or not we have in-depth story lines, that’s entirely up to him…that’s entirely a conversation between Kim and Pete.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are seemingly very close at this point, so much so that Davidson is even spending time with her kids – without Kardashian around. They’re also taking tropical vacations, where the comic is acing his “content taking boyfriend tests.” So there’s definitely a wealth of material that the series could cover in regard to the couple, but we’ll just have to wait and see if the actor ever decides to formally join the cast, without any insistence from his high-profile partner.
The Kardashians Season 1 is available to stream in its entirety with the use of a Hulu subscription. If you’re looking for other shows to fill the void while you wait for Season 2, check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to check out some entertaining options.
