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Last week marked the Season Two premiere of E!’s I Am Cait, but, judging by the ratings, you would have never guessed the series was one of the most discussed reality shows of 2015. According to The Wrap, the show drew just 745,000 viewers, down more than 500,000 viewers from Season One’s finale and nearly 2 million from the show’s high profile debut last July.
The E! series chronicles the life of Caitlyn Jenner after her gender transition. The series explores how Jenner’s relationships with her family and friends have changed, as well as what the “new normal” is for Jenner. One of the biggest exploratory points in the series — and one of the show’s biggest draws — is how Jenner is adjusting to her new position as a role model for the transgender community. It’s on this point that Jenner has started to receive some criticism, especially when it comes to her political opinions.
This season continues to follow Jenner and her squad’s road trip across America to raise trans awareness. The episode started off well enough. There was an interesting discussion about whether or not the word “tranny” was offensive, with advocates for both sides. However, the conversation soon turned to politics. Then, just like what happens during everyone’s Thanksgiving dinner, things went south.
Jenner, an outspoken Republican, said about presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, “she’s a f–king liar” and called her a “political hack.” Then Jenner gave what most are calling a semi-endorsement of Donald Trump:
I think he’d be very good for women’s issues.
This exchange led to Jenner’s friends leaving the room, and already, thought pieces on whether or not Jenner is a positive role model for the trans community have been published.
However, what I find more interesting is I Am Cait’s dramatic ratings plummet. The show premiered to an audience of 2.73 million viewers in July of 2015 —less than 8 months ago, mind you— but Season Two only secured a rating of 0.3 in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic. This, as previously mentioned, is down 500,000 viewers from Season One’s finale. Viewership for the series plummeted during the show’s second episode and has been falling ever since, causing many to question whether the public’s fascination of Caitlyn Jenner is wearing off. Maybe we’re tired of talking about Caitlyn Jenner, or maybe the source of the disinterest is broader than that. Maybe we’re just sick of anything Kardashian-related? For now, we’ll see if the show can survive waning audience interest and continue on towards a third season.
You can watch the much-discussed I Am Cait’s political discussion below:
