The Kardashians' lead-up to All's Fair was way campier than the Kim Kardashian show: Fatal Attraction to diamonds

Ryan Murphy's recent Kim Kardashian-led show, All's Fair, dropped its episodes before The Kardashians. The reality show delivered more than the web show did.

It’s hard not to feel excited when a show promises you an empowering female version of, say, Suits or Boston Legal, along the lines of The Split. Just a lot more campier, because this is a Ryan Murphy show after all. To follow up on the killer promotions All’s Fair had, complete with head-turning fashion moments, a major chunk of two episodes of The Kardashians spent ample time setting the soap drama up for what eventually turned out to be all style and no substance.

Niecy Nash, Glenn Close, Kim Kardashian, Teyana Taylor, Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson in a still from All's Fair.

The Kardashians teasing All’s Fair

The Kardashians episodes She Was Such A Hater and I’m About To Lose My S**t followed Kim Kardashian shooting scenes for All’s Fair. She’s eventually exposed for being the only one on set who has never seen co-star Glenn Close’s 1987 iconic film, Fatal Attraction, by her own mom, Kris. Kim’s red-faced embarrassment leads them to cover faces by holding a girls' night at Kris’ home for Glenn, complete with a private screening of said film.

What happened here delivered all that All’s Fair never did. On one hand, Kris gets cartoonishly angsty that her daughter, Glenn, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash, and her wife, Jessica Betts, are chatting it up in the driveway instead of sticking to the schedule. Glenn then pretends she cannot have more than one perfectly made martini; she got high on a Valium once, you see, before proceeding to get visibly drunk.

Through it all, Sarah breaks the fourth wall to declare, “She wants another (drink). Glenn Close, glug glug glug. My name’s Glenn, I love booze.” She half-heartedly asks the crew to chop out these portions, and of course, they don’t. To top it all off, Kim makes up to Glenn by treating them all to her favourite Oreo shakes. Relatable, right? But she’s doing it all while swathed in silk and diamonds, as are all the other women.

Thoughts while watching All’s Fair

Now, All’s Fair, which dropped two days before the latest episode of The Kardashians, struggled not just with its tone but also to top the rich absurdity that the reality show was. While Ryan has only shown his hand with three episodes, you can’t help but wonder, does he hate women? It can be the only explanation as to why serious lawyers in this show behave like high-schoolers who have ample time to backstab and plot revenge in the silliest of ways, all while being pick-me girls.

Sarah’s character, Carrington Lane, only speaks in dialogues that seem tailor-made to go viral on TikTok or Reels. “I wouldn’t do (that) even if I were penniless and starving on a street corner, forced to blow a priest with chlamydia for a bowl of refried beans,” she says with absolute honesty in one scene. The good part is that she seems to be having a ball while indulging in cartoon villainy. In another scene, Niecy's Emerald Greene says, “Pin your wig, Allura. Cause this might blow it back.” Nothing about a Ryan show is subtle, but this feels like they’re desperate to see what sticks.

The chemistry you see between Kim, Niecy and Sarah in The Kardashians oddly does not translate on-screen, with the trio, Naomi Watts and Teyana Taylor, all acting like they’re on completely different shows. Kim plays Allura, the lawyer she has always dreamt of being. In one scene, she’s even all business in the front and party in the back with a whale tail sticking out of her tailored suit. If that’s not a Kim K outfit, I don’t know what is. Her character is also going through a divorce from hell, and Allura stays as straight-faced as Kim did through most of it.

Kim Kardashian's whale tail caught everyone's attention on All's Fair.

Even though it’s plausible that every wisecrack Sarah made and sigh Kris let out was highly produced on The Kardashians, it still does a better job of convincing you than the scripted show does. All’s Fair works when it leans into pop culture references to Beyoncé’s Lemonade while Doja Cat plays in the background and vampire facials (except it’s for another body part), but these are few and far between. If you’re expecting to see some actual law, think again. Blackmails and threats take precedence here.

To top it all off is the third episode of All’s Fair that ends on a cliffhanger that can only be described as unhinged. Ryan’s shows (Glee, American Horror Story, Grotesquerie) have always had the tendency to set up interesting premises that he can’t seem to see all the way through. Maybe he’s trying the opposite with All’s Fair? Time will tell.

The Kardashians and All’s Fair are both available to stream on JioHotstar.