TLC appears to have a decision to make.
Will the cable network do the right and moral thing and cancel Counting On forever because the family at the center of this reality show does not deserve a platform and/or any sort of large paycheck?
Or…
…
Counting On has endured for 11 seasons, and is veering dangerously close to airing 100 episodes.
The reality series’ future hangs in the balance, however.
Will Josh Duggar’s arrest and horrific scandal mean the cancelation of the show?
Or will the family’s reactions to Josh’s arrest and trial be covered on Season 12?
96 is a lot of episodes for any show to have, especially a reality series with short seasons.
Many believe that it’s a lot more episodes than Counting On ever should have had.
After all, the series was engineered as a vehicle to keep the Duggars on the air after Josh’s 2015 scandal.
Yes, Josh’s public scandals involving accusations of sex crimes involving children are plural, so we have to mention them by date.
In 2015, the world learned that Josh had molested five young girls as a teenager.
Four of his victims were his own sisters.
19 Kids And Counting was canceled, and not only because Josh had been one of the stars.
Jim Bob and Michelle had directly and purposefully engaged in a cover-up of Josh’s sex crimes.
This, along with the toxic purity culture espoused by their family, church, and cult, set the stage for Josh’s arrest this year.
Josh was arrested and charged with possessing photos and videos of young girls being sexually abused.
These are horrific charges, and not merely because they are disgusting.
Victims of childhood sexual abuse should not have their suffering compounded. These videos should never be circulated.
Josh’s arrest and charges has been dominating the world of Duggar news, despite Jim Bob’s best efforts.
The details of Josh’s bond — his release to the sprawling home of a fellow churchgoer — have also raised eyebrows.
And the world was disturbed to hear that Josh was visited by the only children whom he is allowed to contact — his six kids.
While the world speculates how much Josh’s children know about his sex crimes, Anna is standing by him.
In fact, Josh’s misguided wife is reportedly under the belief that he is being persecuted and possibly framed.
One report said that Anna believes that President Joe Biden is somehow behind this.
Meanwhile, it has nearly been one year since viewers last saw any new episodes of Counting On.
Season 11 came to viewers in July of 2020.
Compared to getting two seasons in 2019 alone, to viewers, this feels like a drought … or possibly, like the end.
Counting On has a somewhat unpredictable schedule, with new seasons airing at different times of year.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic threw many filming schedules completely out of whack.
Unlike scripted television, the very premise of reality TV is that people continue to live their lives between filming.
While it’s true that the Duggars appear to have embraced covidiocy last year, that didn’t mean that the network had an easier time filming.
So there is a lot that we don’t know about what may or may not be in the works.
TLC has not announced new content. Some fans are antsy, others are hopeful.
On the one hand, this is a show that directly enriches Jim Bob Duggar.
(Remember, he pockets the money from the series, telling his family that filming the show is a form of ministry)
This is not a man who deserves more money. He’s a bad person, for covering up Josh’s crimes and for countless other reasons.
On the other, some viewers are very attached to the Duggar girls.
They are victims — of their parents, of their cult, and in a few cases, of Josh himself.
Viewers are interested in their lives and hopeful that they could one day watch them walk away from the family and embrace the real world.
Meanwhile, some are just plain curious to see how that Duggar family is grappling with this.
With the cameras following various Duggars, what would they say to the cameras and each other about Josh?
Oh, they’d all likely stick to whatever Jim Bob told them to say, but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be intriguing.
Frankly, it could be months before we learn anything about whether or not the show is coming back.
Sooner or later, a report comes out about TLC’s plans, or camera crews are spotted in Arkansas.
Until then, we can only speculate and hope — hope for whatever is “good news” to us, and of course, hope that justice is done.
TLC made a handful of major announcements this week.
But while the cable network confirmed the return of many fan favorites, the focus of many viewers has shifted from excitement over the programs that are coming back to confusion and concern over …
One of the most heavily-scrutinized aspects of life in the Duggar clan is the courtship process by which young people find suitable spouses.
Casual dating, premarital sex, and divorce are all forbidden in the Duggars’ world, so there’s a lot riding on every courtship.
Despite all that, the process moves fast — very fast.
Often, Duggars get engaged just a few weeks after they begin courting, and they’re married a few weeks after that.
So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the family has its mate selection protocol down to a science.
Believe it or not, the process involves a written application that’s designed by Jim Bob to help weed out the losers and ensure that his grandkids are bred from only the best stock.
We sincerely wish we were joking/
As you might expect, the whole thing is intensely creepy.
Check out some of the more bizarre highlights from the list of 423 questions (!!!) that are presented to potential Duggar suitors.
It’s believed that both male and female courtship partners are forced to fill out the questionnaire, and of course, the responses are reviewed by the all-powerful shot-caller himself, James Robert Duggar.
Somehow, this family keeps getting weirder by the day.
TLC may not be able to count on the presence of Jinger Duggar and husband Jeremy Vuolo for much longer.
The couple, who are parents to a two-year old named Felicity and a newborn named Evangeline, have been mainstays on this cable network for years…
Last year, Jedidiah Duggar announced his candidacy for the Arkansas House of Representatives.
On the eve of the election, his opponent is skewering him for being a D-list reality star.
Jed Duggar is 21 years old, and has appeared on reality t…
Jill Duggar has come out swinging against her parents.
As you’ve very likely read by now, the former reality star decided to go public a few weeks ago with her estragement from various members of her famous family.
In a YouTube video recorded…
Money and family don’t always mix well, which has clearly been the case for Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard! As you’ll recall, the fourth-oldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of 19 Kids & Counting fame (or infamy) went on to star in the spinoff series Counting On — originally titled Jill and […]
The post Jill Duggar Wasn’t Paid For <i>Counting On</i> — Daddy Jim Bob Took It All! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
Jill Duggar is ready to open up about the strain on her relationship with her family. After being a fixture on TLC‘s 19 Kids & Counting and the subsequent spinoff Counting On, the fourth-oldest Duggar sibling and her husband Derick Dillard quietly exited the reality TV world in 2017. And they’re just now starting to reveal what […]
The post Jill Duggar Reveals The REAL Reason Behind Distancing Herself From Her Conservative Family! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
In a quasi word?
A-HA!
That’s the reaction many Counting On viewers are having at the moment, after viewing a photo Joy Duggar that has left them convinced her sister-in-law is pregnant.
Allow us to explain…
Joy, you see, recently poste…
Jill Duggar is spilling the tea on her family! In a new YouTube Q&A style video with husband Derick Dillard, the fourth oldest Duggar sibling explained how she is “not on the best terms” with her expansive fam, and how they are “working through it.” Who would have thought?? Related: Jill Duggar Doesn’t Want Married […]
The post Jill Duggar Is ‘Not On The Best Terms’ With Her Family After Quitting Reality TV appeared first on Perez Hilton.
Derick Dillard appears to be at a crossroads in life.
The husband of Jill Duggar has made it clear for many months now that he hates father-in-law Jim Bob.
However, he really loves and needs money, so…
… what is a disgruntled former re…
As previously reported and detailed, Jinger Duggar more than halfway toward becoming a mother again.
The veteran reality star is over 20 weeks pregnant.
Along with husband Jeremy Vuolo, she announced this blessed state to the world back in th…
Fans love watching Jinger Duggar’s pregnancy progress on social media, but seeing her and Jeremy on Counting On is a real highlight.
Some fans are clamoring for Jinger to get her very own spin-off. Others fear that Jim Bob would never let it happen.
Counting On has shown us how far Jinger has come in the world since coming to L.A.
She went shopping with Jana, and ended up spending $300 on something as “worldly” as a blazer.
That is a normal amount in the real world. On society’s fringes, where the Duggars dwell, it’s virtually anathema.
Seeing how different Jinger’s life is from Jim Bob and the IBLP cult’s vision has viewers thinking.
What if TLC focused on Jeremy and Jinger’s journey?
That would be especially interesting, since they have little Felicity and another on the way.
“I think you should just do a series on Jeremy and [Jinger]!” suggests one fan.
“I am 100 percent in,” the fan tweets. “I really don’t care about the other [Duggars]!”
This sentiment has been echoed by numerous fans across social media.
Counting On viewers have already watched Jinger and Jeremy make the journey to Los Angeles.
They traveled to their new digs under bittersweet circumstances — following the funeral of Jinger’s grandmother, Mary Duggar.
On the way, they stopped in Vegas, where Jeremy jumped off of the Stratosphere.
It is only natural that fans want to see more of Jinger and Jeremy’s life.
Jeremy is also a diehard Christian — he’s a pastor. He spent years being homeschooled, he is conservative. By normal standards, he’s a little out there.
But by Duggar standards, these two are a breath of fresh air, and viewers would like to see more of their lives.
As fans have correctly observed, Jeremy and Jinger’s way of life cuts through some of the controlling toxicity of the Duggar brand.
Jeremy has stated for years that he does not believe that women avoiding wearing pants plays any role in their salvation.
Additionally, fans have noted that Jinger and Jeremy don’t derive their sense of self-worth or faithfulness from how many children they have.
And, at the same time, they are having children — something that Duggar fans would like to see just the same.
Let’s be real — unless you’re an anthropologist studying cults, if you watch Counting On, you have at least some interest in the babies being “counted.”
Jinger is having kids. She’s just also a person, so she’s having them when she and Jeremy are ready.
Jinger and Jeremy are living in a nice house in Los Angeles and raising their growing family.
That in and of itself is a premise for a reality show.
Adding in Jinger’s various relatives and the fact that viewers are so familiar with her backstory, and a spinoff makes a lot of sense.
One of the best things that such a spinoff would have would be something that Counting On currently lacks: the absence of Jim Bob and Michelle.
19 Kids and Counting was rightfully canceled after Josh Duggar’s molestation scandal revealed that Jim Bob had covered up his son’s sex crimes.
But TLC wanted to keep milking Duggar content for viewers, ratings, and thus ad revenue. Counting On seemed like the perfect answer.
But TLC has been boiling the frog, as they say, sneaking Jim Bob and Michelle onto the show more and more.
This is because the outrage over Josh has died down. TLC will clearly do whatever they can get away with that won’t risk a boycott or advertisers pulling out.
A Jinger spinoff would give viewers a way to get Duggar content on their screens without Jim Bob and Michelle tainting the show with thier presence.
That said, some say that Jeremy and his views — some of which are downright shameful — make him not much better.
They also point out that if people want to watch a young couple live in a nice house in a major city, they already have some options.
If Jinger were a little older and in a different neighborhood, she could be trying out for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Another big obstacle? Jim Bob might not want any of his kids appearing on reality TV if he can’t fleece their paychecks for himself.
It’s not surprising that a despicable tyrant who uses money to control his adult children wouldn’t want anyone getting too financially independent.
But there may come a time when Jinger and Jeremy won’t have to consult with him or any other cultist before making major decisions.
As we all know, Jim Bob Duggar has all but exiled Jill, his own daughter, from the family home, enforcing distance between her and her siblings.
Derick has been taking shots at Jim Bob for some time.
He also harbors some real grudges against TLC for continuing to enable Jim Bob and, he says, for “defrauding” fans.
In a new rant spread out over a series of Instagram comments, Derick compares Jim Bob to Jeffrey Epstein.
He calls out his Father In Law and TLC alike for their deceitful practices and for valuing money and ratings over human beings.
Derick also says that Counting On has done real harm to his family.
[UPDATE: It now looks Derick’s rebellion may have found some new supporters among Jim Bob’s offspring!]
As we all know, Jim Bob Duggar has all but exiled Jill, his own daughter, from the family home, enforcing distance between her and her siblings.
Derick has been taking shots at Jim Bob for some time.
He also harbors some real grudges against TLC …
