Reports signaling the likely return of 19 Kids and Counting to TLC have prompted cheers from card-carrying members of Duggar Nation.
However, the backlash from the family’s growing chorus of critics has already begun, and not surprisingly, it’s as vitriolic as ever before …
It’s not clear whether TLC planned to bring back 19 Kids all along, what the return episode storyline is, or when it will premiere exactly.
What is clear is that the Duggars are trying to weather epic scandals by preaching forgiveness and faith, and that not everyone is buying it.
The New Civil Right Movement argues that 19 Kids and Counting no longer meets the “family show” standard set by the Duggars years ago.
Conservative fans who often praised Michelle and Jim Bob’s unconventional child “training” methods now deserve better, critics argue.
The Frisky is more blunt, writing: “Guess what? They’re bringing the Duggar clan back for yet another season of 19 Kids and Counting!”
“It looks like it didn’t take TLC all too long to get over the whole about Josh Duggar being a lying, hypocritical, child molesting adulterer thing!”
“Naturally, this will give the family the opportunity to again hold themselves up as paragons of Christian wholesomeness and virtue.”
Burn. Meanwhile, the Joe.My.God blog has responded to the return of the Duggars by reminding us of issues that go beyond Josh.
“It’s apparent that TLC is uninterested in the Duggar family’s vicious crusade of lies against LGBT Americans,” the website opines.
Some fans of the Duggars who were more sympathetic wondered why TLC simply didn’t boot Josh off the show and carry on as usual.
He’s the only one who did anything, right? It’s not that simple, critics believe, given that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar failed to take action.
Not to mention, there was massive support for a Change.org petition asking TLC to take the show off the air as far back as late 2014.
The petition to cancel 19 Kids almost reached 200,000 signatures, long before Josh’s molestation and adultery scandals shocked the world.
The Duggars haven’t just upset the LGBT community, but women in general, pro-choice advocates, Catholics, and atheists in the past.
Nevertheless, it appears that the show is gearing up to return, albeit with minimal promotion or media fanfare, at least for the time being.
It’s a telling sign that TLC didn’t focus on Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar in the Jill & Jessa: Counting On specials that aired in December.
The fact that new footage reportedly features scandal-free Jana Duggar and other siblings is also emblematic of a slow, quiet rollout.
What do you think? Are you happy about the Duggars’ return? Or will the backlash against TLC reach the breaking point once again?