Duggar Nation has reason to celebrate today.
No, Jana Duggar is not courting. No, Jinger Duggar is not wearing a swimsuit (though Jinger’s shorts are a nice change of pace of late).
TLC has confirmed that the family reality show Counting On (formerly Jill & Jessa: Counting On) has been renewed for a new season!
It’s not clear when you’ll be able to see new episodes, but you can watch Counting On online knowing there will be more to come soon.
The news that it was renewed for another season comes just over a week after the end of this summer’s run, so that didn’t take long.
For all the critics and controversies the Duggars seem to attract, they retain a loyal, passionate fan base and TLC is sticking by them.
As for what we can expect next season?
Pretty much more of the same. Why fix what ain’t broke if you’re the Duggars, who successfully rose from the TLC ashes once before.
After the Josh Duggar sex scandals derailed 19 Kids & Counting in 2015, the family returned with Counting On, which notably lacks …
… Josh.
Seriously, the lengths producers go to edit Josh out of footage when they can’t ignore his presence altogether is nothing short of amazing.
Though Counting On has featured Josh’s wife Anna, and his parents Jim Bob and Michelle, the shift in focus has been clear, and popular.
Don’t get us wrong: Jinger, Joy, Jessa and Jill Duggar (and to an extent Jana and their brothers) are heavily scrutinized at every turn.
They’ve collectively managed to avoid the taint of Josh, however, and viewers remain attached to the goings on in their young lives.
In the past few episodes, we watched Joy-Anna Duggar marry her husband, Austin Forsyth, then flashed back to when they got engaged.
Now we can look forward to seeing more of the planning process to find out what went on behind the scenes of the 19-year-old’s nuptials.
The bride even admitted that the whole thing is “overrated,” but fans don’t seem to think the same about watching this play out on TV!
Elsewhere, we expect to see more of Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo settling into domestic life in Texas and dishing on their future.
Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald will road trip it with Spurgeon and Henry down to Texas to visit Jinger and Jeremy in their new hometown.
Jinger has said in the past that she’d like to have a baby over “the next five years,” sparking rumors of Jinger Duggar on birth control.
Stay tuned there.
We can’t confirm that rumor, but Jeremy notes that “parenting is hard work” watching Jessa, Ben, Spurge and Henry, so perhaps waiting is best.
Meanwhile, we may get to see Joseph Duggar propose to Kendra Caldwell (again), an event that took place at Joy-Anna’s wedding.
With debate raging over when Joseph Duggar is getting married, expect that to play out on TV – potentially shrouded in secrecy prior.
Meanwhile, Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard, and son Israel prepare to become a family of four (Jill welcomed baby Samuel two weeks ago).
Jill was clearly stressed out prior to his arrival, as the family was living in El Salvador doing mission work during the bulk of her pregnancy.
This proved to be dangerous when Jill and Derick’s friend was murdered and led man fans to question her decision to remain there.
“There is definitely a level of stress and concern I feel just if something were to go wrong,” she said in the first preview for the new season.
Josh and Anna are expecting their fifth kid this summer, so it will be interesting to see if producers decide to acknowledge that milestone.
As for Jana Duggar?
We can’t say for sure if she’ll be featured on the new season, but we can cross our fingers … for both screen time and courtship news.
