The Duggar family’s reality shows are not unlike cockroaches.
Before you get offended, note that we’re applying that analogy to the Duggars’ TV series, not to the members of the family themselves.
And while that’s certainly not a compliment, it’s not quite an insult, either. Hear us out:
Back in July of 2015, 19 Kids and Counting was canceled by TLC in response to growing outrage over the Josh Duggar sex scandals.
Astonishingly, the decision didn’t come until two months after the world learned that Josh had molested five young girls, and even then, it took the loss of advertising revenue for network execs to finally act.
At the time, Duggar fans and detractors alike assumed that was the family’s time as a television staple had come to an end.
After all, surely viewers wouldn’t be quick to forget crimes so egregious and a cover-up so corrupt as the one perpetrated by Josh’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, right?
Well, as it turns out the morals of the Duggar faithful proved to be more malleable than we would have thought.
To be fair, Jim Bob and Michelle did make the concession of assuring fans that Josh Duggar would never appear on their new show, Counting On.
In fact, the show was pitched as a limited-run documentary series that would focus on the couple’s then-newlywed daughters, a premise reflected in the series’ original title, Jill and Jessa: Counting On.
Ratings-wise, the show struggled from the start, and it has yet to hit the same heights of popularity as its predecessor, 19 Kids.
In season two, producers made the decision to broaden the focus and feature the entire family–except, of course, for Josh.
It seems most fans assumed that Jim Bob would eventually leap back into the spotlight, but many were surprised that he made the move quite so quickly.
As several industry analysts predicted, the change proved to be a misstep, and the show’s ratings continued their slow decline,
On October 23, the sixth season of Counting On came to a close with little fanfare.
Tellingly, TLC has yet to announce that the show has been picked up for a seventh season.
In a rare move, even the Duggars are admitting that the future of the series is in question.
Or at least the “close family friends” who operate The Original Duggar Family Fan Blog are admitting it:
“As of right now, a new season has not been announced,” the webmasters known only as Lily and Ellie wrote recently.
“But we will let you know as soon as it is.”
Obviously, it’s not a full-blown cancelation announcement, but it’s the closest the Duggars have come to admitting TLC might be having second thoughts about keeping the Duggars on the air.
This is hardly the first time that rumors of Counting On being canceled have circulated online, but it is the first time that sources close to the Duggars have publicly admitted the show might not be back.
And it’s tough to imagine that the Duggar media empire could survive a second cancelation.
Of course, like so many others, we predicted their demise the first time they went off the air, as well.
But like everyone’s least-favorite pestilential insect, Duggar TV ventures are nigh-impossible to kill.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
