Of all of the reality star families on television, few — if any — are more controversial than the Duggars.
They’re so controversial, in fact, that 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled years ago. Most of the Duggar clan can still be seen on Counting On.
But since the last season ended, there’s been no official word of renewal. Has TLC finally canceled Counting On?
The Duggars were always going to be controversial. When you exist on the political and religious fringes of society and view normal American culture as some sort of contaminant, people are going to raise their eyebrows.
When you have 19 children, whom you endeavor to keep isolated from most of society as you groom them to share your worldview, people are going to talk.
When you believe that women are effectively the property of their fathers until they are traded off to their husbands, when you don’t allow the wearing of pants by girls in your household, people are going to be alarmed.
But all of that is what made 19 Kids and Counting such a talked about series. The supervised “courtships” and side-hugs, Michelle Duggar’s hair, and the very concept of having 19 children made the Duggars an entertaining family for some.
Others watched, with concern and fascination, realizing that there are other families in the US whose children are forced to grow up this way — barely even knowing that their experiences are so extreme.
None of that is what got 19 Kids and Counting canceled, however.
Back in 2015, 19 Kids and Counting was canceled by TLC.
Why?
Because Josh Duggar had molested five little girls, including his own sisters. One of those sisters was only five years old.
And Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle had covered it up.
So, suddenly, Counting On became the vehicle for the Duggars to espouse their worldview — without Josh, of course. And, initially, without Jim Bob and Michelle.
But Counting On hasn’t exactly been scandal-free, either. We don’t just mean the “scandals” for the Duggar family, like Duggar daughters wearing pants or Joy-Anna Duggar’s very probably shotgun wedding or Jill Duggar’s nose piercing.
We mean actual scandals.
Like the one that got Derick Dillard fired from Counting On. Derick and Jill had been slammed multiple times for shadily begging fans for money to help with their already controversial “mission trips.”
But what got Derick Dillard fired by TLC was his ongoing, one-sided feud with fellow TLC star Jazz Jennings.
Jazz is a teenage star of her own series, I Am Jazz. What stuck in Derick Dillard’s craw was that Jazz is trans, and Derick believes that “transgender is a myth.”
Which is an odd thing to say about a teenage girl who literally exists. It’s also the kind of statement that leads to real-world violence against trans women.
Derick continued to attack Jazz over social media and to misgender her at every opportunity, until finally TLC had enough.
The question remains: will Derick Dillard’s firing lead to the cancellation of the entire series?
The Josh Duggar scandal hasn’t actually gone away, except (apparently) in the minds of the Duggars.
Counting On has had six seasons. But we don’t know if there will be a seventh.
Inquisitr reports that TLC posted that Counting On had been renewed … only to immediately delete the post.
That’s a clue … but of renewal for season seven, or of cancellation?
It may be that TLC intended to release the renewal announcement, and accidentally posted it early. That happens sometimes when you’re scheduling a post for a future date.
It may also be the case that TLC had scheduled a renewal post a while back … and then forgotten to cancel it when they changed their minds.
The Duggars have posted on their own family blog that they don’t yet know if they’re getting renewed.
Which means that no one outside of TLC knows.
The fact that TLC hasn’t openly declared whether the Duggars are getting the axe or a renewal is probably a sign that TLC may still be weighing their options.
They’ve already looked at ratings, so there must be other factors that they’re considering. Perhaps things of which the public isn’t even aware.
Our guess is that higher-ups are either still mulling it over … or they’ve decided to cancel Counting On and are waiting for the right time to drop the news.
Perhaps back-to-back with another announcement? Or perhaps over the holidays?
We’ll let you know as soon as we find out, but things are looking grim for fans of the Duggars.
