Every one of the fans of the TLC reality show family the Duggars was heartbroken when it came out that Josh Duggar had molested teenage girls when he was a teenager. In response, TLC pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting off of its network, but the network has been very quiet about outright canceling the show completely. The fact that the 19 Kids and Counting Show is still getting an update on the TLC site says something, and it raises the question of will the show be cancelled at all.
If you go to the TLC website, you can click on an Official Statement About 19 Kids and Counting that reads: "Effective immediately, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air. We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time."
The announcement does not mention the exact "heartbreaking situation" of how Josh Duggar admitted to fondling five underage girls, including four of his sisters, when he was a teenager. It should be noted that in spite of this announcement, which is on a completely blank page, the TLC website has all kinds of information devoted to 19 Kids and Counting. It may not have episodes of the show ready to watch, but visitors can watch Exclusive Videos including "All About Courting" and "Michelle's Blog".
Considering that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was pulled from TLC last October due to Mama June dating a convicted sex offender, it is interesting to see that the show hardly appears on the TLC website, even if you enter in the show's title in the TLC website Search Engine. The big question is why TLC has not made any formal announcement that 19 Kids and Counting will not be returning.
It is possible that TLC wants to keep the 19 Kids and Counting brand alive, as it was only one of the 19 kids who was involved in a scandal. Much of the Internet information about the possibility of 19 Kids and Counting being cancelled is over a month old.
An interview held with Jill Duggar Dillard and Jessa Duggar Seewald on Fox News has stated that they would accept whatever happens to 19 Kids and Counting in the wake of the scandal. Jessa stated that "we've always just had the mindset of 'this show is just a window of opportunity that God's allowed our family to be on television and to share [our lives] with other people". Jessa has stated: "life goes on, really, we're not a TV family, we're a family who just happened to be on TV".
Even though the original 19 Kids and Counting is gone, there could be some serious rebranding as the Duggars could get a spinoff. This spinoff will not focus on the massively extended family of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, but rather focus on previously mentioned newlyweds like Jill and Derick Dillard as well as Jessa and Ben Seewald. Considering the show had begun to shift its focus away from the next generation of Duggars, specifically Jill and Jessa and their marriages and children, that would make sense. The show achieved its highest ratings during that time of focus, according to Hollywood Take.
So yes, the 19 Kids and Counting show could live on in some form. Something tells me that the possible spinoff show will go out of its way to avoid talking about Josh Duggar, even though facing that issue is what viewers want to see and would be an obvious ratings-booster.
