Of all of the reality star families on television, few – if any – are more controversial than the Duggar family of Tontitown, Arkansas. They’re so controversial, in fact, that 19 Kids & Counting was cancelled years ago. Yet most of the clan still appears on Counting On . Since last season ended, there’s been no official word of renewal, and no shortage of scandals involving the Duggars, making us wonder: Has TLC finally canceled Counting On ? The Duggars were always going to be controversial, from rearing 19 children to their extreme views of the world in which they are raised. Yet those same unorthodox rules and lifestyle guidelines are what made 19 Kids and Counting such a talked about series in the first place. The supervised “courtships” and side-hugs, Michelle’s hair, and again the very concept of having 19 children made the Duggars interesting. Many watched and appreciated how they clung to their religious and moral convictions. Others watched with more concern and fascination. Realizing that there are people in the US whose children are forced to grow up this way, isolated from mainstream society, some grew alarmed. None of that is what got 19 Kids and Counting taken off the air, however. Back in 2015, 19 Kids and Counting was canceled by TLC. That happened because Josh Duggar molested five little girls, including his own sisters. One of those sisters was only five years old . And Jim Bob and Michelle had covered it up. So, suddenly, Counting On became the vehicle for the Duggars to espouse their worldviews … without Josh, of course. And, initially, without Jim Bob and Michelle, though they have made occasional appearances on the rebooted version. While it returned to the airwaves and the more salacious scandals died down, Counting On hasn’t exactly been scandal-free, either. We don’t just mean Duggar daughters wearing pants or Joy-Anna Duggar’s very probably shotgun wedding or Jill Duggar’s nose piercing , either. We mean actual scandals. Like the one that got Derick Dillard fired from Counting On after a series of comments he made, of his own volition, and on his own time. 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’s craw was that Jazz is trans, and he feels “transgender is a myth.” 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. Just the same, 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 – the network made it clear he won’t be back – lead to the cancellation of the entire series? Even two and a half years later, 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, and based on recent events, it’s looking doubtful. The 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? No one knows, although there are theories. It may be that TLC intended to release the renewal announcement for the show, and accidentally posted it early. That happens sometimes when you’re scheduling a post for a future date, either on a webpage or social media. 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. View Slideshow: Duggar Family: Secrets of Their Twisted Ministry Revealed 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. View Slideshow: Duggar Courtship Rules Reveal Dark Side of Counting On Clan
Original post:
Counting On: Have the Duggars Been Canceled by TLC?!
