The Duggars are headed back to TLC. The 19 Kids and Counting family lost their reality show following the recent Josh Duggar sex scandals, but TLC no doubt realized the family is the source of many viewers–which translates into big bucks–so they’re giving them another try. Of course not all the Duggars are returning to TLC. Jill Duggar Dillard and sister Jessa Duggar Seewald will highlight the new show–which hasn’t yet been officially called a spinoff. Jill & Jessa: Counting On will initially be aired as specials, but is rumored to become the 19 Kids and Counting spinoff if all goes well.
In a one-minute promo clip that first aired Monday, Jill and Jessa allude to the heartache Josh Duggar has caused them and their families.
“We were devastated,” Jessa says in the clip. “We couldn’t believe it. You have to wonder: How did this happen?”
“You’re angry and hurt and all of those emotions all mixed together,” Jill adds. “I cried a lot of tears. I still do.”
What the clip doesn’t tell viewers about the Duggars is where they now stand with regard to Josh Duggar. Have they forgiven him for both sexually molesting underage girls when he was a teen–Jill Duggar Dillard and Jessa Duggar Seewald among his victims–and more recently for cheating on his wife, Anna Duggar? Are they more upset about his actions or about the fact that people found out about them? Are they angry about the cancellation of 19 Kids and Counting?
The new show will reportedly feature members of the Duggars as they pick up the pieces of their lives and move on past the whole Josh Duggar scandal. Jessa Duggar is expecting a new baby and Jill and her family are preparing to raise their son Israel while they serve as missionaries in Central America.
The Duggars are back! Check out a sneak peek of Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald's new series: http://t.co/6TDBnS4ArE
— People magazine (@people) October 19, 2015
It remains to be seen if other members of the 19 Kids and Counting family will appear on the new show. Of course Jill and Jessa’s husbands, Derick Dillard and Ben Seewald will appear. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, however, are revered in the media with nearly the amount of disdain with which Josh Duggar is regarded. Many believe they covered up Josh’s actions and didn’t get the proper kind of help for their son when he was a teenager.
Duggar sisters Jill and Jessa return in "Counting On" — check out the emotional preview: http://t.co/NNQs2BQdH6 pic.twitter.com/ryxUtK0WDf
— CBS Entertainment (@CBSNewsEnt) October 19, 2015
TLC has yet to announce an official date for the return of the Duggars, but they’ve said the show will air in December. By then, Jessa Duggar and her husband will have welcomed their little one into the world. She and Ben Seewald are expecting their baby on November 1st–the date of their first wedding anniversary.
Will you check out Jill & Jessa: Counting On when the Duggars return to TLC in December?