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Why Is TLC Still Promoting Duggar Family TV Series, ‘Jill & Jessa: Counting On?’

By Treva Bowdoin
Published on: 18:49 PST, May 13, 2016

The season finale of the Duggar family’s new reality series, Jill & Jessa: Counting On, aired last week on TLC. However, the network continues to post Duggar family updates on the show’s Facebook page. Could this be a sign that TLC is planning on renewing Jill & Jessa: Counting On, or is something else going on?

A recent report by the Hollywood Gossip suggests that the Duggar family will be back on TV in the near future, and that Josh Duggar will join his siblings when Jill & Jessa: Counting On returns to TLC, assuming that it does.

“Considering that around 1.9 viewers watch Jill & Jessa: Counting On online or on TV, the series is very likely to return to TLC soon,” the report reads.

This is purely speculation, but it’s obvious that TLC hasn’t cut all ties with the Duggar family just yet. On May 13, someone working for the network posted a video on the Jill & Jessa: Counting On Facebook page. It’s a virtual tour of the area in Central America where Jill Duggar Dillard and her husband, Derick Dillard, are living as missionaries.

https://www.facebook.com/countingontlc/videos/1907347519491800/

Since the night the Counting On finale aired, over half a dozen Duggar family updates have been posted on the series’ Facebook page. However, this isn’t necessarily evidence that TLC has plans to renew the series. Instead, the network may be trying to get the Land Down Under interested in the Duggars’ doings. According to the TLC Australia website, Jill & Jessa: Counting On will premiere in Australia on May 14. This could be a sign that the network has so much faith in the Duggar family’s show that it’s introducing it to new markets. Or perhaps TLC is simply trying to get as much mileage out of the Duggars as it can before dumping them for good.

Even if the Jill & Jessa: Counting On Facebook page remains up after the series concludes its Aussie run, this isn’t definitive proof that TLC will bring the Duggar family back. On Friday, the network shared a TLCme video about tattoos on the Facebook page for LA Ink, a show that was cancelled in 2011.

Near the end of March, TLC General Manager Nancy Daniels talked to Fox News about the Duggars, and she sent mixed messages about TLC’s future relationship with the controversial family. Daniels claimed that “millions and millions of viewers” were interested in the lives of Jessa Duggar Seewald, Jill Duggar Dillard, and the other adult Duggar children, even though the show’s ratings tell a different story. According to Zap2it, only 1.5 million viewers tuned in for the March 22 episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On.

Daniels also tried to downplay what seemed to be a huge issue for the Duggars’ new show. As the Inquisitr previously reported, numerous advertisers asked to have their ads pulled from Jill & Jessa: Counting On because they didn’t want their brand names to be associated with the Duggar family. According to Daniels, this was no big deal. However, after defending the Duggars and TLC’s decision to put them back on TV, Daniels said that the network doesn’t have “any other plans” for the Duggar family.

Daniels didn’t say that TLC will never work with the Duggar family again, but Variety speculates that the network is trying to find a new massive family for its viewers to fall in love with. America met the all-girl Busby quintuplets during the May 10 premiere of OutDaughtered, and TLC is also producing a show about 25 family members living under one roof.

The Duggar family is noticeably missing from a Discovery Communications press release about TLC’s upcoming “I AM” brand campaign.

“Complementing our new and returning hit series, this summer TLC will launch a powerful brand campaign, ‘I AM,’ that celebrates with TLC’s most beloved talent the differences that make us each who we are and creates a world without judgment,” the press release reads. “Featuring iconic TLC talent like Theresa Caputo, Kate Gosselin, Jazz Jennings, Whitney Thore, the cast of Sister Wives, Little People, Big World and others, these on-air favorites embrace their flaws and strengths to empower us all to define ourselves, rather than letting others label us.”

As of right now, it looks like TLC won’t be bringing the Duggar family back. However, the Duggars could always use a new courtship or pregnancy to tempt TLC into giving them another chance. If a Duggar does get pregnant or find love in the near future, this will be the true test of the family’s future with TLC.

[Image via TLC]

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