TLCDespite all the controversy surrounding Josh Duggar, TLC might not be ready to fully let go of the 19 Kids and Counting franchise.
TLC pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting when a police report from 2006 resurfaced and revealed that cast member Josh had allegedly molested five girls when he was a teenager, however the future of the 10-year-old reality series has not been decided. Now People is reporting that a spinoff show may already be "in the works" at the network—one focusing on the families of newlyweds Jill and Derick Dillard and Jessa and Ben Seewald.
The story cites a single source "close to the Duggars." And when E! News reached out to TLC, the network declined to comment. However, we are told that no long-term decisions have been made yet regarding the fate of the Duggars' franchise, despite the immediate cancellation of Honey Boo Boo in October amidst allegations that Mama June was dating a convicted sex offender who allegedly molested her own daughter when she was 8.
The decision of whether to cancel 19 Kids altogether is presumably a tough one for TLC. Despite the this being their second child sex scandal in seven months, 19 Kids still pulls in more than 3 million viewers, and has kept the cable network thriving while competitors have suffered double-digit declines. It won't go easily.
But will any advertisers still buy in? In the wake of the Josh Duggar scandal, E! News has confirmed that General Mills, Payless Shoes and Choice Hotels have all decided to remove their ads from future Duggars-related programming.
"We can confirm that we have removed this program from our current advertising schedule," a spokesperson for General Mills told us. Payless released the following statement: "Payless' ads ran during this show as part of a larger buy with TLC. We are taking steps to have them removed from future episodes." Walgreens, another major advertiser with the reality TV show, took to Facebook to address the recent controversy: "In the wake of recent news, we are no longer advertising on the 19 Kids and Counting program."
Last week, the 27-year-old issued a public apology, saying that he "acted inexcusably" 12 years ago. Less than one day later, TLC made the decision to yank the popular program from their schedule for the time being.
"Effective immediately, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air," the cable network said. "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."