At. Last.
Two months to the day after Josh Duggar got arrested for possession of child pornography, TLC has made the decision that it should have made nanoseconds after this news broke back in April.
It has canceled the Duggar family reality show Counting On.
“TLC will not be producing additional seasons of Counting On,” the network said in a statement on Tuesday.
“TLC feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”
Mmm hmm.
The cable network, of course, also canceled 19 Kids and Counting back in 2015 after Duggar confessed to having molested his own sisters when he was a teenager.
"The show will no longer appear on the air," the network said at the time.
"After thoughtful consideration, TLC and the Duggar family have decided to not move forward with 19 Kids and Counting."
Just a year later, however, executives struck a deal with Jim Bob Duggar to feature a few of his non-Josh children in a spinoff that lasted for a total of 11 seasons.
In between filming, though?
Josh was taken into custody by federal authorities and charged with downloading explicit material of minors from his workplace computer in 2019.
According to the authorities, the videos are incomprehensible and heinous – among the worst they have ever examined.
One allegedly features an 18-month old being raped.
Just a reminder of what we’re talking about here. He is innocent until proven guilty, but this is beyond serious.
TLC initially addressed the political activist’s arrest following his May 6 hearing.
“TLC is saddened to learn about the continued troubles involving Josh Duggar,” the network’s defensive message said last month.
“19 Kids and Counting has not aired since 2015."
"TLC canceled the show on the heels of prior allegations against Josh Duggar and he has not appeared on air since then.”
Of course, we all know it was simply rebranded and put right back on the air sans Josh, practically with the same name.
Yes, he was scrubbed from the air. But the empire remained.
After getting released on bond just over six weeks ago, Josh was ordered to live with third-party custodians.
Because a judge banned him from being near minors, even his own children, he’s living with the Rebers.
(Josh and wife Anna are parents to six kids, and a seventh will arrive later this year.)
The Arkansas native’s guardians, pastor Lacount Reber and his wife, Maria Reber, are the parents of a daughter who is currently courting Anna’s brother.
Yes, those two are courting as Josh is living with them during home confinement after his release on bond. Just very odd.
The Rebers, naturally, are friends with Josh’s shady parents.
Earlier this week, meanwhille, a judge also decided that Duggar would go on trial in November.
As for the effects his arrest and alleged behavior have had on his supposed loved ones?
And will continue to have for the foreseeable future?
Jeremy Vuolo, who starred on Counting On and is married to Josh’s sister Jinger, said he supports the cancelation in a message he shared to Instagram.
Jeremy’s statement read:
"We are grateful for TLC giving us the opportunity to be on their network over the years and their kindness towards the Vuolo family."
"It’s been a remarkable journey that has opened doors to traveling and experiencing the world in a way that we wouldn’t have imagined possible."
"We wholeheartedly agree with TLC’s decision not to renew Counting On and are excited for the next chapter in our lives."
And there you have it.
In our view, it’s about time TLC decided to make this move, and it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t the right one.
We just have one question remaining at this point:
When will it cancel Seeking Sister Wife?