More Duggars in 2016? High Ratings for ‘Jill & Jessa: Counting On’ Could Mean More Episodes

"We did it guys!"
“We did it guys!”

The year 2015 was quite the roller coaster for the Duggar family. They saw the ratings for their reality show 19 Kids and Counting soar at the beginning of the year, only to have the show cancelled later in the year after the whole “Our son Josh molested people” fiasco came to light. In December, however, the Duggars (sans Josh) made their way back to our TVs with three TLC specials entitled Jill & Jessa: Counting On.

If the ratings for the specials indicate anything, it’s that America still cares about the Duggar family. In fact, all three special received relatively high ratings (especially the third installment, which showcased Jessa grunting out her first kid). While TLC has not confirmed that the Duggars will be back on the network in 2016, the ratings are pointing in that direction.

According to the Nielson Company, the premiere episode of ‘Jill & Jessa’ on Sunday, December 13 garnered a rating of 0.8. (This indicates how many target viewers, aged 18-49, tuned in.) Over 2.2 million people watched the first episode of ‘Jill & Jessa.’

The second episode also did well, with a rating of 0.7 and a viewership of nearly 1.9 million.

The most successful episode was the the third, with over 2.5 million people tuning in to watch Jessa give birth to The Spurge. The episode, which received a rating of 0.8, ranked in the Top 5 cable shows for the night.

(To put this in perspective, ABC’s Shark Tank ranked a 0.5 that night, and had 1.91 million viewers.)

While it is very unlikely that TLC will bring back ’19 Kids and Counting,’ it seemed that the network was “testing the waters” by airing these specials, to determine if viewers were still interested in seeing the Duggars on their TVs. The answer is “yes!”

The Ashley has reached out to TLC for more information on the fate of ‘Jill & Jessa’ and will update this post when new info becomes available.

(Photo: TLC)

33 Comments

  1. What’s hilarious is all these complainers telling everyone else what’s wrong with the show, the family, and the viewers for wanting to watch, and saying how “disgusted” they are at the thought of anymore shows coming out……..are obviously still watching themselves, or they wouldn’t even be here harassing everybody else. Lmao! Wat a riot! smh 🙂


  2. Has anyone noticed how obsessed with vanity these girls are? They spend hours in front of the mirror putting on an entire bottle of Cover Girl Foundation on their faces and whole tube of eyeliner on their eyes and then make sure each strand of hair is perfectly curled. I’m sure daddy Jim Bob loves that.


    1. Nope, never noticed that. Compared to the Kardashian’s they barely wear any make up. There’s nothing wrong with a girl wanting to make herself look good.


    2. I don’t notice them wearing nearly as much as most people I see on TV. Have you noticed that people on TV are told to wear more makeup because it doesn’t show up as well on camera?


  3. I hope TLC realizes that the show was a success due to short-term curiosity viewers. The disgust that the general public has for JB’s warped version of Christianity (male dominance, prejudice, hatred, and the warping of children’s minds) will not sustain anything but very short-term support. I feel sorry for his now poisoned family.Sad. We will turn our backs on it ~ and I am a former viewer. It should not be overlooked that JB’s plan is to use this to foist his warped Christianity (which really isn’t Christianity, but a human vehicle of dominance) on all of us; he planned use Josh’s former job as a pulpit; he has political aspirations; he still plans to spread his children out as ministers of JBs version male domination, prejudice-filled version and hate-filled messages as supposed godliness. All this rather than Christ’s all encompassing love. TLC: If you continue to produce this show, shame on you. In this case, this program is poison ~ not simply a weird show. Don’t continue this program due to greed. Cancel it because it is the right thing to do. Plus, greed notwithstanding, short-term success is not worth the investment.


    1. If people want to watch it’s up to them. the above statements are your prerogatives, and not given facts to which humanity should live by.


    1. So? Did you know that JB has owned and operated multiple commercial rental properties since before the first show was even made? He does a great job buying real estate and renting it out and/or fixing it up and turning around and selling it. That’s what he’s doing right now with both Jessa’s family’s house, as well as the house Jill’s family has been staying in, I believe.


  4. Ugh!!! Anyone who watched even 1 episode, look what happens!
    Follow these people on Twitter or something! Stop having this family profit off all these scandals. Stop their famewh*ring please. Do your own research on their Quiverfull religion, the scandals of Bill Gothard who they blindly follow, and the scandals of IBLP. Read the blog “No Longer Quivering” (Patheos). Ex members speak of their experiences of growing up in their religion, the “rules”, and mothers who left because they felt extreme guilt following the Duggars’ religious practices. It’s a MAN-made cult…to benefit…men & their needs.
    Just because the Duggars ditched their “Little House on the Prairie” dresses, doesn’t mean they’re not in a cult. Welcome to reality tv & marketing to the masses, folks.

    Sincerely,
    someone who used to watch their show for years, then did my own research yrs ago about their religious cult & stopped watching. Completely.


    1. Kjay it’s great you did research. I won’t speak for the quiver full as I was never partaker, but I will say it’s not a religion.

      I’ve gone through complete
      bill gothards seminars it never advocates woman as the inferior of the sexes. So it’s, definitely not made to benefit men ONLY. Bill gothard has done some very wrong things and should suffer the consequences for it as did josh duggar. That doesn’t mean that what they taught and made public wasn’t true.

      Also, just because you don’t want to watch it doesn’t mean others don’t. We speak for ourselves.


      1. You sure do speak for yourself, and you are clearly mistaken.
        If you’ve done enough research outside of whatever Gothard bubble you were or are in, then you’d know what I’m talking about. Sadly, millions of people blindly follow religions & cults without thinking critically & logically. You are only seeing & hearing what you WANT to hear and believe at those “seminars”….which is fine… if you’re easily influenced by “encouraging” words relating to God & what “God wants” aka what Gothard & the men want. Suppressing women in any religion or cult is the #1 red warning flag. Even watching “19 kids”… you don’t question why the girls only take EMT or Doula classes but aren’t going job hunting? Don’t go to real accredited schools? ALWAYS taking care of a baby & chores? Can’t choose their own husbands??

        Do you also believe Michael & Debi Pearl’s child “training” & abuse tactic books that the Duggars had on their website for YRS until viewers started questioning them regarding the unecessary abuse towards training kids starting at 6 months old instructed in those books? They took it off their site.

        Believe me, I was a big fan of this family for many years. Believe what you want & so will I. I’m happier in life having my eyes & mind open and enlightened.


    2. Agree!!! I loved the DUGGARS AT ONE TIME, yet the last year I stopped watching when the wedding came along. I said to my hubby when it seems too good to be true it us. I said they all act so perfect, how can you not have any real issues with -9 kids. I had to stop. Months later Josh’s stories came out. Now, I see even more lies, and GREED. So much they do for the show. Yet, no resale shop for them. If they truly wanted to serve the lord they’d get off TV and truly serve those in need. I am glad to say I DID NOT watch one of the 3 shows. Just search the net you can find out everything that was said without giving The DUGGARS rating or sending a message to TLC were ok with the show. Sadly I feel it was many ppl
      Who don’t like them but curiosity won. Too bad, now they will be back.


  5. It’s clear they intend to keep filming to finance their lifestyle (or avoid traditional work). They should stop trying to convince us of anything else. The gross part about it is they are still somehow profiting from the horrible mess.


    1. You don’t speak for everyone and its clear as millions are watching the show. Let people decide what they want to watch.


    2. It’s not actually up to the Duggars. It’s up to the network as to whether they keep filming a show/family. Personally, the reason I watched the show had nothing at all to do with religion. I enjoyed it because it was refreshing to watch a really large family getting along so well, delegating tasks without fighting about it, happily pitching in to get things done, and enjoying life. It was nice to see how another family worked through crises and raised small children without having to raise a hand or their voice even once. I disagree with you on the idea that they prefer to “avoid traditional work.” JB started building his own small fortune before the very first show, buying, selling, and renting out real estate. I hardly think any of them is afraid of work. The ones who didn’t cook, clean up after, and help raise and teach the young children went out and got jobs as firemen and doulas, among other things. Jill and hubby are doing a lot of missionary work abroad. That is a lot of hard work. I’m pretty sure living conditions aren’t that great either. If they spent some of their show money to take them there, I sure don’t have a problem with that.


  6. No more Duggars. It’s a shame we have morons she watch shows like this and that Kardashian trash.

    Different sides of the same coin.


      1. If “I” could control what’s on TV, it would have a whole different set of shows to watch, than the crap currently on.

        I’ve despised the duggar’s since the first time I saw them grace my television screen. To me, it was easy to see them for the sanctimonious, brain dead, misogynist, cult they are. It’s shocking so many fail to see it…


      2. Maybe stop watching these fame whores and take class and learn something? No one is controlling what you watch, but maybe you should see something with some intelligent content rather than this drivel.


    1. Agree, but the Kardasians don’t pretend to be something their not or go around the country bashing gays,lesbians,transgenders and behind close doors molest their babies. Sure they like making $ and being on TV but those girls work too. All the Kardasians work, but more importantly don’t pretend to be anything but what they are.


    1. ..And tons of idiots did more than dip in a toe to test the waters, they jumped in and flapped about screaming, “I LOVE ME SOME DUGGARS!”

      Well, thank goodness, I’m sure TLC execs are thinking! They were probably getting worried folks were starting to think ‘TLC’ stood for ‘The Little Channel’, what with all the ‘Little’ programming on to replace some Duggars. ‘7 Little Johnstons’, ‘Our Little Family’, ‘The Little Couple’, ‘Little People, Big World’, and finally, ‘Small Minds, Huge Egos- A 2 part series on the evolution of the Duggar Family.’

      Okay, that last one is bullshite, but it shouldn’t be..

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