Will ’19 Kids and Counting’ be canceled in favor of Jill, Jessa Duggar spin-off?

We realize at the moment that TLC probably feels as though they are in a pretty tricky pickle when it comes to how to handle “19 Kids and Counting” in the wake of Josh Duggar’s history with a molestation investigation being unearthed. They have pulled all episodes of the successful series and they have lost advertisers; however, at the same time the show has also generated big ratings, and there are many members of the Duggar family who were not involved in what Josh did.

So what do you do about it? At the moment, they may think that the best course of action is to launch a spin-off that revolves heavily around Jill and Jessa Duggar. A source tells People Magazine that they are strongly considering this, mostly because these sisters are two of the more popular members of the family:

“The show had begun to focus more and more on the next generation of Duggars, anyway – mainly Jill and Jessa and their marriages and babies … That’s when the show got its highest ratings.”

Ultimately, we do still feel like the best thing TLC could do is just cancel the show, and this is mostly from a PR standpoint. If you do a Duggar spin-off, how do you do it without addressing the elephant in the room? It feels impossible to avoid the narrative, even if the people involved want to. Also, family is a big part of the Duggars’ lives, and that may also be unavoidable, especially if the sisters ever feel like their relatives are being pushed aside.

As we reported earlier today, Walgreens has become the latest sponsor to leave the show, and we’ll have some further news in the near future. Also, you can sign up to get some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: TLC.)