Counting On Canceled? Even The Duggar Family Is In The Dark About The Show’s Future

Has Counting On been canceled? Fans of the popular TLC series are anxiously awaiting word on whether or not their favorite show will be renewed for a seventh season, and it appears the Duggar family doesn’t know if their show has been canceled, either.

As The Hollywood Gossip reports, the sixth season of the series ended in October, and as of now, TLC hasn’t said a word about whether or not it will return. You would think that TLC might be keeping its cards close to its vest, so to speak, when it comes to letting fans in on the future of the show. After all, production of a show takes time and money, and so do promo videos. If TLC revealed their intentions too soon, then there could be a gap of months or even a year or more between announcing the next season and when it actually airs, and in the TV industry, that’s too long.

But you would also think that TLC would let the people who star on the show know what’s going on. After all, there are vacations, weddings, and other life events to plan, and it would be helpful for the family to know whether or not they should plan on making room for TV cameras. But in the case of the Duggars, as they write on their official family blog, they’re just as ignorant about the future of Counting On as fans are.

“Counting On has been off the air for six weeks now, and we know you all are eager to hear whether the Duggars will be returning for a new season. We have been in contact with TLC,” the statement continues, “but at this time, there are no announcements to share.”

So what does this mean for the future of the show?

On The One Hand…

Counting On may not have the ratings that its TV predecessor, 19 Kids and Counting, enjoyed, but it still brings in decent numbers to its network, TLC. The show has a devoted fan base, although, as Hollywood Gossip writer, Simon Delott, notes, a good number of those fans don’t necessarily like the family and their shenanigans, they just enjoy watching because the family’s strict religious fundamentalism gets their ire up or tickles their funny bone. What’s more, shows about big families, like Outdaughtered and 7 Little Johnstons, are TLC’s bread and butter.

But On The Other Hand…

Besides flagging ratings compared to its predecessor, Counting On also seems to court its share of controversy. Josh Duggar, whose sexual shenanigans cost the family its original show, is still a part of the family, for better or for worse. Also a part of the family is Jill’s husband, Derick Dillard. Derick, you may remember, has a hard time keeping his mouth shut when it comes to controversial social issues, to the point where he publicly criticized a teenage girl’s sexuality. That teenage girl herself also happens to be TLC star Jazz Jennings, the transgender star of I Am Jazz, and it’s probably not advisable for a star of a show to criticize the star of another show on the same network. TLC agreed, and Dillard has been fired from the show.

So can a somewhat-popular, intensely controversial show with a history of firing it stars survive? As of this writing, there has been no confirmation either way.