Josh Duggar will be conspicuously absent from new episodes of TLC’s Jill and Jessa: Counting On, when it returns on March 15. Even though Josh’s wife, Anna Duggar, will join Jill Duggar Dillard, Jessa Duggar Seewald, and John David, Josiah, Joseph, Joy Anna, Jinger, and Jana Duggar in the new episodes the network has ordered, Josh Duggar will only be alluded to in comments about how much the Duggar family suffered in 2015.
The Duggar family starred in TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting for several years before the media caught wind last spring about Josh Duggar having sexually molested five underage girls when he was a teenager. Two of those girls were sisters Jill and Jessa Duggar. Although it has never been confirmed, it is expected that Jana and Jinger Duggar were victimized by Josh Duggar, too. The fifth victim was a non-family member.
Jill and Jessa : Counting On will air a complete new season starting Tuesday, March 15th @ 9/8c! @JessaSeewald pic.twitter.com/yoM9tai1yX
— Jill & Jessa (@tlc_countingon) February 23, 2016
Because of the Josh Duggar molestations, as well as Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s alleged attempts to keep the incidents swept under the proverbial rug, TLC cancelled 19 Kids and Counting.
This past summer, Josh Duggar was outed in the Ashley Madison cheater’s website hack, after which he admitted he cheated on wife Anna Duggar with a former porn star. He also admitted to having an addiction to pornography.
While it didn’t seem likely after that news hit the media, TLC wanted Jill Duggar Dillard and Jessa Duggar Seewald back. They drew the most fans during the last year or two that 19 Kids and Counting aired. The network created Jill and Jessa: Counting On, originally airing three special episodes in December. Now it seems Jill and Jessa: Counting On is coming back, with several new episodes on tap.
The show will pick up approximately three months after Jessa Duggar and husband Ben Seewald welcomed baby boy Spurgeon into their world. It will also chronicle some of Jill Duggar and hubby Derick Dillard’s time in El Salvador as Christian missionaries, along with their little boy, Israel.
#JillandJessa: #CountingOn is back for more episodes! Get a first look at the new season: https://t.co/OtzZopeLVO pic.twitter.com/Yk51JKom0J
— TLC Network (@TLC) February 23, 2016
It’s interesting to note, that in addition to Josh Duggar’s absence, fans aren’t likely to see Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar on Jill and Jessa: Counting On. Even some of the family’s fans can’t condone their actions, or lack thereof.
Will you be tuning in to see Jill Duggar Dillard, Jessa Duggar Seewald, Anna Duggar, and more of the former 19 Kids and Counting family when Jill and Jessa: Counting On returns to TLC?