TLC Finally Cancels 19 Kids and Counting

Following the hit reality show’s removal from TLC’s schedule back in May, 19 Kids and Counting is no more. The network famous for Toddlers & Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo has finally pulled the plug on the dramedy of the Duggar family.

On Thursday, network representatives told the Associated Press that the show “will no longer appear on the air.” TLC originally pulled 19 Kids from its programming after Josh Duggar, the oldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, admitted to sexually molesting young girls when he was in his teens.

Since then, Josh (and the family, by extension) have been vilified by the media, defended by politicians like Mike Huckabee, and mined for news bites in exclusive interviews. Following Thursday’s definitive news, there’s no word yet on what the Duggars themselves will do.

TLC intends to use the momentum from the ongoing story to “raise awareness about child sexual abuse” with a new initiative involving “two prominent child-protection organizations.” The names of these organizations, and the specifics of this promised program, were left out of the network’s statement to the AP. However, representatives did say that they would air a one-hour, commercial-free documentary sometime in August.

[h/t Associated Press]
[Image via TLC]

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