Jill and Jessa Duggar to return to TLC without Joshua for special sisters show

Home Top

show ad

Having a ball! Stunning Michelle Obama and pregnant Priscilla Chan steal the show - as the titans of Silicon Valley and Hollywood gather for spectacular state dinner in honor of Chinese leader
EXCLUSIVE: Another FOUR women accuse Saudi prince of sex crimes after neighbors saw 'bleeding woman trying to climb out of his $37m Beverly Hills compound'
Go to Mars and back on ONE tank of fuel: Student creates radical ion drive system that he says outperforms Nasa's engines
Now MORE Hillary Clinton emails surface - between her and disgraced general David Petraeus - after she swore she turned over 'all of them'
Michael Sam says he 'would still be in the NFL' if he hadn't come out after stepping away from the Canadian Football League
First women to pass Ranger School were given extra training and lowered benchmarks after general vowed 'at least one of them will pass', report claims
Germany in a state of SIEGE: Merkel was cheered when she opened the floodgates to migrants. Now, with gangs of men roaming the streets and young German women being told to cover up, the mood's changing
Syrian rebel commander who completed a US training program admits to giving military equipment to an al-Qaida affiliate
United passengers 'disgusted' to find a FULL sick bag in their seatback pocket that spilled all over them
At least a dozen fake doctors performed botched surgeries on patients in elaborate $150M fraud scheme that spanned a decade
Super blood moon eclipse will not herald the end of the world this weekend, says Mormon Church after apocalyptic warnings from Doomsday pastor
The heavens smile down on Pope Francis: Dozens of 'rainbows' appear above New York as huge crowds flock to see the Pontiff
EXCLUSIVE: Little girl who begged Pope Francis to let her illegal immigrant parents stay in the U.S. is going to Philadelphia to see him AGAIN
The pope honors the 3,000 9/11 victims with interfaith ceremony in the foundations of the fallen Twin Towers
Holy water: Congressman steals Pope Francis' glass after White House address to sip remaining liquid with his wife - and then saves some to sprinkle on his grandchildren
Pope urges the end of nuclear weapons and protection of the unborn as he lectures world leaders about global warming, Christian persecution, drug trafficking and a 'Pandora's Box' in abusing the UN
An 'overwhelming' crowd of 80,000 people gathers to see the Pope in Central Park ahead of his huge mass at Madison Square Garden
Are you one of life's worriers? Your parents could be to blame for passing on anxiety through their genes
'I started having sex to pay back my student loans': Six escorts lift the lid on their lives since Rentboy.com was shut down
Manhattan heiress leaves $50,000 to each her nail technician, hairstylist and doorman in extensive handwritten will
Top NY prosecutor, 35, found guilty of choking woman in Halloween bar brawl while he was dressed as Superman
Mother 'murders her 17-year-old son as they move out of their home': Woman accused of shooting teen in the back as they packed up their house because of money problems
Delta Air Lines flight from Baltimore to Atlanta delayed after escaped TARANTULA was spotted by baggage handlers
Aaron Sorkin hits back at Tim Cook in row over Jobs film: Director says CEO has 'a lot of nerve' and accuses him of having 'a factory full of children in China assembling phones for 17 cents an hour'

TLC has announced they are making at least two to three specials featuring Jill and Jessa Duggar
The specials will follow Jessa in the final weeks of her pregnancy and Jill as she moved to Central America for missionary work with her family
These new specials will not feature Josh Duggar, who molested sisters Jill and Jessa as a teenager when they were minors
The family's reality show 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled in the wake of Josh's molestation scandal
It was also revealed last month that Josh had used the site Ashley Madison to have at least two affairs while married to his wife Anna
The new specials may feature sister Jinger, who is courting Lawson Bates, in hopes the network can get another Duggar wedding special
The wedding specials featuring Josh, Jill and Jessa have been three of the most watched programs in the history of TLC

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 13:57 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 23:35 EST, 24 September 2015

174

View
comments

Jill and Jessa Duggar are returning to reality television.

TLC has caved in and managed to get back the two married Duggar girls, announcing they will be making at least two to three specials featuring Jill and Jessa and their respective husbands Derrick and Ben.

The specials are set to begin filming soon, and brother Josh will not be featured in the new programs.

Scroll down for video

Big news: TLC has announced they are making at least two to three specials featuring Jill and Jessa Duggar (l to r: Ben and Jessa Seewald, Jill, Israel and Derrick Dillard)

Plot: The specials will follow Jessa in the final weeks of her pregnancy (left) and Jill as she moved to Central America for missionary work with her family (right)

No more: The Duggar family's reality show 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled in the wake of Josh's molestation scandal

'What we will be following in these specials is Jessa preparing for her first child and we'll be watching Jill preparing to make a major move to Central America with her family, which we know is something our audience will be interested in,' said TLC Executive Vice President and General Manager Nancy Daniels.

The project, Daniels said, came together quickly 'after talking with the girls and understanding that this was something they wanted to do.

'We know that our audience is really excited about what's been going on with Jill and Jessa as they move into young adulthood,' said Daniels.

'And now they're both at the precipice of big changes. With what was happening in their lives in the next few months, it felt like now is the time (for the specials), and we got going pretty quickly.'

It was a source speaking on the condition of anonymity who revealed that Josh would not be part of these new specials.

Trouble: These new specials will not feature Josh (above with wife Anna in February) who molested sisters Jill and Jessa as a teenager when they were minors

Opening up: Jessa and Jill described being the victims of Josh's molestation in an emotional interview earlier this summer (above)

It was revealed in May that the 27-year-old has molested five minors when he was a teenager, including four of his sisters.

Jill and Jessa later came forward in an emotional interview with Megyn Kelly on Fox News revealing that they were two of the victims of their brother's sexual assaults.

The girls revealed in that interview that they did not know they had been molested by their older brother Josh until their parents explained what happened to them and sent their son away.

‘I was like, shocked… OK, that is strange,’ Jessa, who was 9 or 10-years-old at the time, said.

‘I didn’t know what happened until my parents told me.’

Jill, who was 12 when the inappropriate touching took place, recalled feeling ‘sad' and ‘shocked’ at the revelation.

‘This is my older brother whom I love, a lot,’ she said she remembered feeling.

The two sisters largely downplayed what went on between themselves and their older brother, calling the inappropriate touching ‘subtle’ and 'mild.'

‘It wasn’t like a horror story or this terrible thing,’ Jessa insisted in the interview, as both siblings stressed that the two of them and the rest of their family, including Josh, had dealt with the trauma and put it behind them a long time ago.

Jessa also pointed out that she know 'so many girls who go through things way worse.'

In the wake of this interview, TLC cancelled the family's reality show 19 Kids and Counting, but commissioned a special called Breaking the Silence to raise awareness about child sexual abuse, which featured the two girls.

'They thought it was an important issue, and they showed an incredible amount of courage in sharing their story,' said Daniels.

'We were struck by that courage, and by how they are moving forward. Our audience continues to be engaged with what's going on in their lives.

'There's no doubt it's been a tough few months on the family, and we've obviously been in close contact with them as they've been going through it.'

Best friends: It seems likely all four of the oldest Duggar girls will appear on the special as they are so close (l to r: Jessa, Jinger, Jill and Janna)

Uncertain: There is no word if parents Jim Bob and Michelle will appear on the specials (above in June)

It is uncertain how Jill and Jessa feel about their brother currently however after it was revealed he had used the cheating website Ashley Madison to have affairs and at least two sexual encounters with other women while married to his wife Anna.

Jessa has recently posted Biblical verses that urge forgiveness, but at the same time released never-before-seen photos from her wedding that only showed Josh once - in the background of a picture of her parents Jim Bob and Michelle.

Her father-in-law also posted a scathing condemnation of Josh, writing; 'He claimed to be a Christian, but by his deeds he has suggested otherwise. With the name of God on his lips he lived a covert and extensive lifestyle of evil.'

Jill on the other hand has remained more quiet on the issue, writing in a blog post at the beginning of the month; 'August has been a busy month for us and as so many of you know it has ended on a sad note for my extended family. Please do pray for our family. We are so thankful for God’s grace during difficult days.'

The two have remained close with Josh's wife Anna while their brother is away at a faith-based rehab program, and on Tuesday Jessa shared photos of the couple's youngest child, her niece Meredith Grace.

'I can't handle all the cuteness!' wrote Jessa.

New love: Featuring Jinger (center) could be a good play for TLC as she is rumored to be courting family friend Lawson Bates (right, with exchange student on left) and Duggar weddings get huge ratings for the network

Still close: Jessa has posted some things attacking her brother Josh after it was revealed he had an affair, but remains close to his family and shared this photo of his daughter Meredith on Tuesday (above)

TLC has not revealed if any other family members will be featured in these new specials, though it is likely that Janna and Jinger Duggar will also be a part of the new programs.

The four sisters are incredibly close and even wrote a book together in 2014 - Growing Up Duggar: It's All About Relationships.

The specials could also pave the way for the next Duggar wedding following reports that Jinger Duggar has begun courting family friend Lawson Bates. whose family also has a reality show about their 19 children - Bring Up Bates.

The two have been photographed together on multiple occasions recently, and seem to be travelling to spend time with one another according to their social media posts.

That would be big news for TLC, as the weddings of the three Duggar children - Josh, Jill and Jessa - gave the network their highest viewership numbers in its history.

An average of 4.4million viewers watched Jill's wedding to Derrick in 2014, the biggest numbers TLC had seen in four years.

The episode that aired earlier this year featuring Jessa trying on wedding dresses was the series's highest-rated season premiere ever.

The Duggar family has yet to comment about these new specials.